Moderators MrKnobs Posted March 8, 2007 Moderators Share Posted March 8, 2007 ....and I'm not sure what the best way to ship it might be. It's a Larson Davis 3000+ analyzer, physically about 18" x 8" x 2", weighs maybe 12lbs. I need to insure it for full replacement value, which is around $10k. FedEx will do it, of course, but I only have one arm and leg left after the last time they had their way with me. Anyone have any positive experience with one of the other carriers that might bear on this problem? Sending the box from Austin to Provo. Thanks! Terry D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 Terry, Sometimes shipping from a UPS store and having them pack it and insure it makes for easier claim if something goes wrong. When I ship fragile stuff, it gets well wrapped in bubble wrap (3 or 4 layers, then boxed, then put into another box with about 2 " of crushed newspaper all around. It's pretty tough for them to deny a claim packed like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 Andy's way works but also box within a box plus with what Andy says will guarantee safe shipping I sell a lot on eBay trust me it takes months for the claim to be reimbursed. And sticker the hell out of it with this side up only handle with care fragile glass product even though it not glass that way they won't sling the {censored} out of it. I used to work for the UPSP and trust me we threw freight around as fast as we could to keep up with the quota we had to meet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MrKnobs Posted March 8, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted March 8, 2007 Thanks. I'm shut down at the day job while this box is back to the shop for recertification, not to mention the paperwork nightmare that would happen if it somehow got lost or crushed and I had to get approval to purchase a new one. I'll never understand why a sponsor will approve a million dollar research project with 5 expensive people working on it, then deny permission to buy a spare for an item that can shut all the work down until it's replaced. So what carriers do you guys like best for reliable delivery of an important item? FedEx? UPS? Airborne? That new outfit (name eludes me)? Terry D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 So what carriers do you guys like best for reliable delivery of an important item? FedEx? UPS? Airborne? That new outfit (name eludes me)? FedEx Express (Air) seems to be as good as any. Andy's advice about taking an expensive item to the customer service counter is good. I suggest taking it to the parcel service of your choice, and explain to them: 1) This is $10K worth of sensitive electronic stuff.2) It absolutely has to get to the destination in perfect condition. Ask them to inspect the packaging and paperwork. It's my experience that if they put their stamp of approval on it, then if there is a problem, it's their problem. Take it to the terminal, not some convenience service in a strip mall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 And sticker the hell out of it with this side up only handle with care fragile glass product even though it not glass that way they won't sling the {censored} out of it. We affectionately refer to those as "kick me stickers". I've found they're meaningless. I once shipped a collectable neon beer sign (to myself)... packed the daylights out of the sign, and plastered the box with "Fragile Glass" stickers. Not only did the shipping carton look like it was bulldozed from LA to here, but it looked like somebody stuck a tire iron through the box... bullseye right through the absolute center of one of those stickers. Needless to say, the neon beer sign looked like a bag of potato chips that had been drove over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 My method is indeed a box within a box, each box seperated from each other with crushed newspaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashivraj Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 Fly it there yourself...? AS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarharv52 Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I used to work for a freight company.We always joked that fragile means we throw it underhand instead of overhand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MRkeys Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 Thanks. I'm shut down at the day job while this box is back to the shop for recertification, not to mention the paperwork nightmare that would happen if it somehow got lost or crushed and I had to get approval to purchase a new one. I'll never understand why a sponsor will approve a million dollar research project with 5 expensive people working on it, then deny permission to buy a spare for an item that can shut all the work down until it's replaced. So what carriers do you guys like best for reliable delivery of an important item? FedEx? UPS? Airborne? That new outfit (name eludes me)? Terry D. The new one is DHL. The old one is USPS that could handle it with Registered Mail. Definately double box and go overboard with the packaging. It WILL get thrown (or worse) with any one that you choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tony S. Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 Seems I remember hearing good things on one of the live sound forums about http://www.forwardair.com but I have no experience with them. They have an office in Austin but none in Provo, the nearest is SLC.Maybe look into something like a private courier service?? Good luck! Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 For the right price, I'll drive it there personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MrKnobs Posted March 9, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted March 9, 2007 Fly it there yourself...? AS This is not such a bad idea. I could probably get my sponsors to sign off on this. Probably they wouldn't be OK with me staying there on their dime for the ten days the shop says it'll take to turn it around. Terry D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 9, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Make the item a pallet load. It can't be thrown, and it'll have to be handled with a pallet jack or forklift. This has it's own set of dangers, but there's not going to be a foolproof shipping method....I worked for a shipper, and believe me, they have better fools coming along every day.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 Make the item a pallet load. It can't be thrown, and it'll have to be handled with a pallet jack or forklift. This has it's own set of dangers, but there's not going to be a foolproof shipping method....I worked for a shipper, and believe me, they have better fools coming along every day.... and shrink-wrap the snot out of it, label with "do not break-down pallet and do not stack anything on the pallet." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 9, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 and shrink-wrap the snot out of it, label with "do not break-down pallet and do not stack anything on the pallet." The best way to accomplish this is to make the top slanted so nothing will stay on if the labels are ignored. If the box is small use plenty of banding from the top out to the pallet edges to basically form a pyramid, and shrink wrap over/around the banding entombing the whole mess to keep them from 'sharing' the empty pallet space by small boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 and shrink-wrap the snot out of it, label with "do not break-down pallet and do not stack anything on the pallet." right... but if they can stack something on top of it, then it's possibly less likely to arrive crashed over in it's side with the lower 1/4 of the palletized load missing. Yellow Freight's still "looking" for the 200 and some odd pounds of stuff that somehow disappeared from the lower 1/3 of my pallet load of stuff I sent to Namm. Maybe they'll find it in-time for next year's Namm. I did get a smile out of my UPS driver the other day when he delivered another football shaped "box"... and as usual... I looked at it laying on my shop bench and mused: "I wonder what it WAS?" Then I asked him if UPS has implemented a long range cannon in their transportation system... just load the package in... aim it for the destination and pull the trigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 9, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 right... but if they can stack something on top of it, then it's possibly less likely to arrive crashed over in it's side with the lower 1/4 of the palletized load missing. Yellow Freight's still "looking" for the 200 and some odd pounds of stuff that somehow disappeared from the lower 1/3 of my pallet load of stuff I sent to Namm. Maybe they'll find it in-time for next year's Namm. I did get a smile out of my UPS driver the other day when he delivered another football shaped "box"... and as usual... I looked at it laying on my shop bench and mused: "I wonder what it WAS?" Then I asked him if UPS has implemented a long range cannon in their transportation system... just load the package in... aim it for the destination and pull the trigger. Yeah, he smiled because he used that box as a wheel chock when he parked on a hill..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 right... but if they can stack something on top of it, then it's possibly less likely to arrive crashed over in it's side with the lower 1/4 of the palletized load missing. Yellow Freight's still "looking" for the 200 and some odd pounds of stuff that somehow disappeared from the lower 1/3 of my pallet load of stuff I sent to Namm. Maybe they'll find it in-time for next year's Namm. They never found it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 They never found it??? Shocking huh? Now what use would anyone have for a Dell Latitude D600laptop, a 32" LCD display, and mounting hardware in road trunks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 New set-up for the union's break room? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IsildursBane Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 I used to work for a freight company.We always joked that fragile means we throw it underhand instead of overhand. Our UPS guy has a nice skyhook. -Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 New set-up for the union's break room? Yea... but the Superbowl is over... so maybe they'll "find" it now? Maybe they did find it... and it's sitting in my booth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.