Shipping tube amps - large, heavy, fragile. How do I get them there in one piece?

[aschen]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

US cartage companies are known around the world as the most brutal carriers for shipping, incurring more damage than anywhere else. Since we have numerous small, heavy & expensive products our solution is to skid them for shipping. Package the tubes separately & strap the cartons to a skid with 'do not pile' signs on the skid. It won't be cheap but they will arrive intact most times.

Ian

Yeah I think you need to pack them up in the crates and strap them to a pallet, and use a frieghting company. You could try U ship as well

I also think audiogon is the place for this sort of thing

I struggled with this just a few months ago, I bought I gigantic set of speakers used (dynaudio Confidence C4). I searched the interwebs for a good way to ship them, but there were so many horror stories I actually rented a uhaul and drove the 850 miles my self to pick them up. I was headed that way anyways but it was still a gigantic PITA

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by LeeH

The tubes cost $525/pair, so they'll definitely get special handling! I have the original box and packing material for them.

LOL that makes it really easy to hear the capacitance changes in your $1000 cables.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I don't think a grossly inflated declared value would end well for the shipper.

Correct, the first thing they will ask for is documentation of the value.

Having recently pushed through a damage claim on a FedEx shipment, I can say with confidence that the person that handles your claim may be have the IQ of a Labrador (no offense to Labradors). Facts don't matter. It took me three weeks to get them to accept responsibility and I had to escalate the claim to a higher level. I documented the entire shipping process out the wazoo (lots of glossy color photographs of every stage of the packaging), packed the box better than any box ever got packed and in the end, the first ***** made a completely arbitrary decision that they were not in the wrong. No counter argument, no facts, just "you're SOL."

As for the recommendation for U-ship, understand that anybody can sign up to ship anything for them and they don't vet their "shippers" at all. It's like handing a box to a random guy on the street, giving him a few hundred in cash with an address written on a piece of paper and asking him to deliver your package.

Might work, might not.

JR

[aschen]

yeah definitely not recommending U-ship per se but it something to consider.


The shippers are vetted by user feedback, If you trust that rating system. My friend has had good luck but as I said It came back to "do it yourself" for me

I am starting to think monitor speakers and small euro integrated amp enthusiasts are on to something!

[Rick Lee]

My claim with FedEx was as smooth as silk. But I had them dead to rights with lots of documentation and a cooperative eBay buyer. They actually overpaid me, shipped it back to me gratis and I got the amp repaired by its designer, who is a friend and local to me. I ended up with a free $2000 amp and an extra $63 in my pocket when all was said and done.

[imcarthur]

We no longer insure with any carrier. The expense combined with endless employee hours chasing claims which the carriers fight tooth and nail to deny due to a never ending list of prerequisites made it uneconomical. We eat damage now.

Ian