I need to ship a receiver. should I pay fed ex and cover myself or risk with my own packing?

Another good source of free packing material is to strike up a conversation with some carpet installers. The scrap foam padding that they usually have left over after a job works well for in between the inner and outer boxes.
 
None of the shipping companies know how to properly ship heavy electronics (such as McIntosh). Spend the $100 for a shipping crate from Audio Classics. Theirs are better than the factory crates. I bought a McIntosh MC22205 that the seller took to a "professional" shipper to crate up and send to me. They tried to ship an 80 pound McIntosh amp INSIDE the walnut case. I refused to accept delivery because of damage in shipping. The case was broken, the glass was shattered, and everything else was a pure mess.
 
I collect styrofoam that people throw out and use it all around anything I ship. No problems with speakers, turntable covers or receivers. I want to sell a few dual turntables, but nervous on how to pack and ship them.Might decide on pick up only.
 
1. Styrofoam peanuts for heavy items are SHIT....

2. PLEASE assume that anyone other than yourself will do an insufficient packing job, they just don`t understand that your item must be treated like a rare historical artifact that cannot be replaced.

3. Two boxes will be needed, the item being suspended and centered within the inner box. Something with a bit of "give" to it, like the high-density polyurethane foam that glass displays, mirrors, etc. come packed in should be used to protect glass panels, switches, and corners. There should be NO movement within this inner box when shaken.

4. The inner box should go into an outer box that is at least 2 to three inches larger than the inner box. Safety factor can be increased by cutting the corners out of several other boxes, and using construction adhesive (Liquid Nails, Gorilla Glue, etc.) to fasten those cut corners into the outer box, overlapping them 2 or 3 layers deep will greatly increase corner strength.

5. More poly foam is the ideal cushioning material for between the two boxes, if you don`t have enough, go to Plan B....believe it or not, 3 full sheets of newspaper, wadded up TIGHTLY like the size of a baseball, and stuffed between the two boxes, works quite well as long as a sufficient number of them are packed in there. Again, the aim is to prevent any movement between the inner & outer boxes.
The outer box should be sealed, then reinforced with nylon-impregnated strapping tape applied in a tic-tac-toe shaped pattern.

One caveat....to be insured, the shipping company might require that the burst strength of your boxes must exceed the weight of the package. Find this out before packing anything for shipment.

Good luck !
 
Lots of good packing technics/methods already suggested so I won't go there. The way I see it the best shipping service for receivers, turntables, etc. is Greyhound bus. Walk the package to the counter. The person weighs it then set's it on a dolly. Then, that person wheels it out and puts it on the bus. When the bus gets to the destination a person puts it on another dolly and takes it into the station and you pick it up. No miss handling anywhere. No conveyor belt drops. The down side is it's not "dropped" off at at your front door where it can be stolen. Tracking is similar and if the timing works out you can be there and watch it get unloaded. Almost as good as pony express.
 
Lots of good packing technics/methods already suggested so I won't go there. The way I see it the best shipping service for receivers, turntables, etc. is Greyhound bus. Walk the package to the counter. The person weighs it then set's it on a dolly. Then, that person wheels it out and puts it on the bus. When the bus gets to the destination a person puts it on another dolly and takes it into the station and you pick it up. No miss handling anywhere. No conveyor belt drops. The down side is it's not "dropped" off at at your front door where it can be stolen. Tracking is similar and if the timing works out you can be there and watch it get unloaded. Almost as good as pony express.

Excellent suggestion ! Never thought of shipping via Greyhound....thanks for the info !
 
You're welcome. I don't get to help much on here but try. I've used them a few times and never a problem and the package usually gets there within a day or two. Let them know you want the most direct route. Had a turntable sent from Denver to Kansas city and it got here overnight. Box was the same as new. Sold a turntable to a gentleman in California and Greyhound got it there in 1-1/2 days without any problem.
 
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