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Shipping cabinets overseas - US to EU

Tosya

Tosya

Oct 11, 2002
183
75
MOUSA
clatter.com
#1
Does anyone have any experience shipping speaker cabinets from the US to the EU? I am moving and need to ship my SWR Henry 8x8 and SWR Super Redhead from Missouri to Portugal. I have read good things about UPakWeShip, so I was considering doing the smaller pallet option. If I did that, I could also ship my Mesa 4x12. Any packing / wrapping tips would be great, too!

I was just curious if anyone had shipped their music equipment this way, or if there are better options out there? We aren’t moving anything else from our house, just taking some clothes and the cats. You can see where my priorities are!

Thanks for any suggestions!

/Amy
 
#2
My experience is that it will cost more to move than those cabinets are worth here in the US (by quite a bit). You may be able to recover your shipping cost in the overseas market depending on local conditions.

You might be able to take your well packages combo as checked baggage for less than the cost of shipping.

Be sure to check how taxes and customs fees might apply to what you bring into the country before you do this.
 
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#3
agedhorse said:
My experience is that it will cost more to move than those cabinets are worth here in the US (by quite a bit). You may be able to recover your shipping cost in the overseas market depending on local conditions.

You might be able to take your well packages combo as checked baggage for less than the cost of shipping.

Be sure to check how taxes and customs fees might apply to what you bring into the country before you do this.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I would love to just replace everything once I move, but the SWR stuff has been a bit hard to come by. So, I figured if I had to get a pallet for the 8x8, I might as well ship the other stuff, too. I believe we’re good on customs, but I’m going to double-check everything once I decide which route I’ll go with this.
 
#6
Look for a local community.Usually there are, or should be, some guys who rent a container periodically and send stufs overseas. You should be able to get contact with a Portuguese community, try at church maybe to get some infos.
 
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#7
Are you moving household goods? Years ago I did so (us to Australia) via a container. Look into LTL ((less than load) freight companies. As part of a larger shipment it may be viable but as others have noted, one-off shipping costs would likely be multiple times what the cabs are worth. If moving permanently I’d consider selling what you have and buying what is available (even better, what is produced) in the EU marketplace, like Barefaced for example
 
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#8
agedhorse said:
Shipping costs are astronomical, be prepared for a surprise...
Click to expand...

The quote I have is $1,460, which seemed reasonable for the 8x8, the 4x12, the Redhead, the Dual Rectifier head, and a bunch of cymbals plus probably some random pedals and cables.

matti777 said:
Anything large I have sold overseas has gone via ship in a crate. Its usually takes 8-12 weeks depending on where it is going. Yes rates are up.
Click to expand...

Thanks! They are estimating 6-8 weeks for this shipment, which means it will get there before we do!

catalin gramada said:
Look for a local community.Usually there are, or should be, some guys who rent a container periodically and send stufs overseas. You should be able to get contact with a Portuguese community, try at church maybe to get some infos.
Click to expand...

That's a cool idea, thanks!

bherman said:
Are you moving household goods? Years ago I did so (us to Australia) via a container. Look into LTL ((less than load) freight companies. As part of a larger shipment it may be viable but as others have noted, one-off shipping costs would likely be multiple times what the cabs are worth. If moving permanently I’d consider selling what you have and buying what is available (even better, what is produced) in the EU marketplace, like Barefaced for example
Click to expand...

No, we're only moving music equipment. Well, and a bunch of band merch! And cats! (but not on the pallet…) We thought about a partial container, but just don't have enough stuff to warrant that much space, so figured we'd go with the pallet option.

I've sure tried to find a good replacement for my particular tone – we recorded our last album in Sweden, so had the opportunity to try some things at the studio – but try as I might, I can't quite make it work with anything else.
 
#9
I thought you were just shipping the 8x8 and redhead. Sounds like an ok deal with everything else.
 
