stolen 8 3/4 third member
I sold a 4 speed setup for a C Body and FedEx lost every piece of it. This was every single unique part from a 4 speed Fury except the gearbox. The box arrived, empty. Keep in mind, I had double box and very carefully packed it all, with labels on every piece. Just gone forever.
One of my best friends has worked at UPS 29 years. I've know him since grade school. He tells me countless stories of UPS malfeasance. The biggest internal theft? Jewelry. Small boxes, high value. There isn't a year that goes by he doesn't tell me a new story of someone grossly abusing a package or outright stealing it. UPS management looks at it all as a numbers game - they certainly don't want to spend more money preventing and punishing theft than they spend compensating for it. Think about it.
The industry as a whole is to blame. They all sort of realize that if they all suck more or less equally, it maintains that no shipper will gain any sort of edge over the rest. There's no need for collusion or secret after-dark meetings...they all just gravitate toward being sucky.