How the hell does anyone ship internationally? I'm trying to sell a snare drum. A fella in New Zealand asked how much to ship. Roughly a 30" cube, weighing 18lbs or so, would cost $900 to ship UPS, or $875 via Fed Ex. USPS said the package was too big. How do people do it? Nobodys going to pay that for a 400 dollar snare drum! I know people do it.
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International shipping. Hows it done?
- Thread starter Slapstyle
- Start date
I use this Invalid Link Removed. Cost becomes that plus what it costs to get to Portand Oregon.
You might be surprised what New Zealanders will pay for shipping on exotic instruments. Our music distribution is totally unaffected by local competition.
In this case, wth is with the 30'' cube to hold a snare drum? If it was packed reasonably you could get under youshop 3m length plus girth maximum. I know snare drums are a bit delicate. Yes, there would be risk of destruction, but only if something really bad was done to mangle the packaging.
You might be surprised what New Zealanders will pay for shipping on exotic instruments. Our music distribution is totally unaffected by local competition.
In this case, wth is with the 30'' cube to hold a snare drum? If it was packed reasonably you could get under youshop 3m length plus girth maximum. I know snare drums are a bit delicate. Yes, there would be risk of destruction, but only if something really bad was done to mangle the packaging.
You can easily get the box small enough to mail it. Whoever thinks it needs a 30" cube is paranoid.
You will need to muffle the snare so you'll be able to insure it. USPS won't insure anything that rattles.
Go to Home Depot buy a 4 X 8 ft sheet of 2" foam insulation board ($36), cut the board so you have three pieces that are square and overlap the drum both, front to back, and side to side by a couple inches. In one piece cut a hole the drum will fit snugly into. Insert fragments between the layers to keep the center one spaced in about the center. Use corrugated cardboard to make a box. Box it and mail it.
That'll give you a box about 18" square and about 10" deep. The postal size limit is 108" (girth + length) you box will be about 74".
For you own piece of mind, try crushing that foam before you buy it. I walked onto it and stomped, nary a dent. To cut just score the foam backing with a razor knife and snap it, then use the knife again to cut the backing on the other side.
You will need to muffle the snare so you'll be able to insure it. USPS won't insure anything that rattles.
Go to Home Depot buy a 4 X 8 ft sheet of 2" foam insulation board ($36), cut the board so you have three pieces that are square and overlap the drum both, front to back, and side to side by a couple inches. In one piece cut a hole the drum will fit snugly into. Insert fragments between the layers to keep the center one spaced in about the center. Use corrugated cardboard to make a box. Box it and mail it.
That'll give you a box about 18" square and about 10" deep. The postal size limit is 108" (girth + length) you box will be about 74".
For you own piece of mind, try crushing that foam before you buy it. I walked onto it and stomped, nary a dent. To cut just score the foam backing with a razor knife and snap it, then use the knife again to cut the backing on the other side.
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I tend to agree, but if you look at the size of box a mb200 ships in, you could fit over a dozen naked amps in there. Fancy snare might be 30" squared when in the original shipping stuff. If it's in a fancy snare case and then double boxed to protect the case it's going to get up there too.
I wouldn't ship in a case, the fit isn't tight enough, there's too much likely hood of damage.
If you have a case that has to be shipped, make a separate shipment packed as the snare itself, but also add interior reinforcement in the case itself that aligns with the exterior packing ring.
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I've received but never mailed internationally. Well, USA to Canada, but I did that at a machine in the post office for maybe an extra ten bucks, so, doesn't really count.
From Hungary it was FOUR days. Amazing. I think it went national mail, parcel sevice I've never heard of, then to UPS. Way fast, but lots of hand offs, and a small package.
A drum? Yeesh... Good luck. How bad do you wanna sell it? Maybe be patient?
From Hungary it was FOUR days. Amazing. I think it went national mail, parcel sevice I've never heard of, then to UPS. Way fast, but lots of hand offs, and a small package.
A drum? Yeesh... Good luck. How bad do you wanna sell it? Maybe be patient?
I bought a new, 2x10" bass combo, and had it shipped from New York to Australia, for less than buying it locally.
