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Shipping. Hard Lesson.

I'm selling some high end audio gear for the estate of a relative who passed away. I've never done this before. I'm using C's List, eBay and A'gon. It has been a lot of work and not a lot of fun.

Tons of scammers on C's list but excellent experience selling to a local audiophile.

Got a sale pending here at A'gon. Not too bad.

One good experience on eBay.

But then the Bryston 9B SST2 amp sold on eBay. I had actually about decided to purchase it myself when it sold via eBay. Super nice, experienced buyer.

Took the amp to UPS. It weighs 65 pounds. Asked them to double box and was ready to pay the price but the clerk convinced me that there was no need. They would wrap it well and the box she chose was supposed to handle 85 pounds.

Well, it gets to the buyer and he sends me a picture and it looks like the box has rolled down a mountain. The handles are broken off of the amp and it is dinged all up. Have no idea if it works or not. I'm not sure double boxing would have mattered in this case.

We insured it for the price paid. Buyer was very understanding but disappointed of course. I will get paid (by UPS) what I was going to get paid anyway but both the buyer and I commiserated over a fine piece of equipment destroyed. Or at least marred.

Anyway, sorry about the long sad sop story but I will probably have other gear to ship in the near future possible even the gorgeous Aerial Acoustics 5Ts which, even thought they are bookshelf speakers, are large and heavy.

So all of this is basically to ask: Who do you use for shipping large heavy delicate audio gear?
n80
clearthinker's avatar
clearthinker
1,582 posts
 
ALWAYS keep the manufacturer's original packaging with the piece.
The manufacturer had the packaging developed and proved fit for purpose and shipped hundreds of pieced to prove it.
I have original packaging for pieces I bought in the 1980s.  Kept in a very dry place.

Many amps are very heavy.  When the package is thrown around the weight will generate large forces against any packaging.  No use packing a 200lb amp in cardboard, even three-box.  It will smash it up if (when) handled carelessly.

My Krell KRS200s are 185lb a side and came in huge reinforced wooden shipping crates lined with foam.  It's tough but I've stored them since 1989.  They have been used more than once, for servicing and then a full rebuild with Absolute Sounds.

One good thing about very heavy amps; shippers aren't big or strong enough to throw them around!!
ejr1953
900 posts
 
We did an "out of state" move in June.  When the movers were about to grab my power amp (110#), speakers (122# each), and subwoofers (133# each) I warned them, so they wouldn't hurt themselves, and I was amazed at how easy it was to handle these items, all in their factory cartons.

Fortunately, I was able to join the movers at both ends of the move, to "supervise" the loading and unloading.
cobra55
4 posts
 
UPS trashed a pair of new $5000 pair of Revel F208 speakers I had ordered.The boxes they came in looks like a fork lift had pierced the box, and the top of one was totally crushed in, including speaker top.
The UPS guy was dragging and dropping the speakers out of the truck, and when I mentioned to him that each of those boxes was worth $2500 he just shrugged.  He totally freaked out when I started videoing the whole fiasco and tried hiding his face.
When UPS came back to pick up the damaged speakers, they asked who delivered them. Apparently this guy is known to them as someone who shouldn't be working for the company.Concerning boxing of the speakers, I have never seen an expensive piece of equipment so poorly packaged.  The cardboard was very thin, which led to much of the damage.  Ended  up ordering another pair through a different vendor and insisted they ship Fed X.Bottom line, double box and avoid UPS!
tslea
5 posts
 
I was reading this thread when FedEx pulled up with my new cd transport. I was shocked to see it was not double boxed. Just slapped a label on the factory box and sent it out. The first thing I noticed was one of the bottom flaps had come completely unsealed. Fortunately the unit itself was not damaged. The rest of the box looked like it had been run over. This was from a supposedly reputable dealer. I sent them a message and they apologized but said they send merchandise out the way it came in. If I had known this beforehand I would not have purchased from this dealer. 
cid1945
59 posts
 
I was a courier for 20 years and have seen things that most people would not believe as far as how items are packed for shipping and how they are handled. I treated  my packages  as if they were my own. But there are a lot of handlers out there who just don't care. And to be fair there are a lot of shippers who do a very poor job of packing. It doesn't matter who you use, its the people they hire and how they treat the package. 
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