Advice for Shipping Synths

[ColorForm2113]

So my voyager is sick (2nd oscillator is dead) and i have to send it back to moog. i have an ata case and the shipping box the case came in, but i have never had to ship something this big. What is typically the most reliable and affordable method of shipping in the United States?
USPS? UPS? FedEx? DHL? Other?
it makes me nervous sending this out, i actually drove to sweetwater (6 hours round trip plus the time spent in sweetwater) to get it. i understand they ship hundreds, maybe thousands of synths a year with little issue, but still shes my baby

Thanks

[yorgatron]

I sent someone on this forum a Siel DK600 using UPS Pack and Ship service, with insurance. cost me $223.11 and THEY BROKE IT LIKE THE INCOMPETENT MORONS I ALWAYS KNEW THEY WERE.

that was August, and I'm still trying to get them to pay up.

[ColorForm2113]

oh s**t...ok well that one for the anyone but UPS column. Any other horror stories/positive experiences (i was going to write happy endings, but i figured you guys would take that to the gutter lol)

[Aaron2]

Don't use UPS. All UPS Stores (at least as far as I know) are franchised. That means it's generally a mom-and-pop operation, and the employees there range from expert packers (if you're lucky) to total morons.

So, go to FedEx instead. Those are all company-owned stores, which means everyone there is a FedEx employee. In my experience, they're well trained and generally do a good job packing.

Plus, they don't charge as much for packing as UPS franchised locations. Why? Because the franchisee doesn't make a dime on shipping -- UPS gets all of the revenue from that. But they do make money on their packing services and packing materials, so they tend to charge out the a*s for them.

By the way, I had an experience similar to yorgatron's. I shipped an Italian combo organ to some guy in San Francisco, and even though it was in its own case, UPS still managed to f**k it up. So avoid UPS if you care about your instrument.

[ColorForm2113]

wow didnt know that about the ups stores, thanks for the tips. Sorry about your bad experiences though

[Z]

I ship via UPS all the time and never had anything damaged. However, I do pack properly. Use at least 2 layers of 1" round bubble bubblewrap. Place bubblewrapped item in box slightly larger than the wrapped item and fill the void with styrofoam peanuts, more bubble wrap or wadded up paper.

I never use UPS Stores or any other sort of packing service. Since these places do not make much money on shipping, they rape you on the packing costs. I reuse packing material on stuff I've bought.

[boreg]

I reuse packing material on stuff I've bought.

[silikon]

So, go to FedEx instead. Those are all company-owned stores, which means everyone there is a FedEx employee.

And this immediately equates to everyone having advanced degrees in packaging? I don't follow your logic at all.

I've been shipping "stuff" for quite some time. I've used USPS, FedEx, DHL, UPS, and a few other options (while living in the UK and Europe). Everything -- Everything I've shipped out in the last 4 years has been through a UPS store.

I know of zero synths or computers or anything else I've shipped to arrive any less than in the exact same fashion it was shipped. I don't have the space nor storage facilities to keep tons of packing material around; It makes financial sense to pay the UPS Store to pack and ship the things I have shipped.

When you're shipping synths of any value, you're going to insure it, right? Well, if you follow that practice, then you best believe the store you shipped it from will most likely over-pack the synth in their best interests to avoid having to take the loss and penalties for the insurance claim; If a franchise store shows that they ship alot of packages and have many insurance claims, I would venture a guess that UPS will come down on them or pull their franchise license altogether. I expect a company-owned store will be similarly penalized.

There are three things I consider 'the cost of trading/doing business' (and often times I end up paying for it, myself)-- Insurance, Packaging and Shipping. Yes, it's more costly to insure and have 'professionally' packed. The upside is that the stores doing the packaging will likely take great care in packing your items because the impact of having multiple insurance claims to their franchise can be disastrous (as stated above), not to mention the negative publicity something like that could drum up.

Again, I use a UPS store nearby my residence solely. After a few times of bringing synths and other musical items, I got to be on first name terms with the owner. Nowadays, it's a common occurrence to hear things like "cut you a break on packing" and things like that.

I could (if I had the storage space and actual working space) do my own packaging; but I don't...and I don't know that I would do so even if I did have the space; I like very much the idea of having another entity responsible for the care and proper handling of the things I ship for one reason: they are now responsible for it's disposition and any financial loss as a result.

