Delberthot Posted October 13, 2011 Posted October 13, 2011 +1 on the exposed handle thing. it makes it easier for the courier to carry it as well. I always do cut outs to expose the handles on cabs as well. Makes it easier for the courier to carry and less likely to be dumped down if they have something substantial to hold onto
bumnote Posted October 13, 2011 Posted October 13, 2011 [quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1318521105' post='1403284'] +1 on the exposed handle thing. it makes it easier for the courier to carry it as well. I always do cut outs to expose the handles on cabs as well. Makes it easier for the courier to carry and less likely to be dumped down if they have something substantial to hold onto [/quote] Couriers are just blokes like you and me. One of our locals is even a bass player. If you try and make it as easy as possible for them by marking as fragile, and making it easy for them there is far less risk of damage. One of the guys here sold me a precision, and sent it in a flimsey fender gig gig, it arrived unmarked. i deal with most of the couriers through my work, and most of em try hard, but there are always exceptions .
H the Bass Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 good advice has made me look at this through different eyes!
mattiesim Posted October 18, 2011 Posted October 18, 2011 what about insurance? I'm about to pack up and ship off my priceless Overwater - does anyone have any thoughts on which couriers offer which type of insurance (and how much it's gonna cost?!)
Beefyeggo Posted October 19, 2011 Posted October 19, 2011 I've never shipped a bass by courier, but over the years have shipped out dozens of watches, including some very expensive pieces indeed. Im my experience 'Arrange Your Own Courier' means that seller doesn't want to have any part in getting after-sale claims for loss, damage etc. I'm not passing any inference here, I'm just saying that in such cases the seller wants the item off his doorstep and have an end ot it there and then. I would always walk away from any such deal - just my two pence worth.... Rob
BassBunny Posted October 19, 2011 Posted October 19, 2011 [quote name='mattiesim' timestamp='1318981889' post='1408670'] what about insurance? I'm about to pack up and ship off my priceless Overwater - does anyone have any thoughts on which couriers offer which type of insurance (and how much it's gonna cost?!) [/quote] If you use Interparcel, all the services offer insurance and you can set, (and pay for), the level you want. I have used Interparcel Economy, ( they use UPS and have always delivered next day), loads of time for Basses and Amps. Touch Wood, no problems. Insurance is £5.00 per £250 insured.
tom1946 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Posted October 19, 2011 Do check carefully re-insurance. Some carriers won't insure instruments unless it's in a hard case.
ann82 Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 For example, I always use delivery [b][url="http://www.myhermes1.co.uk/"]parcels[/url][/b] from MyHermes company. There were no disadvantages using the service. All in time, careful attitude.
jonno1981 Posted October 30, 2011 Posted October 30, 2011 Looking at interparcel they do state that they will not ship '[color=#000000]Articles of exceptional value (eg, works of art, antiques, precious stones, gold and silver) over £250'. Would a musical instrument come into that category??[/color]
huwgarms Posted October 30, 2011 Posted October 30, 2011 nice thread, i have a lot of dealings with all the top couriers as part of my job and the other person arranging courier is good advice, the secondary charge is usually applied to the account holder under the term "third party collection" and as stated you are asking the courier to collect said item and deliver it to you as apposed to a straight delivery. the other good tip pack the box full, no room inside means better protection against crushing / standing on, most of the couriers will at some point stand on a parcel to get to the back on the van, pick up other parcels that have fallen over etc, other other issue of fragile tape again in my experience is spot on, most couriers/hubs work night shifts and tend to employ temps and agency staff to stay competative, they are not really career people and have been seen on camera kicking and throwing parcels marked as fragile, boredom or brain dead you decide but it does happen red rag to a bull :-) and as above the enhanced liability on transport insurance is very important,( industry norm is only £15 per kilo for missing damaged consignments, this wont cover a lot of bass!)
ThomasBoyle Posted December 11, 2011 Posted December 11, 2011 Makko, I agree exactly what you say regarding packing etc. having witnessed inside a parcel Warehouse some idiot dropping from arms length a PC mointor rather than bend to place it on the ground there are clearly issues of carefulness with some individuals and couriers .I have had also had a Fender Jazz bass stolen in transit via Royal Mail in hard case which is a nightmare for all involved ! My advise if it a guitar is to be transported in a case is to make it impregable to all but the most determined by using duck tape liberally to seal it, that puts off most people from looking in your csae in a Warehouse..The seal it in cardboard box has advantages of putting prospective thiefs off that its a guitar in the first place..I found UPS to quite good but expensive, beware of lowest quote cowboys who will throw you instument about with not a care!
