[john1970]

To everyone at AC,

I am going to be shipping two large doublewall boxes (18"x18"x27") weighing ~60 lbs each from Massachusetts to California.  Looking at the shipping options, Express Mail (Overnight) through the US Post Office seems to offer the best service and rates.

For example, for the two packages above and $4000 of insurance the total cost is:
2 x$142 = $282.00. 

Has anyone here used this option and is it reliable? 

Thank you,

John

[accentstryping]

John,
     The nice thing about USPS is they actually honor any damage claims they recieve.
  I on the other hand use DHL, because 9 times out of 10 if you use 5 day ground it usually shows up in 2-3 days and the shipment you describing from NY to LA would probably show up in 3 days and cost about 90 for both pieces, and they will pick it up at no addl. charge.
                                                                                                 MMM

[Wayner]

John1970,

I work in the shipping business. You have to package your stuff as if you would dare to drop it from a height of 4 feet off the ground on its corner. Will your package survive? We always allow 2" packaging around the item, 4 inches if it has glass in it. Do not use newpaper for padding. Are you sending speakers?
If so, get some 2" foam all around. All of the shippers are good. Bad things happen with all of them. Most of the time it is poor packaging that causes distruction. Also, a little known fact: if you use a used cardboard box and there is shipping damage, the claim may be easily dismissed by the carrier. Use new boxes made for shipping. You can get them at a local shipping store. Good Luck. DHL is usually the cheapest.

W

[john1970]

To all,

I will be shipping speaker drivers and xovers for a speaker rebuild.  All components will be individually wrapped in bubble wrap.  Heavy drivers (i.e. woofers) will be individually boxed and the boxes will be further wrapped in bubble wrap.  Smaller drivers will be be boxed together, but the box will also be bubble wrapped.  Lastly I plan to line both large boxes with bubble wrap to further protect the merchandise.

There is no glass so nothing is extremely fragile (although I did purchase 8 "fragile" labels to place on all sides of the box!).  Lastly, all boxes and packing material are brand new so they can't use that as an excuse.

Thank you,

John

[Frihed91]

poor packing is what causes damage.  Poor management is the cause of UPS losing stuff and not aying off claims.  Use the US or Canadian postal service. 

[maxwalrath]

I'd bet money that Fed-Ex is cheaper (their insurance is a bargain), and it is probably the most reliable.

[rajacat]

Sometimes it seems that UPS uses pitchforks to move the shipping boxes around.

Raja

[john1970]

To all,

USPS = United States Postal Service NOT UPS!

Actually for next day service the USPS Express Mail is an absolute bargain.  FedEx and UPS want over $500 for the same shipment and the USPS will do it for $282.

Thank you,

John

[maxwalrath]

For that much savings you'd have to do USPS. For regular speed shipments I'm a Fed-Ex guy.

I got 2 50 lb boxes to Anchorage Alaska from Philly in 2 days, insured for $1k each for about $250.

[Bill Baker]

You have to choose the lesser of all evils when it comes to shipping carriers. I am not a fan of Fed. Ex. as they have caused me the most damage claims. Yes, all items were VERY well packaged. This is a personal opinion of course.

 I have to ship some large mono bloc amplifiers (60 lbs. each) to England and will be using USPS for this shipment. I have used USPS for larger shipments to England, Alaska and Australia with excellent results.

[john1970]

Bill,

Thank you for the opinion.  So far it seems that the USPS has the best track record.  I'll be sure to use them for this upcoming shipment in a few weeks.

Thank you,

John

[fredgarvin]

I have had the best results with USPS express and DHL ground. Fed ex has treated me badly on many counts. UPS does not like to pay claims but with all I agree that you need to over-pack to prevent damage. I have never gotten damage from Usps but then the packages have all been under 50lbs. No speakers.

[john1970]

To all,

I actually do not know the actual weight of the boxes.  60 lbs. is my estimate and they might be significantly less.  The only heavy components are 2 large (per box) 10" woofers with 80 oz. magnets.  The rest of the components are surely less than 15 lbs.  In reality the actual weight might be closer to 50 lbs.

Best,

John

[amplifierguru]

Hi,

I'll add my bit. At least every 3 months I need to order a small parcel of electronic parts from the US for shipment to Australia and, without fail, despite USPS being the lowest cost option, I have received the parcel within 10 days and in perfect condition and cheaper than if sent through our postal service to the US by about 25%.

Don't dis it.

Cheers,
Greg

[bubba966]

I've used USPS's EMS on many an occasion w/out any problems at all. It was usually shipping stuff from Tokyo to Seattle. Most of the time it was just LD's, but I did ship a pair of LD players from Tokyo that were in the neighborhood of 60 pounds each. Both of those arrived the next day and w/out any damage at all.

I've had good luck with FedEx as well.

UPS & DHL can suck it as far as I'm concerned.

[warnerwh]

In your situation I'd use USPS. They're very reliable. I've had zero problems out of several hundred shipments over the past for years with them.

The quicker the shipping time the less likely damage occurs it seems. That's why if I'm really concerned I'll use Priority or Express. UPS and Fedex ground are the ones that scare me. I've had boxes from both of them arrive in terrible condition. The shippers packed very well which has been the reason for a good survival rate. I had one 90lb amp which had been double boxed arrive that looked like it had been thrown down a rock cliff. Even though the inner box had still been in good condition I didn't think it would work anymore.

I think the suggestion of making sure something can drop 4' is a bit optimistic. I know when Cheryl worked for Fedex Kinko's that she said they told them 10' is the height something should be able to take a drop. Judging by what shape I've had boxes arrive in I'd say that would be the wiser choice. Uhaul makes some good double thick boxes btw, they're expensive though.

[woodsyi]

John,

I used UPS and I packed all my stuff (drivers, wires, crossovers, the whole thing) in two boxes and they arrived safely.  You can pack these items well enough that even UPS can't mess them up.  They are not that fragile.   UPS ground was the cheapest. 

[maxwalrath]

John,

I used UPS and I packed all my stuff (drivers, wires, crossovers, the whole thing) in two boxes and they arrived safely.  You can pack these items well enough that even UPS can't mess them up.  They are not that fragile.   UPS ground was the cheapest. 

My UPS experience (when they packed it) ended up like yours....I got crossovers, drivers, cabinets, etc.

The problem was they started out as whole speakers.