Wonky2 Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 I'm in the process of purchasing another bass.... I'm near Liverpool, the bass is in Northern Ireland. I read a load of posts on couriers etc and with the value of the bass would likely have to insist on going for one of the higher priced/ insured options.. I mulled it over, checked costs of flights and I've decided to cut out the middle man and fly to Ireland myself to collect it. 19 quid there, 40 back with the bass.... I'd have happily paid £60 for a decent courier so this way I'm happier that I can do a face to face deal with the cash and not have the bass out of mine and the sellers hands and enter a 3-4 day black hole of worry The madness of it is, I can fly to Belfast , do the deal, fly home all in less time then I am normally gone for when I just "nip to the guitar shop love....." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Shipped a bass to France recently using UPS, all ok and good tracking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_japan_direct Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 Good thread! I usually pack basses wrapped in soft foam wrap, packed in their soft case, wrap that in bubble wrap, put in a box with bubble wrap at the bottom for extra cushioning, put toilet rolls (or similar sized cardboard bolstering) down either side of the neck part of the gig case to hold the bass firmly in place, put more bubble wrap around the top and sides of the case, seal the box and wrap the entire box in bubble wrap too, mark fragile, and ship! No issues so far. As for hard-cases, yes exposing the handle is a great idea! I try to do this as often as possible to make handling easier. Only ever had one incident of damage due to dropping out of hundreds of shipments. In that case the quality of the box was sub par, being a bit flimsy....in such cases now, i double box or wrap more cardboard around the outside for extra protection. Cardboard is free at recycle points all over the place. In short; If you are gonna sell gear, be prepared to ship and be prepared to pack well because happy customers equals repeat business or at least recommendations....it is a worthwhile investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) This week, my first ever serious problem with a courier (that I booked ). And it was Interparcel/UPS. Never had the slightest problem before. Had arranged to swap cabs with a guy in Doncaster. UPS up there missed the collection but managed it next day. My collection was fine. His cab turned up here, as expected, one day late. Mine was delivered to and signed for at a similar sounding address...in Grimsby. God knows how this is going to resolve, but I'll probably end up returning his cab and getting an insurance payout. Rats. What's wrong with UPS in Yorkshire? Edited July 2, 2016 by Telebass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lownote Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Not taking any of the grief away from other posters but I've bought and sold 21 basses and 10 amps /cabs. Most of these have been couriered and I have had 100% satisfaction and no nightmares. The down side of the anti-courier lobby is people advertising desirable kit the other side of the country on a local pick up only basis. Am I going to spend £50 on petrol to pick up a £120 bass? No. So you see the adverts being bumped for literally months in some cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 [quote name='lownote12' timestamp='1467701797' post='3085398'] Not taking any of the grief away from other posters but I've bought and sold 21 basses and 10 amps /cabs. Most of these have been couriered and I have had 100% satisfaction and no nightmares. The down side of the anti-courier lobby is people advertising desirable kit the other side of the country on a local pick up only basis. Am I going to spend £50 on petrol to pick up a £120 bass? No. So you see the adverts being bumped for literally months in some cases. [/quote] The flipside of this is that by the time you add the insurance to cover sending a £1,000+ instrument, I would often rather deliver the thing myself in person! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lownote Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 You have a point. Just checked Interparcel insurance and they reckon 2% of value up to £1000 - which is £20. So that's still only £35-40 to send insured. If someone in Glasgow or Devon wants my gear it's a no brainer to send it. Assuming you're not expecting catastrophe, which I haven't had (yet!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryPotter Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Hi Guys, Regarding shipping from the UK to France, are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AME Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Good post,cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zvirus Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Hi Everyone, Just my 2 pennies... in 2017 I have posted 4 basses from N. Ireland to Mainland using - Parcelforce 24h. Yes I know what people say BUT I have to say: None of the basses have been damaged in ANY way and You know why??? ALL of them have been packed using gigbag or bubble wrap then 1st thick cardboard box and another thick cardboard box - 2 BOXES in total if You get lost Also recived 2 basses packed in TWO cardboard boxes and guess what? Yes they arrived safe and sound. Personally I don`t understand why to blame Courier for being lazy and taking chance and posting using one flimsy box? If I have to buy from abroad again I`ll ask seller if he could pack the bass into 2 boxes if he CAN NOT I`m not interested in buying - that`s all. All The Best Tomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillento Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I have been "building" my own shipping boxes for cabs for month: double boxes, cabs double wrapped in bubble foil, cutting holes in order to use the cabs handles ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkydoug Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Just chipping in with visual proof of how easy it is to go to a bike shop and ask for the very tough stuff that'll keep your gear safe in transit. Great thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Shipping two cabs to Finland, booked DPD through Interparcel, stayed in all today and no sign of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Shipped a bass to Norway last week with UPS. Norwegian customs got a bit antsy about the materials. UPS were outstanding. First thing was a phone call from the depot saying the driver couldn't make the 2.30pm deadline and it would be about 4.30pm,got that call at 8am. Second Gold