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Print Competition damage policy?

Randy Parrish CPF

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Certified Picture Framer®
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Location
Ann Arbor Michigan
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Parrish Fine Framing
What is the Print Competition Damage policy? I assume all transit is at your own risk, but when entries are shipped to Vegas is anything insured? I noticed there was a lot of damaged entries this year.

I had one member contact me and I will quote what was said. Who knows how many competition pieces the GLPPFA had transported to Vegas?? ##### at #### took her piece to Jackson where it went to Vegas by freight . She packaged her piece the way she was instructed from one of the PPFA meetings and it was badly damaged in transit. She said that she spoke with Nick Shaver and he told her that there were others damaged in transit. This put a bad taste in her mouth when it comes to entering a competition again.

The last part is what concerns me the most. How should this be addressed?
 
I can't speak to the shipping/damage policy specifically, but I can say there are a number of New England framers that have stopped sedning to National for exactly that reason.

Two more were damaged this year and one said, "never again," the other said, they would "think hard" before sending something else.

It's an interesting cunundrum.
 
Our winners this year did not want to send their entries to Vegas for the same reason. Since we ship art for our customers with some frequency, and have never had anything damaged, it does make we wonder. We have been shipping with UPS since the beginning.

I do know that if you send something motor freight, it does not receive gentle handling.
 
I package and ship art as well and I use FedEx, I have never had anything damaged in 18 years (knock on wood) but I never ship freight unless it is in a wooden crate. Valuable items go next day or two day
 
Isn't there a damage report that is supposed to be filed. This person just got thier frame back with thier description form that had "DAMAGED" written across it. The package showed no sign of damage. What happens if it is damage by the handlers at the Vegas show?
 
Randy, under the competition tab on the website, you can pull up the "Competition Guidelines." I think that there is a damage report is a part of this document. If not, it is one of the documents linked under that tab.

I know shipping damage has been a problem for a while, and remember Linda Pujo addressing it in one of her "CB chat" newsletters.
 
My competition piece was also damaged, though whether the damage happened in shipping or in handling on site is unknown. I did not see the box, but I was told it looked like a forklift was driven right through the side of the box. This is very concerning, as I do not see how it can arrive at our local venue intact when shipping the exact same way in the the exact same container, yet it gets damaged once it arrives on the west coast. This is the second piece I've sent to National judging to be damaged, though the first one was damaged due to really poor handling on the part of whoever set up the pieces for judging. That piece received two gouges in the bottom of the frame that were spaced the distance apart expected for an easel display. The odd part was the frame was a solid maple.

I was chastised for showing pictures of my winning entry in our local Open competition, instead of saving it for National judging. Seeing as it was a hand-finished three dimensional display case, I knew it wouldn't have survived the trip. Seeing the condition of my Print competition entry, I am very relieved I didn't send my piece, after all.

The really funny part about the whole situation is that the one thing I WAS concerned about with shipping the piece, was that the rock would fall out of its mount, as I had mounted the rock in a cavity rather than use rods and the like to surface mount. On site, the rock was snugly secure in its mount. Definitely had a chuckle over that one.

The expense to enter the competition and ship a piece cross country is prohibitive enough to reconsider sending a piece. The care and handling it receives while on site definitely makes me reluctant to consider sending any future pieces in for judging.
 
One further point. It should be noted that, in many cases, replacing a frame on these damaged pieces is often impractical. In the case of my entry, I had milled one profile in such a way as to add an additional profile to it, making a completely unique frame. It was not an easy endeavor, and not one I wish to repeat just to replace the frame on a competition entry. I have not received my piece back yet, so I do not know in what condition I will receive it back. Hopefully it will avoid further damage in its travels, and I can touch up the frame when it arrives.
 
This is not directly related to shipping the competition-piece, but recently I had a small framed picture sent to me. It did not arrive, so I contacted the courier, who delivered it the next day.
The glass was shattered due to inconsiderate handling.

The reason for the delay was assumedly that someone damaged it and subsequently hid it somewhere for someone else to find so as to avoid blame.
 
