File it, sounds like they should cover the cost of new leg brackets and the cab protectors to help you be happy with their service

Ok.. I got way to much experiences with these kinda things so let me start from begging

1 Yes file it.

2. Did you notate the damage before signing the bill of lading?
3. Take Pictures right away if you haven't.
4. File the Claim within 48 hours
5. Call them every 3 days to follow up on claim
6. You will need to establish the $ level of the Damages, So the brackets, Touch up Paint, Cabinet Protectors and so on, and have a way to prove this dollar amount. Might be copy's of orders to order above parts.
7. Keep any and all packing materials you still have as they will want to see them
8. Do Not make any repairs on the machine until they say its ok.. Most of the time they will want to come out and look at the machine.
9. KEEP FOLLOWING UP! they want you to just drop the claim and ignore it so they will make it a PIA!

PM if you have any questions.

FYI, when we did NAVL, just recently, I asked if we could skid the machine vs. them shipping on the legs and they said yes, no extra charge, you just have to have it on the skid and ready when they arrive. We did not feel comfortable with it shipping on the legs so we did put it on a skid and packed well, it arrived perfectly, just like it was when it left.

I know it doesn't help this situation, but I would never ever transport a pinball machine on the legs. Its just too easy to take them off and fold the head down.

I would file the claim for this situation though.

Agreed, don't ship pins on legs

Yes, file the claim.

Every pin I've ever shipped has been on legs, never had a problem. It sounds like it could have been the sellers fault. If he sent the game off without all the bolts tight it was bound to happen.

Never ship with legs on....

Agreed! Mechanical Engineer here. Why in the world take a chance? Any forces (bumps, truck turns on curves) will be transferred through a much smaller load bearing area (leg to pin lower cabinet). Increasing the risk of localized failure. Better is the option of having the cabinet on a skid and the load equalized as evenly as possible. Don't laugh, but filling gaps, between the pin cabinet and pallet, with even cardboard is an acceptable method of balancing out the contact/load distribution area. Points of contact is the key here. With legs it equals 4 (legs lagged/braced to pallet). Legs off it equals linear feet of cabinet contact area with pallet and this is where filling gaps is vital. For the best transport, hopefully the carrier/rigger gap fills the pallet as well to the trailer bed. That would be ideal! If the pallet is allowed to flex to much with the cabinet strapped tight to it, then it could be worse than 4-leg shipping. The 4 leg option would flex better and give a parallelogram type energy absorbing benefit! This is a plus!

The only debate that can/should come after this post is that many common day carriers offer/use, "Cushion" type trailers. The type that are very capable of transporting delicate electronic equipment. Industrial robots(Nachi, Motoman, Fanuc, ABB, Kuka, etc) and their control cabinets are a good example. Should a carrier be transporting with these next generation cartage trailers there is a good chance that even a pin on legs could go cross country 3-4 times over without a problem. Why take the chance though?

My 2 cents lol. time for another beer! Is anybody going to Bump my post for me? I bump other folks but have yet to get a bump! C'Mon SHOW SOME LOVE!

Lol

I bumped 2 for ya, hope they were the right ones...

If you shipped it with the legs on and no leg protectors....I think your out of luck. I've never had a problem shipping with the legs on with leg protectors. I have had several problems with pins that were shipped with the legs off laying flat on a pallet, they got bumped. I feel that way is the worst way as it's just to easy for them to bump it. If I ship with the legs off I stand it up and strap it to a pallet. That is the correct way.

If the damage was caused by the normal movement of the truck then you or the shipper is at fault not the shipping company. Whoever approved it to be shipped like that is to blame.

Agreed. I shipped machines on the legs all the time and never had any issues. However, there is no way I would ever ship them on the legs without leg protectors. There are going to be a lot of bumps on the road and unless you have protectors on it then the legs will dig into the wood and mess up the decals. If the seller does not have protectors on it then I send him a set of mine and ask him to install prior to shipping. The threads could have already been stripped (or just about stripped) from previous owners, but plates are cheap and easy to replace so big loss there.

The biggest complaint about shipping on legs is sometimes the legs can get bent or twisted, but legs are cheap so it's not that big of a deal. And if I am shipping a game with expensive legs, such as chrome or brass, I would remove them and ship with a pair of older legs I had sitting around just to be safe. Stuff like this happens all the time and am sorry for your loss, but people should not shy away from NAVL because so many (including myself) had great luck using them. I also go through a lot of preparation prior to shipping with NAVL even though you aren't required to since you a paying a premium for white glove service. I typically protect the head and corners with cardboard, use leg protectors, shrink wrap the entire machine, and take off parts that could break like the plastic gun on T3. While I hate to place any blame on the seller there are probably some little things they could have done to ensure a safer delivery. Sorry for you loss MrWizzo but on a positive note it could have been a lot worse.