So first off I must say that TireRack is fantastic. They always seem to have a good selection of wheels/tires that I like, and they have some of the best customer service reps I've ever dealt with. They ship crazy fast, I ordered a new set of wheels with tires at 10pm on Monday night and they were here this afternoon (Wednesday). I have ordered countless sets of tires and 2 sets of rims from them and always have a good experience.

My only with TireRack problem is the way they ship a new set of rims (see pic). Is this really acceptable? I mean I just spent over $1000 on my order and you can't afford some boxes? ...Just 2 pieces of thin cardboard and some ties.

Granted, my wheels came in great shape. But, the first set of wheels I ordered came damaged, so I was a little pissed off when the delivery guy dropped off my new wheels like this today. I've even purchased wheels off of ebay and the NAM marketplace and people have shipped them much more professionally than this.

Does this bother anyone else or is it just me over reacting?? Feel free to be honest

/rant!

 

My tires arrived like that and that's fine.. but if they were mounted on wheels, yes, I would want them to be in proper wheel boxes.

 

Mine came like that, I was okay with it. Save some trees.

But I guess it all depends on your delivery carrier. I guess if you get someone that is clueless, they might just think it's a set of (really heavy) tires and not take care of them. But boxed wheels could get damaged too.

In any event, inspect carefully. Mine arrived in great condition. GTS-R's.

Did you cut those straps on your own (top wheel/tire)? I'd be pissed if they were cut during delivery, since that would be a sign of shipping abuse.

 

Mine came like that and they were fine. The tire does a fine job of protecting the rim from most directions (if it can support a 2600lb MINI, it can survive shipping). The cardboard protects against scratches.

 

I didn't buy my tires from Tire Rack because they were too expensive for 10 inch tires. For about $70 more I got tires and rims from England and they were fully covered up in their boxes.

 

Mine were fine as well. I have not had any issues with TR. Their service is crazy good. WHile it has not happened to me, I would not see TR not making good on a product that might happen to get damaged.

Enjoy your wheels.

 

I've found TR customer service excellent and product knowledge very good as well. And product fulfillment and shipping met or exceeded promised times.

 

Being a little sensitive it seems. Looks like they are packed just fine. Would you rather they bounce around in a box? I dont see a way to pack them better.

Nik

 

I think that packaging is fine. I think you need to be ready to pay more for the product if you want it in a fancy box. There is labor and materials each way. Not sure which is the least expensive but I have to think the way they shipped is the least expensive.

Everything has a chance to be harmed in shipping but I think the incidence is probably pretty low or they would change the method.

 

That is responsible packaging, and less expensive to you the consumer. The wheel isn't going to be exposed to any damage by the carrier that wouldn't puncture a traditional box too, and the tire much stronger than the cardboard it replaces.

My new wheels just came that way too.

 

That's how my wheels shipped too. One argument I can make about this is the fact that it's much easier for other people to recognize them for what they are. My delivery guy left them in my driveway, out in the open for everyone to see. I think that there's a much greater chance of them getting stolen when packaged like this vs. in boxes. Although that's more of the delivery person's fault and not really Tire Rack.

 

Hey at least you got all 4, UPS initially only dropped off 3 wheels and rims. Had to wait an extra day to get the 4th!

 

Overreacting. This is an industry standard in shipping wheel mounted tires. It's very effective. Boxing it would only cover up the tires and what's the point in that when your tires are meant to roll on the ground. If your wheel gets damaged, it's usually due to improper handling by the freight companies not the method it was packed. Tirerack ships thousands of wheels/tires, I bet the number of damaged wheels are very rare.

 

We would normally ask you to save the packaging, and we have UPS pick it up for an investigation. By the next business day we would be shipping out replacement product, and TireRack would be working it out with the shipper directly.

We don't get shipping damage often with our system, but if it occurs that is how we would handle it. You deserved brand new products, and that's what we get for you at our expense, regardless of the shipper.

 

Packagaing looks standard and perfectly ok to me. Looks exactly what I got from 1010tires.com.

I was very impressed how everything was efficuently packaged

 

BTW, those are not just thin pieces of cardboard. All corrugated cardboard have standards for thickness, impact strength, puncture strength and water absorption. So, packaged with heavy duty strapping and the tires pumped to max air pressure, that is one solid armor!

 

I purchased tires and rims and received them exactly as the OP did. No damage at all.

 

I have no problem with it. I always inspect the treads for signs of damage during shipping and cut the banding over the card board to make sure I don't damage the tires and/or wheels. I've yet to have a problem.

I can understand maybe taking issue if my shipment arrived damaged, but, then again, I've received some boxed items (not Tire Rack...various other vendors) where the packaging was in horrendous condition. All in all, if the shipper is going to mistreat the package(s), they're going to mistreat it.

 

I've never had a problem with the many tires and wheel/tires I've ordered from TR over the years.
Tires and tires mounted on wheels have their own built in cushioning that wards off shipping damage.

 

Mine came that way, and there was no damage whatsoever to my wheels or even to my tires, which were exposed as you see in your photo. I thought it was actually an ingenious way to ship them, especially considering the extremely minimal amount of packing material. It is much less of an environmental impact to ship this way vs. boxes.

It's a good system IMHO...

 

I have been a customer since you had to call on the phone (pre-Interweb) and could not agree more.

 

Thanks for all the responses guys. I wasn't worried about the tires being damaged, I was more worried about the rim itself. It seems like one thin piece of cardboard and such a small amount of padding isn't really a reliable way to ship such a heavy item. And last time I got wheels this way, one was damaged, so I was just expecting to have to deal with that again when I saw these "packages." I have seen so many other wheel vendors ship their wheels in boxes, I'm just not sure why TR decided to do it this way, besides being cheaper.

It's never going to stop me from ordering another set of wheels from TireRack, it just bugs me a little.

Also, I cut those straps before I snapped the pic.

 

+1

When my set arrived, I casually asked the UPS delivery man about the shipping method and he responded by saying he's delivered hundreds with no complaints. He thought it was clever that they came all set-up and ready to mount.

Unfortunately, my order arrived with 12 lug nuts instead of the required 16. A quick after hours call resulted in the remaining four being delivered a day later. Ran them briefly using three per wheel... no problems.

Cheers... M

 

Ordered a set while I was in Germany and they arrived just fine. Besides, as posted, they stand by their product.

 

The tires and rims I ordered from them came in great shape. They did forget to send the lug bolt socket, however. When I called they were apologitic but it took 5 extra days to get the lug bolt socket. Oh well.
I also ordered another wheel and tire for a spare and they even sent me another 4 lug bolts and another socket.
Good company to deal with.