2. speakers
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SHIPPING speakers?

Y’all, HOW do you ship speakers that you have sold?

I just a like-new pair of Vandersteen Treo CTs to replace my super clean Vandy 2CEs. The DILEMMA is shipping them! I have listed them online, and got a query from WI who asked me to check on shipping them from here in WA. I called Vandersteen and they say they ship all their speakers strapped to pallets, with the boxes in vertical orientation. They use freight companies including FedEx Freight, but told me nightmare stories of speakers getting damaged in transit, including a new pair of Sevens ($70K) that a forklift driver punched a hole through with the fork on his machine. WTH? They said that their price increases in the last 2 years are in large part because of big increases in shipping costs.

I called FedEx, and was told that the closest freight office is 2 hours from me, and the speakers have to be dropped off already on a pallet, ready to go. That’s 200 lbs of speakers! I have no way to do this—no van or pickup truck, nor a forklift. Plus, I can imagine that if something goes wrong and the speakers are damaged, they will weasel out of it saying that I packed them on the pallet and surely didn’t do it correctly.

I got a freight quote online from another LTL freight company and it was $800! For a $2200 pair of speakers. So, I am trying to sell them locally, within a 4-5 hour drive (I will deliver or meet halfway).

I don’t ship gear often, especially speakers, and it’s a real hassle for larger speakers. Someone I know who builds great amps etc (you’d know his name) bought a used pair of big Borresens (250 lbs each iirc) and rented a van and drove from the Midwest to TX to get them, because shipping was going to be a small fortune.

Thanks.

patrickdowns

Showing 3 responses by bjesien

bjesien
1,390 posts
 

Above craigslist, facebook marketplace could be good. TMR audio might buy them but won’t pay much. Heavy speakers really are a pain but normally worth it until you sell.

bjesien
1,390 posts
 

If UPS packs them expect them to be damaged. Make sure explain the value and how both speakers need to arrive undamaged. I've in the past shipped expensive speakers and it's risky.

Drop the price, sell locally. Offer to drive them to the nearest city Drop the price sell locally, chalk it up to a loss and move on. If not you might end up paying in your time and stress level.

bjesien
1,390 posts
 

I've shipped a ton of stuff. The one time I let UPS pack an amp it got smashed. It was a heavy class A integrated and they didn't protect it the way I would have, but like mentioned above, they made good on it.

I can only imagine over time the rules will change so verify. Just make sure you document the ad (with value), take good before photos of the item, really make sure UPS knows the stakes and value, get a screen shot of Paypal transfer or payment, pray.

I'd go one step further and make sure the buyer is willing to work with you if the item does get damaged. Perhaps pull that email aside because it's happened to me maybe 5% of the time. You can usually smell it.

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