Every cubic inch counts, find the smallest possible size it would be (sissy Kelly's plan is excellent, then get an online quote from DHL.
Every cubic inch counts, find the smallest possible size it would be (sissy Kelly's plan is excellent, then get an online quote from DHL.
Use DHL for fast & easy int'l shipping but high % customs will apply for a value over $200
USPS may be your best method but expect a 3-4 week delivery schedule
I've shipped several instruments overseas, along with retired studio gear and
used USPS each time with no issues. It's slow but it gets there.
USPS may be your best method but expect a 3-4 week delivery schedule
I've shipped several instruments overseas, along with retired studio gear and
used USPS each time with no issues. It's slow but it gets there.
That shipping quote is honestly a fair price for your specifications, but it's nowhere near the cheapest way to ship what you have to ship. You really have to know a little about how things work or the price just gets out of hand.
The issue is dimensional weight, a stupid formula that makes light things cost the same to ship as medium-heavy things in order to pay for the physical space those lighter packages take up on the truck/plane/train/spaceship. In that size box, you pay the same price to ship 18 lb as you would to ship 162 lb. That's also an insanely big package for a single snare drum (14x14x6) - you could fit TWENTY unpacked drums in there. Make it smaller and it ships much, much cheaper.
Anything US->NZ is going to be really expensive to start. There are different carriers for small parcels and expensive freight, and since your box is so big, it classifies as expensive freight of the expensive class 400. And there's customs, which is more expensive still. The box you mentioned is one of the most expensive ways I can think of to ship a single snare drum without hand carrying it, which would only be a little more expensive. Did I say that international shipping can get expensive?
I would pack your drum for an Auckland shipment (way, way overpacked) to maybe 20x20x14, which would be about $130 with USPS (10 days) or $430 with Fedex (3 days). If I was packing more realistically, it would end up 18x18x10 for the same $130 USPS but only $250 with Fedex. See how much a little bubble wrap can cost?
The whole international shipping thing gets confusing in a big hurry, but the takeaway is to use the most compact packaging method that you possibly can while still protecting your goods.
The issue is dimensional weight, a stupid formula that makes light things cost the same to ship as medium-heavy things in order to pay for the physical space those lighter packages take up on the truck/plane/train/spaceship. In that size box, you pay the same price to ship 18 lb as you would to ship 162 lb. That's also an insanely big package for a single snare drum (14x14x6) - you could fit TWENTY unpacked drums in there. Make it smaller and it ships much, much cheaper.
Anything US->NZ is going to be really expensive to start. There are different carriers for small parcels and expensive freight, and since your box is so big, it classifies as expensive freight of the expensive class 400. And there's customs, which is more expensive still. The box you mentioned is one of the most expensive ways I can think of to ship a single snare drum without hand carrying it, which would only be a little more expensive. Did I say that international shipping can get expensive?
I would pack your drum for an Auckland shipment (way, way overpacked) to maybe 20x20x14, which would be about $130 with USPS (10 days) or $430 with Fedex (3 days). If I was packing more realistically, it would end up 18x18x10 for the same $130 USPS but only $250 with Fedex. See how much a little bubble wrap can cost?
The whole international shipping thing gets confusing in a big hurry, but the takeaway is to use the most compact packaging method that you possibly can while still protecting your goods.
I wound up selling in the states, unfortunately for our friend in NZ. I had to ship the case, it was part of the deal. The box wasnt going to get much smaller and shipping not much cheaper. Cost to Fed Ex to Utah: $45. Still high, frankly, but I understand now why so many people refuse to ship outside CONUS.
I know there are options to bring shipping costs way down, but I don't know how to ship via sea mail from the US. I don't know if you tried US Postal, or tried to get an estimate.
I've bought stuff from Japan where it was shipped sea mail. The package was put in a container, waited at the dock for who knows how long, got picked up by a container ship, made its way to Southern California, then it got put on a US Mail trunk. That went across country and to a distribution center in Maryland and finally delivered by a postman. This was not a small box, and it wasn't light weight. Shipping was less than $100. Air mail was ludicrous as it would have cost almost as much as the items I bought.