Any half-competent person knows this and will treat your machines with proper reverence (unless it's a CS-01 or a Poly 800, which should immediately get thrown in front of the train).

[Automatic Gainsay]

I used to ship a lot of synths. I used this recipe: Wrap the synth in several layers of large bubblewrap. Wrap that tightly in cardboard. Get or make a larger, solid box that is at least six inches larger on all sides than the box you've made. Put the smaller box in the larger box, and surround the smaller box with popcorn. Tape the h**l out of the corners and seams of the outer box, including some tape on the long flat pieces so that if the box is punctured, it is less likely to bleed popcorn.

For guidance: The size of the outer box depends upon the weight of the inner box. You should be able to drop the whole thing, when finished, from carrying height without fear of damaging the synth.

Does that sound time consuming, expensive, and unpleasant? Yep. That's why so many synths arrive broken.

I used to keep all of the cardboard, popcorn, and bubblewrap I would encounter. It made those materials free. You can also find them at stores which sell things that are shipped to the store with those things. I spent a lot of time fishing cardboard out of music store recycling bins.

The worst was safely packing a Korg PS-3100.

[yorgatron]

By the way, I had an experience similar to yorgatron's. I shipped an Italian combo organ to some guy in San Francisco, and even though it was in its own case, UPS still managed to f**k it up. So avoid UPS if you care about your instrument.

in the interest of being fair, the synth I got in trade (Moog Opus 3) was also sent using UPS Pack & Ship and arrived in good condition and fully functional.

it was covered in lots of bubble-wrap and then placed in an oversized box which was then filled with Styrofoam peanuts, which is a good thing, since the UPS driver was flipping it end-over-end up the stairs of my apartment building.

[ColorForm2113]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I am going to be sending it back in a flight case with the original shipping box for the flight case but I think I might still pad the outside with boxes from work and lots of tape.

[Z]

I reuse packing material on stuff I've bought.

Cuz I know my s**t... I've been reselling gear since the early 90s when you could find $50 TB-303s at pawn shops.

I am going to be sending it back in a flight case with the original shipping box for the flight case

If you ever ship anything in a hard case, be sure the item is SNUG and not loose. Some bonehead I bought my OB-X from shipped it in a case but was loose and one of the pressed wood and cheeks got busted.

If you can wrap the synth in one layer of bubble wrap before putting it in the case, that would be ideal.


Regarding insurance: Buying insurance is the biggest racket out there. If you item is packaged properly, it won't get damaged. If an item is improperly packaged and gets damaged, they won't pay the claim. I almost never insure my shipments. On really expensive items, I'll opt to insure for about 1/3 its value to pay for repairs just in case. I recently sold an OB-8 on eBay for $2700 and only insured it for a grand. It made it to its destination safe and sound as I expected.

[ColorForm2113]

If you ever ship anything in a hard case, be sure the item is SNUG and not loose. Some bonehead I bought my OB-X from shipped it in a case but was loose and one of the pressed wood and cheeks got busted.

If you can wrap the synth in one layer of bubble wrap before putting it in the case, that would be ideal.

i dont think i could fit bubble around it but i could probably get some sheets of foam in there, the fabricy kind not the squeaky firm stuff that crumbles apart and gets all over the place

[Z]

With synths, the main thing to worry about are the sides. If shipping in the case, make sure the sides are snug. If wrapping in bubblewrap, add some extra bubble wrap on the sides.

Last summer, I made a video on how to ship rack gear and have had requests to make a video on shipping a synth. I plan to do so, but it seems that every time I do sell a synth to ship, I'm in a rush to get it shipped out.

[GuyaGuy]

Regarding insurance: Buying insurance is the biggest racket out there. If you item is packaged properly, it won't get damaged.

It may not get damaged if packers and delivery men handle it normally. But they don't. They sometimes throw packages, deliberately drop heavy off the back of trucks, and pack trucks so tight so as to crush packages. But the carrier won't accept responsibility for damages they caused unless you packed things properly AND paid for insurance. Then there's losing items...Again, no responsibility unless the item is insured. ("Oh you want us to actually deliver it? That costs extra...") Insurance for retail items is often a racket but for shipping expensive gear it's worth the extra $12 to me--or using FedEx, with whom insurance is included in the price.