7string Posted December 12, 2011 Posted December 12, 2011 I use [url="http://www.p4d.co.uk"]http://www.p4d.co.uk[/url] and get a choice of DHL, City Link, Parcelforce etc. Used them a few times now and no problems. Their customer service is pretty darn good as well.
tom1946 Posted December 13, 2011 Author Posted December 13, 2011 I pay UPS £6.99 + vat for a bass, cheap enough for me.
giblett123 Posted December 16, 2011 Posted December 16, 2011 +1 for interparcel/UPS, I've used interparcel many times shipping both in the UK and to Europe and its always been an excellent service.
ead Posted December 16, 2011 Posted December 16, 2011 +1 for UPS via Interparcel, bass in a hard case from Lancashire to Glasgow very efficiently done. c. £24 inc insurance. Tracking a bit hit and miss as not real time otherwise no complaints.
ade Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 All, For tip top courier services try Interparcel, who will provide several quotes for a number of outfits including UPS, FedEx and DPD. I've found them incredibly cheap (e.g. UK to Spain £25, UK to Italy £23). Can't get better than that.
Leon Transaxle Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 Hi all, Excellent thread. I have been looking to shift some stuff for a while. What Ou7shined said back in September was spot on. It is daunting first time. I was tempted to go down the buyer collects route for just this reason but I'm not sure who would want to travel into the middle of nowhere. This has given me confidence to look at posting knowing its not going to be prohibitive for the buyer. Thanks.
Gwilym Posted February 8, 2012 Posted February 8, 2012 Had anyone here shipped a high value bass, with a courier that did not have a limit on the amount of insurance coverage? e.g. Interparcel has a £1000 limit. It's of no use if you want to ship an item that is worth double or triple that, unless you want to take a gamble.
Conan Posted February 19, 2012 Posted February 19, 2012 [quote name='Beefyeggo' timestamp='1319026871' post='1409000']Im my experience 'Arrange Your Own Courier' means that seller doesn't want to have any part in getting after-sale claims for loss, damage etc. I'm not passing any inference here, I'm just saying that in such cases the seller wants the item off his doorstep and have an end ot it there and then. I would always walk away from any such deal - just my two pence worth....[/quote] I've never thought of it like that. I've gone down the "buyer to arrange shipping" route a few times and had no problem with it, but I never even considered that it might potentially cost me a sale!! How many people on here would actually "walk away" from a deal where they were asked to arrange their own shipping? I know that I wouldn't...
Conan Posted February 19, 2012 Posted February 19, 2012 Having read this whole thread I have just changed the wording on my current "bass for sale" advert!! I didn't realise that the term "seller to arrange own courier" caused some people such problems! I have happily arranged shipping for items in the past, but I also agree with Macko's earlier post that allowing the buyer to make arrangements themselves makes life easier for both parties. It also makes it more transparent and removes the possibility of the seller overcharging for shipping (unlikely to happen on here, but common elsewhere!). I don't want to lose potential sales so I am happy to arrange shipping if the buyer prefers this option.
Ballie Posted February 20, 2012 Posted February 20, 2012 Thanks Tom, I'm in the process of trying to sell a bass, and was apprehensive about putting the beauty in the post. Thanks for the packing and postage advice!! Will come in handy.
Baxter Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 I just used Paisley Freight to shift a bass. Available on ebay for £13.99. I just searched guitar courier to see what came up. it was actually TNT that came to pick it up and it was delivered from Glasgow to Brighton by 9.30am the next day. I couldn't fault the price or service.
buff Posted March 1, 2012 Posted March 1, 2012 Ive been using a company called APC over the past year, for anything on here or ebay item's. Cant recommend them enough, always next day delivery. Basses normally 18-20, amp head's about the same, cab's anything from 15-25 depending on weight size, maybe not the cheapest but complete piece of mind.
Kev Posted March 20, 2012 Posted March 20, 2012 City Link have today managed to damage a Trace Elliot amp: Amp has clearly been dropped with a damaged outer casing, despite being marked Fragile, and with such force part of the innards have become loose and consequently the amp is now not working. Avoid like the plague.
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