Sellers and shipping costs question...

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johnpace2

johnpace2

Well-known member
I just shipped a 50 watt Marshall using the dual box method. I had the inside box already and some extra bubble wrap. I wrapped the shit out of the head, slipped it inside the inner box.

I then purchased a bigger box from UPS for $25 and lined that with 2 inches of foam boards all around. The foam was $14. The shipping cost for that huge box was $71.

All in, it cost me $110 to ship this amp to a location only 350 miles away. :cry: I listed $50 in the ad for shipping, so I ate the rest, but my perception is that buyers don't seem to want to pay to ship things correctly, yet I'm still responsible for getting the amp there in one piece. I guess I just need to raise the price of the amp to compensate.

There has to be a better source for boxes out there!

What do you guys do?
 
Oh, and this is by no means an attempt to call out any of my buyers. I agreed to the terms and I just want to try to do this sensibly in the future.
 
mine average 80 bucks I double box, use the nice corner foams and bubble wrap. the inside box is also bubble wrapped before sticking it in the next.

all in all $80 average US.
 
Thanks Jerry. Where do you get acceptable boxes? I try to get them from guitar center, but if you double box, that won't work since your odds of finding the right boxes are slim.
 
$25 for a box? Dam! I was pissed when I paid $8 for one at Staples. You can get them from Uline or what I do is get moving boxes from Home Depot. They are a buck or two each. get a decent tape gun and good packing tape too. The boxes come flat and can be trimmed before you "build" the box. Trim it to the right size. Then I wrap the amp in bubble wrap real good. Make the next box big enough so you have 4-6 inches of space around the first box. I save all the packing supplies from orders we get in at work I have a giant box of peanuts,plus various foam corners, air bags,foam sheets ect.
Add peanuts to the first box,then add the box with the amp in it then fill the box the rest of the way with peanuts. I usually add the scrap cardboard that I have from trimming the boxes on the ends before I seal it up. And don't skimp on the tape. I usually use close to a whole roll. The most important thing is when you shake the box,nothing moves around. It should be tight in there. I never paid more than $50 to ship an amp. DON'T go to the UPS store. They will rape you. I ship from either a FedEx or UPS depot. Sometimes they want to inspect the packing but once they see it's double boxed they are cool with it. The last two amps I shipped were $50 or under,and both made it in perfect shape and both guys told me the pack job was excellent,one guy suggested i give amp packing lessons. :) :)
 
when lopoline send me a box with a headshell in it I use that along with the cool corner peices they send me. then I wrap that bow in bubble and get another wardrobe box from Uhual. 11 bucks its huge so I fold it into itself.. I think even if asshole fedex guy through it over a fence it would survive,.
 
Asshole fedex guy has been promoted to Douche' de Jour at UPS canada. In three days he should be CEO.
 
Got to tractor dealerships...tractor parts get shipped inside some of the best cardboard boxes made by man. For padding, go to the purchasing/receiving department of a hosptial or large medical clinic. They throw away miles of bubble wrap used to ship medical supplies each week...

...and it's all free!
 
BrokenFusion":uvvy9zhz said:
$25 for a box? Dam! I was pissed when I paid $8 for one at Staples. You can get them from Uline or what I do is get moving boxes from Home Depot. They are a buck or two each. get a decent tape gun and good packing tape too. The boxes come flat and can be trimmed before you "build" the box. Trim it to the right size. Then I wrap the amp in bubble wrap real good. Make the next box big enough so you have 4-6 inches of space around the first box. I save all the packing supplies from orders we get in at work I have a giant box of peanuts,plus various foam corners, air bags,foam sheets ect.
Add peanuts to the first box,then add the box with the amp in it then fill the box the rest of the way with peanuts. I usually add the scrap cardboard that I have from trimming the boxes on the ends before I seal it up. And don't skimp on the tape. I usually use close to a whole roll. The most important thing is when you shake the box,nothing moves around. It should be tight in there. I never paid more than $50 to ship an amp. DON'T go to the UPS store. They will rape you. I ship from either a FedEx or UPS depot. Sometimes they want to inspect the packing but once they see it's double boxed they are cool with it. The last two amps I shipped were $50 or under,and both made it in perfect shape and both guys told me the pack job was excellent,one guy suggested i give amp packing lessons. :) :)
Click to expand...


