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Cheapest way to ship a large amp?

#21
For my son's business, we often ship to Canada. For something that size I'd seriously look into truck freight, strapped to a pallet (standard pallet is 4' x 4'), contact a customs freight agent and see if they have a recommendation for truck carrier (we use YRC). We also used FedEx - they have certain days of the week when international shipping (US to CAN) is alot cheaper. Call them and ask about it. I dont remember what its called but we often were able to ship large orders (100+ lbs, much bigger than 3x3x3) for a few hundred bucks.
 
#25
coryt said:
hey all,
I live in Canada, and I just bought a large tube head from someone in the states. Packed up, it’s about 3’x3’x3’ and 100lbs. Using online shipping calculators from dhl, fedex, ups, etc. I’m getting quotes of $450-$1200.
Does anybody know a cheaper way to ship across the border?
Thanks
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I live on the west coast in Victoria and had an SVT VR shipped to me from Bass Central in Florida back in 2006. I don't think I remember it costing much more than $150 or $200 in shipping. The box was not 3 feet tall either as the dimensions make a huge difference.
 
#28
superheavyfunk said:
EVERY SINGLE TIME someone has used FedEX or UPS to ship me a pedal (usually less than 1kg), I've been sent a bill for $50-$60 after the fact. They claim that it's Customs that charges this fee, yet every time I've used USPS/CanadaPost and I've had customs charge me taxes, it's never cost more than $22-$26.

I can't imagine what they'd demand for shipping a 100lb amp! I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up with a $300-$500 bill in the end.
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That’s not tax that’s their “brokerage fee”. A charge for them filling out the customs paper work for you. Which takes them all of 0 seconds now that everything is automated.
 
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#29
coryt said:
Thanks for all the replys
crazy how much extra they charge for a few inches
Thanks again
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The first package was 27 cubic feet. The new one is 6 cubic feet. That "few inches" difference means they could now fit four and a half of your new package on the truck instead of just one of the originals.

As for weight, in logistics heavier is almost always cheaper than lighter in the same dimensions. A good example I ran into a few years back was trying to pallet ship empty water drums across country. The freight company quoted me $520 for the full 100# pallet of 14 empty plastic drums. They asked if I could fill them all what would it weigh. I told them around 2300#. The new weight adjusted quote was $120. I damn near fell over. Needless to say, I filled the drums.
 
#31
agedhorse said:
say how do they calculate customs charges on moose sausage anyway?
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I think 5 loonies per moose knuckle is the conversion factor.

electrichead said:
As for weight, in logistics heavier is almost always cheaper than lighter in the same dimensions. A good example I ran into a few years back was trying to pallet ship empty water drums across country. The freight company quoted me $520 for the full 100# pallet of 14 empty plastic drums. They asked if I could fill them all what would it weigh. I told them around 2300#. The new weight adjusted quote was $120. I damn near fell over. Needless to say, I filled the drums.
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I call BS on this. It makes no sense, regardless if you're sending via truck or air, weight COSTS money (aka fuel). Now, if you said they prefer smaller heavier packages over bigger lighter ones because they can fit more in and charge more, THAT would make sense. But the "hey, can you add pointless weight to this and we'll charge you less money" story doesn't pass the smell test.
 
#32
You're packing something very heavy and reasonably fragile... you have to think heavy-duty to do it right.

Best way to pack efficiently while maximizing protection for an amp head is to pack the tubes out into a separate box and then double-box the amp in two double-walled cartons that allow 3-4 inches around each dimension.

The job of the inner box is two-fold: first to spread the load created by the very heavy amp so its bumping around doesn't deliver failure-causing high-pressure points to the outer packing materials, and second to act as the last line of defense against a failure of the outer box. Inside this inner box, the one with the amp, pad snugly with reasonably sturdy dense foam panels (not regular soft styrofoam). Be sure to wrap the head with some sort of visclean beforehand that will keep errant flakes of packing material out of the amp.

Inside the outer box, pad snugly with something that will cushion while not collapsing under the potential forces generated by knocking a heavy amp around. Standard packing materials such as peanuts, foam rubber, regular bubble wrap, and air sacs won't work here, they are too fragile. Think several layers of heavy-duty bubble wrap... the stuff made out of thick plastic. Use several box staples and stranded packing tape along the closures and more tape along the edges.

Please note... boxes should be full enough with padding that some force will be required to fold the box flaps flat and tape them, but not so much force that you crease the flaps. If the flaps simply fall into place with no resistance there is not enough padding and your amp won't be protected. If you can't close the flaps without creasing them, there's too much padding and you're just mashing it all down into a solid mass... which would equate to using bricks for padding. Striking the proper balance is crucial to providing proper support & protection.