Randy, under the competition tab on the website, you can pull up the "Competition Guidelines." I think that there is a damage report is a part of this document. If not, it is one of the documents linked under that tab.

I know shipping damage has been a problem for a while, and remember Linda Pujo addressing it in one of her "CB chat" newsletters.

So I saw that and it a damage report for chapters, I don't know or could not locate one for National. If the item is shipped from Jackson, who is responsible? Can the person make an insurance claim? Was the package insured when it was shipped? I know as a business owner I would not ship via Freight, wither it is FedEx freight or UPS freight or another carrier, the less time in transit the better.

I know our chapter is going do something for our member, we shall see.
 
This is a growing problem. It is now almost impossible to carry an entry onto a plane unless it is very small. Some form of packing is almost essential for those of us not in driving distance.

I am pretty sure that the entries are shipped at the member's risk. I think it is a nice idea for the chapter to do something for a member whose entry was damaged in transit.
 
Well the irony is, the person took a PPFA or WCAF class on packaging art for shows, and this happened and like I said, the packing box is fine, the frame that is ruined.
 
Freighting our precious frames to competitions will always be a challenge. I don't think it matters what freight company is used, they all have the same limited care factor.

My competition pieces were sent from Gladstone, Australia, to Brisbane, Australia,to Las Angeles, to Jackson, Michigan for Mailbox judging and then Las Vegas. Lots of opportunity for things to go wrong.
What made it more challenging was the freight company mistakenly first sent it to Hong Kong and back to Australia twice before sending in the right direction.

After this years competition, we offered to help with repackaging of all competition pieces. It was a great experience. I felt like Santa Claus wrapping up all the great frames. I know that all of the competition board members and judges do a fantastic job with the organising of the competition but I have even more respect for the unnoticed work that these wonderful people do. It is not a five minute job. A lot of time and care is involved.

What I did get to see was the so many different ways that a frame can be packed. Most we're packed quite well but sadly a few needed a lot more structural support. My personal preference is to make a wooden crate to transport frames. The disadvantage of this is the additional weight of the package that adds to freight costs. I am glad I had a timber crate for this years piece, who knows what condition it would have been in if I hadn't!

For me , it's always a nervous time for me waiting for my competition pieces to be unpacked before judging.
As I have said many times. The biggest challenge for us framers is freighting. The competition begins AFTER they arrive intact.
 
Hey Trevor thanks for the post. What I mean by frieght is used to describe the level of service that something is shipped. At the top level is overnight or next day air, then one day, two day or three day air, then ground service. Lastly there is frieght service at the bottom level of shipping. It cost the least and takes the longest.
 
Way too many frames in both competition categories were damaged, most noticeably by objects being dislodged from their mounts. In addition to all other considerations, I don't think it reflects well on the PPFA to display these damaged entries to the thousands of passers-by at the trade show.
 
A competition, like TV's Chopped or something would be cool. I think a treasure hunt frame competition would be fun, where contestants had to use whatever is available at the show. They would have to get Wizard or Gunnar to cut a mat, a vendor to chop n join a frame, maybe even get the art there to frame in a limited amount of time. I know there would be issues like how do you get enough moulding or other supplies but there are going to be logistics challenges. Maybe like Chopped you are given a mystery basket of materials.
 
Randy, that treasure hunt idea sounds like real fun.

I am wondering if chapters could invest in professional art shipping containers. Someone would have to store them, and there might be years when a chapter would need multiples, but if shipping damage is a significant challenge, it might be worth the additional expense. I have no idea how expensive this might be or who supplies them, but know that our museum receives travelling exhibitions in special containers that are transported by motor freight.

There are transportation companies that specialize in the packing & shipping of art.
 
Okay I am going to ask a dumb question, because I did see a lot of damage this year and it does need to be looked into:

Are we just talking about the mounts failing?
Is it glass breakage?
I know one piece (probably Andy's) was demolished in some way but for the other pieces is it marring of the frame?

Just want to find out what the Competition Board needs to discuss and what we can do to try to minimize this damage. (I am the Board Liaison to the CB this year so I want to have my info together when I talk to them)

Thanks and please don't kill me for ask such a dumb question :smile:
 
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