Shipping

[Fishbrain]

Not sure if this is the right place for this...

Basically I need to ship my bass from England to Germany and have never done anything like this before. I was wondering whats the safest way to ship a bass this kind of distance and any companies that you have had good experiences with. Thanks!

 

[JxBass]

Hopefully the bass will be in a hard shell case, that's #1. I've found that any shipping company can wreak havoc on gear, so it's all about packing it properly. Double-boxing is, after a hard shell case, the best way to protect gear during shipping. If you don't have boxes that will fit inside of each other then break up a box and stuff it around the bass case, essentially acting like a second, interior box. For packing material I have found that crumpled newspaper works best over peanuts and other packing materials, it has the right amount of "give" and protection. Lastly, don't be cheap about the shipping method, make sure it's insured for the full value. That will go further in proper handling over marking "fragile" all over the box.

Good luck!

 

[Fishbrain]

Thanks for the packing advice, I do have a hardcase to ship it in so I'll pack it as much as possible!

Are there any companies you'd recommend going with?

 

[JxBass]

I use UPS, but only because it the only practical option where I live. There have been many discussions on TB about shipping companies. A lot of people have had bad experiences with UPS and swear by FedEx, while others have FedEx horror stories. My opinion is that you can have both a good and bad experience with any company and your best protection is in the care you take in packing. Try to pack it so that it can withstand any mishandling - that's your best bet, IMO.

A lot of my feedback on eBay says "beautifully packed"

 

[Fishbrain]

Cheers for the advice.

 

[KimGT99]

I was wondering about the same. I contacted some companys over email to get some detailed prices (I gave detailed info to them), only few answered.... So I'm still stuck. Business must run great

 

[Fishbrain]

've just managed to get a rough quote off FedEx quite easily, found the UPS site a bit difficult to use, will probably go with FedEx on that fact alone seen as though there isn't much else to seperate them!

 

[JxBass]

've just managed to get a rough quote off FedEx quite easily, found the UPS site a bit difficult to use, will probably go with FedEx on that fact alone seen as though there isn't much else to seperate them!

Either will work fine as long as you pack it properly.