Guitar Gear Forum

So I haven't shipped many heavy things, a couple of amps in the past several years and a couple of guitars. I was taken back a bit by how much it costs to ship these items.

I was expecting like $60-70 for shipping costs on my Marshall, but damn it was nearly $100. I did ship it a Marshall wheeled carrying bag and double boxed it, but damn, $100!

What I love best is that they charge a fuel surcharge too... I thought that paying for shipping was enough, but to get slapped with a fuel surcharge as well...

Rant over. What's done is done...

Cole

lol, you obviously did something wrong. I just shipped off three of mine for an average cost of $5 in packaging and $30 in shipping for each amp.

Did you pay them to pack it, too? That's where they really screw you. Last guitar I shipped (to you!) was less than $20 and the last amp was around $30.

No, I packed it myself... The amp weighed 61 pounds, but the receipt I got said the "billable weight" was 83 pounds... It probably had to do with the size of the package.

I wanted to make sure that the amp made it safe to the purchaser, so maybe doing the double box wasn't necessary, but I feel safer that way too...

Yarbicus, I paid ~$65 to ship mine to you... I really need to figure out how to ship things with less packaging... You shipped an amp for $30???? Damn, I need to figure my shit out!!!

I need to know what you two do for shipping amps!!!

Cole

If there is a way to ship an amp for $30 I would like to know how.

Spending the extra money to make sure something is packed right and survivable is worth it to me.

Depends how far it is going too.

And I assume everyone is shipping ground - and not 2-3 day express or overnight??

Edit:
Also if you ship from an account - I think we get a 65% - 70% discount where I work.

exafro wrote:Spending the extra money to make sure something is packed right and survivable is worth it to me.

I just wish it wasn't sooooo expensive. I know it is the nature of the beast, especially with amps and guitars. However, trying to figure out everything after the fact when something goes wrong is a lot more frustrating.

Cole

mamberg wrote:Depends how far it is going too.

And I assume everyone is shipping ground - and not 2-3 day express or overnight??

Edit:
Also if you ship from an account - I think we get a 65% - 70% discount where I work.

That is a cool setup you have there! I would love to be able to have something like that setup. You are right, I did ship ground. I could only imagine 3 day or overnight... That would be soooo expensive!

Cole

I have a personal account with FedEx. It was free I get a decent discount (can't remember the actual amount). I have a garage full of packing supplies and various sized boxes. I have shipped dozens of items and never had a single one damaged.

guitarbilly wrote:If there is a way to ship an amp for $30 I would like to know how.

This... I call total bullshit... I will say that the Diezel I have shipped were close to $100 because they are on the heavier end of things... but I've never paid LESS than $60 to ship a full sized head...

Also there are certain size limits depending on the dimensions where you can fall into a "Medium-Large" or "Large" Category... so if you double boxed a full sized amp even though it sounds crazy $100 definitely isn't unheard of....

Whenever I shipped an amp, I charged the buyer $75. I had an over-sized box and used those weird padding bags that you pop open, chemical reaction occurs, put it in place, it expands and turns into a hard foam. They are rather expensive. I actually paid about $45-$55 at the Fedex store, but I charged extra to buy those bags, which are the BEST way to ship fragile objects.

Demiurge wrote:Whenever I shipped an amp, I charged the buyer $75. I had an over-sized box and used those weird padding bags that you pop open, chemical reaction occurs, put it in place, it expands and turns into a hard foam. They are rather expensive. I actually paid about $45-$55 at the Fedex store, but I charged extra to buy those bags, which are the BEST way to ship fragile objects.

I have never seen or heard of this. That sounds like a cool idea... I will look into those for future reference.

Cole

I was shipping things 3-4x a week with a business I was working with, we bought in bulk

http://www.amazon.com/Sealed-Air-12650- ... B000IJFUO4

this is what i'm talking about, we paid about 2/3 the price, and I bought them from our company individually at cost. for average consumers, i do not recommend, they are expensive.

mamberg wrote:Depends how far it is going too.

And I assume everyone is shipping ground - and not 2-3 day express or overnight??

Edit:
Also if you ship from an account - I think we get a 65% - 70% discount where I work.

Yeah, and sometimes not so much as how far, but where... It's cheaper for me to ship an amp from WI to Cali, than it is to Florida.

Damn, you weren't kidding about expensive. Are there other alternatives besides that specific brand?

Cole

guitarbilly wrote:If there is a way to ship an amp for $30 I would like to know how.

Shipped a Blackstar HT-5 head for about $30 bucks... but yeah, a full size head, no friggen way.

Yeah, I shipped the plexi to drae and it was definitely more than $30. I went to a box store and bought cardboard/supplies to make my own dual wall setup which was also $15.


Shipping ain't cheap.

I am going to have to ask for more money when I post my amps to help cover shipping costs... I honestly was expecting around $60-70, so I lost money on the sale... Oh well, hind sight is 20/20.

Cole

Mizati20 wrote:

guitarbilly wrote:If there is a way to ship an amp for $30 I would like to know how.

This... I call total bullshit... I will say that the Diezel I have shipped were close to $100 because they are on the heavier end of things... but I've never paid LESS than $60 to ship a full sized head...

Also there are certain size limits depending on the dimensions where you can fall into a "Medium-Large" or "Large" Category... so if you double boxed a full sized amp even though it sounds crazy $100 definitely isn't unheard of....

Well you guys know what a troll I am!

It was solid state and several years ago but it was around $30 bucks. I have found that size matters more than weight. Particularly for guitars. A couple extra inches to the height of the box can double the price.