pacray
Well-known member
When shipping games I try to use NAVL exclusively. The few times there have been problems, I submitted an insurance claim and had a check for the full amount in hand within 10 days. But right before Christmas I had to ship 2 games out using Pilot Air because the buyers wanted them before the big day. These were completely restored Ms Pacman games, well wrapped in a layer of shrink wrap, then cardboard, then shrink wrap, and foam padding. I strapped the to a pallet and delivered them to their dock.
I then get a call from the distressed buyer who was watching their game being delivered. They sent out a guy to deliver it with a truck and no lift gate. He had no idea how to safely get the game off the pallet, and then off the truck. The driver was rude and used profanity as he struggled with the game, and ended up damaging it pretty badly in the process. The buyer took pictures of the game, as it sat in the snow with chunks of the side art ripped off. They called Pilot Air headquarters who told them to refuse the game, which they did.
2 Weeks later I got a call from Pilot to say the game was back on their dock so I could come pick it up. Besides the damage to the side art, the bottom was pushed in, there was damage to the top of the game where they obviously had stacked something heavy on top of it, and there was a large dent in the newly restored coin door where something had rammed into it.
I submitted a claim, and was told they wouldn't even look at it for 4 weeks, as that was their policy, and that they would make a decision within 10 weeks after that. Then I get a bill in the mail last week, charging me for the cost of shipping the game back to me. Will I ever see any money from my insurance claim? I doubt it, but if I do, I will post a response to this thread.
I will never use Pilot Air again. Even if I had built a crate around this game, I am pretty it still would have arrived damaged, as the force needed to push the bottom of the game up into the cabinet must have been done by it being dropped hard on the fork lift.
You can usually save about $100 when shipping a game with Pilot Air, but unless you don't care what happens to it along the way, or what condition it is when it arrives, I suggest using NAVL, or finding another shipper.
I then get a call from the distressed buyer who was watching their game being delivered. They sent out a guy to deliver it with a truck and no lift gate. He had no idea how to safely get the game off the pallet, and then off the truck. The driver was rude and used profanity as he struggled with the game, and ended up damaging it pretty badly in the process. The buyer took pictures of the game, as it sat in the snow with chunks of the side art ripped off. They called Pilot Air headquarters who told them to refuse the game, which they did.
2 Weeks later I got a call from Pilot to say the game was back on their dock so I could come pick it up. Besides the damage to the side art, the bottom was pushed in, there was damage to the top of the game where they obviously had stacked something heavy on top of it, and there was a large dent in the newly restored coin door where something had rammed into it.
I submitted a claim, and was told they wouldn't even look at it for 4 weeks, as that was their policy, and that they would make a decision within 10 weeks after that. Then I get a bill in the mail last week, charging me for the cost of shipping the game back to me. Will I ever see any money from my insurance claim? I doubt it, but if I do, I will post a response to this thread.
I will never use Pilot Air again. Even if I had built a crate around this game, I am pretty it still would have arrived damaged, as the force needed to push the bottom of the game up into the cabinet must have been done by it being dropped hard on the fork lift.
You can usually save about $100 when shipping a game with Pilot Air, but unless you don't care what happens to it along the way, or what condition it is when it arrives, I suggest using NAVL, or finding another shipper.




