Justifying the expense

iamdgw

How did I end up here?
I understand there are many ways to successfully pack fragile electronics for shipping.
and many more ways not to.

Everyone has their own horror story of something arriving with only crumpled newspaper or similar as packaging and then having to go though the tedious process of claims and refunds, etc.

For my shipping, I typically choose to use my local UPS Store whenever possible. (YMMV)
Yes - it is costly, but at this point in my life with two small children at home, I do not often have the time, nor do I sell the volume, to justify buying the supplies to pack these myself.
Each of us has to make this decision on their own.

Recently, I had to ship something across the country. Literally 2,500 miles.

Here are some pictures of the box after it arrived:

P1010932.JPG P1010933.JPG

Fortunately - for me and the buyer - the item still arrived safely.
 
'Twas me who received that one. I asked the driver if I could open it in his presence and he basically said "no - if it's damaged file a claim - see ya". Hence the photos before opening the box. Fortunately it was all ok.

Seems that a claim would be easier to process if the shipper destroys their own packing job, which in this case they tried their hardest.
 
The last person I would trust at packing stuff would be the person behind the desk at a UPS store. "File a claim" is all well and good, unless the item is something that, even at a modest price point, can't be replaced in kind. I'm lucky in that I keep all the decent packing material/boxes that stuff comes in, makes it a lot easier to pack stuff to survive re-entry. I've received quite a bit of damaged stuff, but never sent something out that got damaged.
 
I think they're mistake in that packaging was putting the 'Fragile' sticker on it.
I've had more 'Fragile' packages come to me looking like that one than the non-fragile ones.
Kind of makes you wonder when that happens.
 
The last person I would trust at packing stuff would be the person behind the desk at a UPS store.

As I mentioned, your mileage may vary. The staff at my local store might be a cut above most locations.
Here is a description (provided by gort69) of how they packaged it to ensure its safe arrival:

"Basically what they did was wrap the amp in a couple layers of small bubble wrap held on with about 6 miles of clear tape, followed by a couple more layers of large bubble wrap with about 6 more miles of clear tape. They then covered it with a makeshift cardboard wrapping with about 3 miles of clear tape. They put that in the outer box with about a billion packing peanuts."
 
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Hence the photos before opening the box.

I've started to do that too. Take a pic before opening and then at various points along the way as I find the "layers" within. If there is no damage, I just delete the pics but I figure its easier to take them just in case I need to make a claim.
 
I have shipped many large and heavy audio items including the mighty Pioneer SX-1980. I use large cell bubble wrap and medium density styrofoam sheets to line the box. I always package snugly so there is no movement inside the box. Items up to 40 pounds can go single boxed. Heavier items get double box. For any item over a few hundred dollars, I always use a brand new box. I never, never use popcorn, newspaper, or high density (construction grade) styrofoam sheets.

In all the years I have been doing this, only a Pioneer Spec 1 came close to causing me grief. The seller told me the box and internal packaging had nearly disintegrated but that the amp survived in good shape. I learned big time from that one. I now use a piece of cardboard to line the faceplate edge to prevent the sharp edge from sawing its way through the packaging.
 
One of the tricks I use, beside double boxing, is to cut the corners off of a box or two and reinforce the corners in the outer box. I usually add four additional corners per corner, or more, to the box. This strengthens the box vertically and keeps the corners from being rounded off and turning the box into a ball. I never let anyone but myself to pack my shipment. I have one box setup that I have used four times to send to repair and I am getting ready to send it out again with my Onkyo TX-8500MkII, which weighs close to 70 lbs.
 
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