Make sure that flaps meet and make a full closure (i.e., no gap) before you tape them down. This ensures the cartons are as structurally sound and resilient as possible. Leaving gaps opens the door for failure of tape joints and for torsion and other compound forces to weaken your cartons during transit.

That's how I package package amp heads, and they've always arrived safely at their new forever homes.
 
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#33
BuffaloBill said:
Right, my first thought was drive down and get it. Maybe too far.

Amp heads are made very sturdy and stand up to rough handling, tell him to ship the tubes separate, and put it in a tight corrugated box with heavy taping, and mark it FRAGILE.
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Oh no, you might want to read up on the new packaging requirements for amplifiers if you want any chance at all of collecting on insurance when something goes bad. The stuff gets handled roughly, sheet metal gets bent when the packages take a tumble. 2" of foam for electronic products is now the norm (this is the new UPS rules, IIRC), each carrier is different.
 
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#34
Yeah, don't be like the guy I bought an amp from, who for want of 5 or 10 bucks worth of bubble wrap (or even just a bunch of packing paper or anything) to pack the amp firmly into the box (instead of leaving it sliding around inside), ended up refunding me $60 for the inevitable shipping damage (they clearly dropped it, but if it had been packed well it likely would have been fine), and I have a damaged amp, instead of the pristine (out of production) one I bought. Stupid.
 
#35
Bubble wrap is not stout enough for a tube amp, no way. Plank foam (we use a foam in place system) or something like that would be suitable. Bubble wrap would go "splat" on the first tumble. Peanuts are no longer an acceptable packaging medium either.

Shipping damage is usually preventable.
 
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#36
All these Americans speculating about Canadian shipping policies is very cute indeed.

There are three types of fees possible for inbound Canada freight. Tax, duty, and brokerage fee. Every service is required to charge tax and duty. It varies per province and by items sometimes, but usually amounts to 10-15% of the item’s value.

Where they really get you is the brokerage fee. Only couriers (like FedEx and UPS) charge this fee. They charge it because they maintain brokerage clearing houses at the border, and they charge for this service. It can amount to more than the cost of small items, and tally in the hundreds for larger items. Items that ship USPS, will terminate with Canada Post, which does not have a broker at the border, therefore doesn’t charge this fee.

It will always cost the purchaser less if U.S. shippers would use USPS, rather than a courier.
 
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#37
Omega Monkey said:
I call BS on this. It makes no sense, regardless if you're sending via truck or air, weight COSTS money (aka fuel). Now, if you said they prefer smaller heavier packages over bigger lighter ones because they can fit more in and charge more, THAT would make sense. But the "hey, can you add pointless weight to this and we'll charge you less money" story doesn't pass the smell test.
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"Weight
Freight companies love heavy stuff. The rates are designed so that the heavier a shipment, the lower the price paid per hundred pounds. When the weight of LTL freight rises and nears the lowest level in the next-highest category, the shipment will be rated at the lowest weight class and rate in that section.

Density
Density is defined as weight/volume. A higher density item will weigh more and take less space. Freight companies love this. A pallet of bricks and a crate of ping-pong balls may take the same space (volume) but will not weigh anywhere close to each other (density.) Shippers can easily see how density affects LTL freight pricing."

How LTL Freight Price is Calculated

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#39
I just had a pair of car seats shipped cross-country (San Francisco to New Jersey). The seller used ForwardAir, which ships bulky items in the cargo hold of planes. It was a huge, 300 lbs box (maybe 5’ by 3’ by 3’) on a wooden pallet. Cost $250 all in, which is much less than regular shipping with FedEx Ground or whatever.

The downside is you need to live close enough to an airport that they work with. And you have to pick it up yourself from their depot, so you must have the means to deal with a pallet. If you don’t have a van or something that they can forklift it into, then it might not work.

Anyway, it’s something to consider.
 
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#40
dreamadream99 said:
Where they really get you is the brokerage fee. Only couriers (like FedEx and UPS) charge this fee. They charge it because they maintain brokerage clearing houses at the border, and they charge for this service. It can amount to more than the cost of small items, and tally in the hundreds for larger items. Items that ship USPS, will terminate with Canada Post, which does not have a broker at the border, therefore doesn’t charge this fee.
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I discovered this years ago when I used to live in Montreal. Ordered an exhaust system for my Lancer Evolution VIII from a shop in Massachusetts. Asked them to ship using USPS to avoid brokerage fees. Explained this to them. They agreed. Then, not only did they ship UPS ... but they broke the exhaust into 3 components and shipped in 3 separate boxes. So I was hit with 3 brokerage fees of maybe $60 each.

I refused the shipment and had it returned to the depot near the airport. Picked it up in person and went through the customs declaration myself. Saved a couple of hundred bucks, but lost the better part of a day. It’s a lose-lose.
 

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