The shipping on boxes from ULINE is $55. I checked and they have to ship them freight. I'll check Home Depot again, but I never saw any boxes that were big enough. Uhaul boxes are flimsy as well.
 
BackCrack":1cjwyapm said:
Got to tractor dealerships...tractor parts get shipped inside some of the best cardboard boxes made by man. For padding, go to the purchasing/receiving department of a hosptial or large medical clinic. They throw away miles of bubble wrap used to ship medical supplies each week...

...and it's all free!
Click to expand...

I guess I have to get creative. I live in right outside Washington DC so not a lot of tractor dealerships around. :D
 
One amp in, one amp out around here. I try to keep all the boxes and shipping material. The foam corners and frames are great, as are those 3M expanding foam things you can buy. Usually what I do though is buy sheets of 1 1/2" styrofoam. 3" all the way around a bubble wrapped head and you are good to go. Just don't send me an amp in a sea of packing peanuts !!!

Cab boxes are great too as they are XXH. Cut them down on the height. I ship a lot of amps in these. Some are airborne as we speak........

Steve
 
I use two 16x16x16 to create a 32x16x16 weaved together to make my inner box and two 18x18x18 to create a 36x18x18 outer box. Bubble wrap amp, into the inner box. Bubble wrap the innerbox and insert into outer box. Total about $15 worth of packing material.
 
U-Haul has some pretty big boxes that will work and they are not that expensive.
 
I've shipped my fair share of packages, anytime i pay for shipping i always tell the user to let me know what i owe them for packaging materials and charge it - i dont mind if someone takes the extra effort to insure it arrives safely.

overthemountain did the same thing when i shipped him my 4x12 cabinet - he offered to pay for the extra packaging supplies but i ate them in that i didnt need the extra money.

IMHO its worth not skimping on.
 
Part of the reason I cut back on the gear-go-round was the soft used market and not wanting to deal with shipping.

If/when the market bounces back to comfortably have the (full) shipping costs built into the price I might get back into it.
 
Of the couple of times that I have had to deal with I have made my own boxes. I usually find the heavy cardboard at HVAC or Truck shell dealers. We have a fair amount of those around here and the HVAC dealers also have leftover 1/2" to 1" thick dense foam also. I build the box so the flaps over lap and meet in the center like standard shipping boxes. In the case of amps I would use the 1" foam on the bottom and 1/2" on the sides on the inner box. Once I get things cut and fitted the way I want them to, I do the box in the box with foam or cardboard 1/2" padding to keep things tight. I figure I build in a 3/4"+ crush zone on all the corners
 
I'm in Toronto, and whenever I sell an amp head to a Yankee friend here on RT, it costs me over $200 to get it to them.

I get my packing supplies at a local store that specializes in shipping/packing supplies. They're not cheap, but I've looked everywhere and the fact of the matter is, it's not cheap to buy new packing supplies like boxes, bubble wrap and peanuts.

Cost typically is:
* Outer box = $15
* Inner box = $8
* Styrofoam insulation = $20
* Bubble wrap = $12
* Peanuts = $10
* Tape = $3
TOTAL PACKING SUPPLIES = $68

Then, to ship via UPS from Canada to the U.S. will run over $150.

Painful?.....Yes. But it gets the gear where it needs to go in good shape and eliminates the headaches involved in shipping claims and disgruntled buyers.

If someone says they can ship a cabinet, head, or any other large item to you for $50 - even within the CONUS - they are likely either uninformed or they intend to pack the parcel in a less than ideal manner for shipping heavy electronics.
 
Oh, and I ALWAYS eat some of the cost. Usually all of the packing supplies cost ($70) + around a third of the shipping cost ($50).

Price your gear accordingly.....
 
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