#10
agedhorse said:
I thought you were just shipping the 8x8 and redhead. Sounds like an ok deal with everything else.
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry for the confusion, I wasn't very clear. The SWR stuff is what I would have the most trouble replacing, so I would need to ship that no matter what. This shipping company has the pallet option, so we discovered we could include a few other items like the Mesa stuff, which I had originally assumed I would sell here and replace when I got there. Thanks for your input!
 
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#12
I'd advise having it packed professionally rather than doing it yourself. If you can get the carrier that's doing the shipping to also do the packing, then they won't be able to blame any damage on it being poorly packed. If it's going on a pallet, everything will need to be strapped down -- that's best done with steel strapping requiring specialized equipment. Also, shrink-wrapping the whole pallet will keep your gear cleaner, and might help with other potential 'shrinkage' issues.
 
#14
Redbrangus said:
I'd advise having it packed professionally rather than doing it yourself. If you can get the carrier that's doing the shipping to also do the packing, then they won't be able to blame any damage on it being poorly packed. If it's going on a pallet, everything will need to be strapped down -- that's best done with steel strapping requiring specialized equipment. Also, shrink-wrapping the whole pallet will keep your gear cleaner, and might help with other potential 'shrinkage' issues.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips! The actual name of the company is "U Pak We Ship," so we're kind of on our own with the packing part. However, plastic wrap is required, and we plan to get some straps for extra security. The question I'm still pondering is how much and what kind of material I'll need to put in between the cabinets. I wonder if some layers of cardboard will be enough.
 
#15
Tosya said:
Thanks for the tips! The actual name of the company is "U Pak We Ship," so we're kind of on our own with the packing part. However, plastic wrap is required, and we plan to get some straps for extra security. The question I'm still pondering is how much and what kind of material I'll need to put in between the cabinets. I wonder if some layers of cardboard will be enough.
Click to expand...
It will be if the cardboard is stout enough. Shipping supply companies (ULine, Grangier) sell what are called corrugated pads to go in between layers of material. You’ll also want to get big rolls of shrink wrap to go around all of it on the outside. ULine is a good place to start.
 
#16
bherman said:
It will be if the cardboard is stout enough. Shipping supply companies (ULine, Grangier) sell what are called corrugated pads to go in between layers of material. You’ll also want to get big rolls of shrink wrap to go around all of it on the outside. ULine is a good place to start.
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Perfect, thanks! I used to get ULine catalogs, but I was never looking for those types of items. I really appreciate the tip!
 
#17
Know any restaurant workers? 18" plastic wrap is like 20 bucks for, what, like 1000 feet. That's what distributors use to wrap my deliveries.

Also large cases of bread usually have flat but creased corrugated cardboard between layers.

Yes consider the extra money for more robust materials as worthy to protect your investments, of course. Just wanted to point out that there are very similar products readily available for little or no money.

My experience with Uline is they are very expensive. Not a single item I'm aware of in their catalog is less than 50% more expensive than what my regular distributor can get them for. Uline's attraction is that you don't have to be a commercial purchaser. They DO have minimums though. IIRC they require like $250 spent.

Good luck! Best wishes on a trouble free move.
 
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#18
basscooker said:
Know any restaurant workers? 18" plastic wrap is like 20 bucks for, what, like 1000 feet. That's what distributors use to wrap my deliveries.

Also large cases of bread usually have flat but creased corrugated cardboard between layers.

Yes consider the extra money for more robust materials as worthy to protect your investments, of course. Just wanted to point out that there are very similar products readily available for little or no money.

My experience with Uline is they are very expensive. Not a single item I'm aware of in their catalog is less than 50% more expensive than what my regular distributor can get them for. Uline's attraction is that you don't have to be a commercial purchaser. They DO have minimums though. IIRC they require like $250 spent.

Good luck! Best wishes on a trouble free move.
Click to expand...

wow, those are brilliant ideas! Thanks so much! Just need to get creative with it. I’m thinking of using all that band merch as padding — might as well be good for something!
 

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