We recently ordered a pair of kayaks through Austin Canoe & Kayak, a Perception Expression 11.5 and Perception Expression 14.5. It was 15% off, free shipping, plus 15% off any accessories for the kayaks - awesome!
We received the kayaks but unfortunately we are thinking both were handled rather less than carefully during shipment - the 14.5 just has scrapes on the bow, stern, and middle plastic but the 11.5 has two gouges into the plastic. The BoL had been marked ‘pending inspection’ per ACK’s instructional video.
ACK is giving us the option of an additional $200 refund for the order or a two-week wait for replacing the kayaks; the current kayaks have to be returned to the manufacturer before the replacement kayaks are shipped to us.
We have never purchased kayaks before; is this kind of damage nominal given that our kayaks are going to be scraping rocks and branches eventually or is this kind of damage unusual during shipment? Should we expect more than $200 or less than a two-week wait from ACK?
I’d tell them to come and get the kayaks and don’t bother sending any others unless they can find a shipper that will deliver them undamaged. Would you accept any other product all banged up?
Some here will tell you to take the refund money and just have fun, because you are probably going to ding the boats up even worse. That’s not the way I roll, but you have to ask yourself how you intend to care for the boats.
This is not the first post about kayaks damaged in shipment. Unfortunately it seems some manufactures are having a hard time finding reliable and responsible shippers. Some I know of have their own delivery vehicles. There is no excuse for this kind of customer treatment.
As I and others have mentioned in the other “damaged new boat” thread, these boats are expected to endure lots of wear and tear in use. That said, the pictures you’ve posted seem to show more than what I’d expect for typical shipping and handling wear and tear. To have that many rips through both the plastic bag and the corrugated liner, someone really beat the hell out of it in transit. Some of those gouges are pretty deep and not on the bottom of the boat either.
I’m surprised they’d say you need to wait for the boats to go back to the manufacturer. This should be a “simple” damage claim against the freight company.
If you paid with a credit card, there might be some additional consumer protection there. Companies really don’t like back charges - or so I’m led to understand, as I’ve never had the opportunity to try it.
I’m not sure I’d ever be able to purchase a boat and have it shipped. I’m more likely to go and drive 4-6 hours and pick it up myself, after talking to the place on the phone so there are no surprises when I get there.
For the next week we are out of town so luckily, the two-week wait is not as big a factor. We are going to talk to ACK about swapping both; cannot thank you enough for your comments, both of you!
Just what I want to do buy something new that is all banged up. I’ll bang it up myself thank you very much. They probably drop shipped the from manufacturer. 200 is chump change. Two weeks is way too long. Buy locally or make a day trip to get something.
Some of us live in areas where there are no local options, and driving to pick something up involves a 3-4 day trip. I live in Utah, so unless it’s a whitewater kayak or a boat that I can buy through REI, Backcountry.com, or Sierra Trading Post, I’m SOL. Having a kayak or canoe shipped to me is often my only choice. In the last 3 years I’ve purchased kayaks from ACK (Texas) and Eddyline (Seattle) and luckily they both arrived in perfect condition. Between gas, lodging, food, and time off work, it would have cost me a lot more than $200 to go pick up these boats. At one point I was considering getting a Swift pack canoe which would have been an even longer trip back east to pick up. Some of us just have to roll the dice in order to get the boat that we want.
In the case above, I would have refused to sign for the boats after finding the damage, and sent them back. Waiting two weeks sucks, but it is what it is.
@thatzackwheeler said:
We have never purchased kayaks before; is this kind of damage nominal given that our kayaks are going to be scraping rocks and branches eventually or is this kind of damage unusual during shipment? Should we expect more than $200 or less than a two-week wait from ACK?
The damage is not normal, as in you shouldn’t expect to have to receive a boat like that. But it is, unfortunately, also not unusual for individual shipments like this. This is the downside that isn’t talked about when you buy online.
Never bought a boat via mail order, but I would expect a couple thousand dollars of kayak to be properly crated for shipment not wrapped in plastic and a little foam. Blame the carrier all you want, and they are surely at fault, but jeez … is a sturdy padded box or better yet, a wooden crate too much to ask? Here’s a pic from an online vendor that seems to take shipping seriously:
I wonder why polystyrene (molded to the shape of the kayak) isn’t used. As much as I hate the stuff, it provides super protection and is light weight. My erg traveled from Vermont in a cardboard box but was encased in shaped polystyrene. Box had a few holes but that was the only damage.
Both kayaks that were shipped to me (ACK & Eddyline ) were encased in multiple layers of corrugated cardboard, then wrapped in plastic, then inside a secondary shipping box, but no additional foam. That seems to be par for the course in kayak shipping. I like the looks of that thick foam in the picture above. However, even that foam wouldn’t prevent punctures through the shipping box. The OPs pictures look like sharp punctures and scrapes from some pretty rough handling in shipping. It would take a lot of foam and cardboard to prevent damage from jamming something hard and pointy into the boat in transit.
@GrumpySquatch said:
Never bought a boat via mail order, but I would expect a couple thousand dollars of kayak to be properly crated for shipment not wrapped in plastic and a little foam. Blame the carrier all you want, and they are surely at fault, but jeez … is a sturdy padded box or better yet, a wooden crate too much to ask? Here’s a pic from an online vendor that seems to take shipping seriously:
Wrapping a roto boat like that is to expensive. Cost a lot of money for wood crates and more to ship. Profits are not there. Seaward and others charge hundreds to crate and ship.
We had our call with ACK to decline the compensation and swap both of the kayaks - thankfully the two-week wait was an exaggeration. The 11.5 is in stock and shipped out this afternoon, the 14.5 is on backorder and is expected to ship out next week - though it has to ship to ACK before it ships to us, no drop ship.
ACK was insistent that extra packaging or labeling was not an option, that this is the only way of transporting the pair, and that the minute it’s on the third-party truck it’s out of ACK’s control. However, the third-party has been flexible with the truck dates/times - for example, the driver is not receiving the first 11.5 until the second 11.5 is unloaded and inspected, etc.
So … little Column A, little Column B. We’ll let you know the end results!
That’s a shame to have to deal with, but at least there’s resolution. I bought a pretty pricey kayak from Backcountry in Park City, UT. They shipped to GA . They were very explicit with regard to not signing to receive until I had inspected bow to stern, deck to hull, and port to starboard. They encouraged me to take my time because they pay the third party delivery folks to wait for it to be done. Any damage at all and my instructions were to refuse delivery and they would ship a replacement. Fortunately…it was fine.
I would encourage anyone taking delivery of a big-ticket item to follow Backcountry’s protocol. Sometimes we’re in a rush or the driver is unpleasant, but…it’s totally worth the time and effort.
Plug for Backcountry…they answered my zillion questions and were incredibly nice.
Glad it’s working out for you now.