Star was the phone call from UPS saying there was a problem, I hadn't included 3 copies of the customs forms. They printed off more for me at the depot. Thrid Gold Star was when custom impounded it. Another phone call from UPS explaining the trouble . I just emailed a reply saying there was no CITES restricted woods and included a PDF of the catalogue with the info on the bass bookmarked. Buyer received his bass the next day. Total cost of shipping a Cirrus in a hard shell case Scotland to Norway £12.40. When you factor in the added admin and phone calls you can see why I think UPS were outstanding 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikanHannille Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Booked DPD via Interparcel last Friday for collection on Monday (5th) to be delivered by Friday (as the guy on the other end will only be there until Friday because he works abroad). Nobody showed up yesterday to collect. Phoned them first thing this morning (Tuesday) and said the collection would be today and the delivery will still be the same. Went to work, I asked my mum to stay at my house for the courier to collect. Had a text off her that it was collected. Hurray! Too soon... I double checked and phoned them again. Now they are saying that the estimated delivery is either Friday or Monday. Livid! I demanded it to be upgraded so it's guaranteed to be delivered by Friday but they said they can't do that. I then demanded for it to be cancelled and have a full refund. They've put me on hold for 40 minutes on the phone while they are trying to contact DPD trying to get my parcel back. What a load of rubbish this Interparcel thing. Not a good experience at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andysg42 Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Avoid Hermes like the plague . The worst of the worst . customer service from hell . useless .be warned bass chatters . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Had two parcels (pair of speakers) to be collected on the same Monday as MikanHanille (see above), also using Interparcel and DPD. DPD didn't show. Rebooked for the Wednesday - they showed up and took the speakers, which then turned up in Finland a few days later - which was just as well, as that was where they were supposed to be going. Would have used a drop-off (and UPS) but the boxes were presumably just too big to do that. Interparcel were very helpful. I've also got an incoming parcel (bike bits, not musical) which DPD are supposed to be delivering, except that they've lost it. I shan't be switching my allegiance from UPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 On 07/03/2018 at 09:40, andysg42 said: Avoid Hermes like the plague . The worst of the worst . customer service from hell . useless .be warned bass chatters . Totally agree. Terrible problems with damaged goods and dreadful follow up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golats Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 I'm selling a guitar on ebay (collection only) and a few people have asked if I will post, so I thought...."may as well, might get a higher price". When I go to change the postage details on ebay however it turns out I can't revise it. So what do I do? If the winning bidder wants it to be posted can he pay the postage charge directly into my PayPal account? Won't he need my PayPal e-mail address for this and isn't it dodgy giving this out? ALSO! Every courier service I try to get a quote from stipulates that the guitar must be packed in a hard case for postage. It doesn't have a case so what can I do? Does that mean I can still post it, at my own risk, but if it arrives damaged then I get no compensation? I find this whole thing really confusing, don't know how everybody else seems to do it with apprent ease. Any advice for a courier that will take it without having to pack it in a hard case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J66Bass Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 I wish some sellers read about your information, well as for me they lost me on 2 occasion last weekend , because their wrongful attitudes, i do sell occasionally and never behave such a way , specially if the price is high, buyer are a lot rarer this day so bear that in mind 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillento Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 On 20/06/2018 at 13:46, Golats said: ..... ALSO! Every courier service I try to get a quote from stipulates that the guitar must be packed in a hard case for postage. It doesn't have a case so what can I do? Does that mean I can still post it, at my own risk, but if it arrives damaged then I get no compensation? I find this whole thing really confusing, don't know how everybody else seems to do it with apprent ease. Any advice for a courier that will take it without having to pack it in a hard case? In this case I am offering to ship one of my empty cases (properly packed) to the seller and have him return it with the bass included. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basscki Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 I've missed work and sat in all day for a UPS collection that never materialised but was showing up as due on their tracking. Just highlighting to fellow BCers that they aren't immune from the screw ups people report by other courier companies. I booked through Parcels2go, maybe that hand off is flaky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian McFly Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 How do you guys manage to have quotes for like £40 to ship a bass from the UK to France? I tried a quote on the Interparcel website, I get a quote of like £160 ?!! What’s the best courier to ship from UK to France at a reasonable price? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGB Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 My main problem is that the quotes I find are around 40/50 euro but all companies have a policy that with international shipping the maximum length may not exceed 100cm. I'm trying to send a bass from the Netherlands to Croatia and I'm really having a hard time finding a suitable courier. I tried GLS, DPD, Post NL and a few more and they all said the same and where kinda unhelpful in finding a solution. So could you please enlighten me how on earth are you guys sending basses in their cases or boxes abroad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 @MGB I just checked Gls. Maximum length is 200cm,maximum girth is 300cm. Bass case 150cm by 45cm by 15cm is no problem. Length + 2x width + 2x height is 270cm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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