Why is it so friggin' difficult to find bass boxes!!

[two fingers]

In my area, people give away moving boxes on CL for free. A mat knife, some packing tape, and a little cardboard manipulation and you're good to go.

This. Just make sure the cardboard protects the case. It doesn't have to be a bass case box. Meh. Cut up cardboard and tape it good around the case. Done.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

This is what I'm talking about.... I custom make all my packaging. Mattress stores, furniture shops, you name it. Cut it out, fold it up and tape it like crazy.

I do this all tbe time. Sometimes I will 'case' the object in 1" or 2" pink rigid insulation from the home improvement store, then make a box over it from a large sheet of corrugate like a mattress box cut down.

I've shipped 4' tall JBL's to Florida, $5000 lenses to Moscow, tube heads to Vegas. Probably shipped over a hundred fragile, odd sized, heavy, and one-of-a-kind items to you-name-it without ever having someone tell me it arrived damaged. Wish I could say the same thing about incomming.

 

[Fire-Starter]

Go to Guitar center, Here in Minnesota, In my experience they will gladly give you boxes.

 

[rojo412]

Go to a bicycle shop. Plenty of big and very strong boxes. Easy to cut to size.

I work at a bike shop, have sold a large amount of basses and can attest to the fact that they work well, and most bike shops have a lot of boxes to give.
Now may not be the best time of year for that in a lot of places, but it never hurts to ask.

 

[Stranger Danger]

I don't know if you guys in other parts of the planet have this difficulty, but here in New Jersey it is almost impossible to find a box to ship a bass in. I just sold my Geddy Jazz including a case, and tracking down a case to ship it in is proving difficult. I have called no less than a dozen music stores, including every Guitar Center in the state, and no one either has, or is willing to even sell me a box. I called a shipping center who is willing to pack and ship it...for $100. That is insane. I'd refund the buyer before I spent that kind of money to ship it.

Any suggestions?

http://www.amazon.com/EcoBox-Inches-Shipping-Moving-Corrugated/dp/B00ATSYAN6

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Well, LOL, I live on an island with no music stores. So, I went and got a bicycle shipping box from the local bicycle shop and used a box cutter to cut it to my perfect size.
Almost everywhere has a cycle shop.
Good luck!

 

[Jaze Bass]

Most of the time, I keep every box that I've received.

 

[MR PC]

You already sold the bass and now you are looking for a box to ship it in?
That isn't cool. You should of had the box and everything ready to ship when you listed it.
How would you feel if you were the buyer?

So true. That way you won't be surprised by the actual shipping charges after you pack it. How could you even quote an accurate shipping method and price without having all the materials and dimensions? It borders on being fraudulent to do business that way unless you outline it clearly in the item description. I've had a couple of sellers come back to me after a sale to complain that shipping cost more than they thought it would. That's gouging, imo. That always sucks for the customer. If you don't care about your feedback rating as a seller, if you aren't planning on selling anything again maybe it doesn't matter to you. One guy who pulled this routine on me was freaked when I gave him a negative. I hated doing it, but it was so crappy I felt I should let other potential customers be informed. It really matters to some people.

 

[millsbass5]

Shoot. Just go dumpster divin' out back of all the local music stores. Surely they don't shred 'em before throwin' 'em in the dumpster out back of their store. And, they'll be free, too. You could even stock up on a few.

 

[Sav'nBass]

Just remember to keep the dimensions under 108

that is L+2xH+2W=108 if you are shipping USPS. I am not sure how that runs with fedEx or UPS but I imagine there is a similar oversized upcharge. I just have saved the last few boxes I got for reuse.

 

[Slevage]

I don't know if you guys in other parts of the planet have this difficulty, but here in New Jersey it is almost impossible to find a box to ship a bass in. I just sold my Geddy Jazz including a case, and tracking down a case to ship it in is proving difficult. I have called no less than a dozen music stores, including every Guitar Center in the state, and no one either has, or is willing to even sell me a box. I called a shipping center who is willing to pack and ship it...for $100. That is insane. I'd refund the buyer before I spent that kind of money to ship it.

Any suggestions?

Make one---- it's not rocket science.

 

[Ric5]

Make friends with someone at Guitar Center ... then get some of their bass boxes before they get crushed and recycled

 

[Gorn]

I think GC must train their employees, at least in New Jersey, to say they don't offer them. I offered to pay and they still said no. I called every GC in the state and they all gave me the same story. I even called what few mom and pop music stores are left and they didn't have anything either. One guy told me that they reason no stores will provide them is because everyone sells online these days and they hoard their boxes. Makes sense.

I appreciate the advice. I have a couple of basses coming in over the next few weeks, so I'll have at least two.

All my experience with GC's in Jersey have been bad. I've bought used basses from each store and have been lied to about their conditions. As if they're not gonna lose their commission when I return it.

They absolutely have boxes. Twice a week someone has to lug a bunch of them out to the dumpster. There's no good reason whatsoever they can't give you one.

 

[T-MOST]

I store the HSC the bass come in in the box and use a gig bag (save that box too). I must have 3 or 4 boxes right now. Hang on To Your Boxes!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I go to Walmart and pickup two of the (I think 18"x18"x24") boxes for a few bucks and a roll of quality packing tape. I cut each box in half at opposite corners and then put one of those together. Put the corner of the case into that half box, fold down the ends, tape. Do that for a total of four times and you end up with something that isn't the prettiest, but it's packed with about 4 layers of cardboard at any point. Just make sure that you tape over any edges so that it doesn't get caught on the conveyor. Total cost is around $6 and it provides more protection than what they do at the UPS store for ~ $50-60.

 

[SirMjac28]

Send me your bass and I'll make sure it gets boxed up good and proper.

 

[friskinator]

Last time I had to ship a bass, I went to GC and asked if they had any hardshell bass cases still in the box. They did, so I bought the case, kept the box, then returned the case a couple days later for a full refund. They never asked about the box, of course.

 

[Spirit of Ox]

Go to Staples and buy the biggest box they have. It's large and square so you have have to cut it to fit the bass/case and mend together with strapping tape. I've done this a few times and it works well. Another option is to go to Home Depot and see if they have any Bifold Door boxes.

 

[Jake72]

I've shipped two guitars using boxes that have been put together from Home Depot moving boxes. Wrap the case and put a good double layer end cap on each end, tape the hell out of it, and you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[groooooove]

buy another bass,

reuse the box.