How would you ship this?

[dw171]

At an upcoming auction this week there's going to be some very nice vintage electronics, turntables, speakers, mixers and things, but a lot of them weigh in excess of 30lbs a piece. I'd like to be able to buy all of it, most of the items are $150-200+ each on ebay. I'm trying to figure out how would I even ship something that size and weight. For those who ship large items, how do you do it. Are there special boxes needed or something? I don't know if they fit in a large flat rate box or not. How would I make sure they arrive ok and undamaged? Any help is appreciated.

 

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[meanpc]

I ship stuff like stereo receivers fairly often. Fedex or UPS ground is the only way to go, unless you are shipping to your state or a neighboring state. You will have to buy some decent sturdy boxes. Foam corners are good for that kind of stuff. Buy a box that gives you at least 2 inches of room in every dimension and find some way to make sure the item stays in the center. We have a shipping supply place here where I can buy 10 counts of those kinds of boxes fairly cheap. I don't think I would bother trying to ship tower speakers. I highly recommend you use calculated shipping on eBay for this stuff as the rates can very WILDLY depending on location. Don't forget to add in a handling fee to cover the packing expenses.

 

[Paleo_joe]

I ship stereo equipment but it can be a pain! I will only do it if there's $100 of profit in it. meanpc has it right. I scavenge all my boxes except for framed art ones. I always sell with a disclaimer that it powers up and looks good but I can't guarantee it to work since I don't have a way to test it. Then if something breaks in shipping I am covered. But you get less money. I have had good luck until my last item, when the guy didn't like my packing but didn't ding me.

 

[jerseyben]

Every time I buy a stereo component (receiver, turntable), I upgrade my own system. I am now "hoarding" the components because I like having them as spares. Of course, at this point, do I really need 6 turntables as spares?

 

[trdhrdr007]

I've got a nice Lenco turntable I picked up about this time last year. It's still sitting on my work bench due to the shipping issue. Hate to see $200+ sitting around.

 

[Beachkid23]

Some of that stuff if it fits I would put in a Home Depot small packing box. And then put a box over top of it to fill up the difference in size. And then use bubblewrap and packing peanuts. However I've gotten burned so many times on vintage electronics I don't mess with him anymore unless I test them but I don't buy them anymore.

 

[dumpsterdiver]

I find a big box. Sometimes this is harder than it sounds. Then I buy a pack of that foam sheeting insulation. I build sheets all around it until it fits solidly in the box. Its a pain. I would say for every ten dollars you spend you are going to want a $150 return. If you think about the time it takes to pack, test, list and ebay/auction fees. And you have to think about how well they sell. Or did some guy just get lucky when it sold for $200.

 

[dw171]

Thanks for the replies. All the items are in excellent condition. They had them all hooked up and playing. Most of the items do sell well. I just have to wait and see what I can actually buy them for.