Cheapest, Secure Way to Ship an Amp: Fedex, USPS, UPS

[Junk Yard Dog]

I will pack the amp myself. What is the cheapest and most reliable way to do this.

I've heard creating a Fedex account and printing the label yourself is cheaper.

Thanks.

 

[mooncobra]

fedex is getting crazy with their prices but it is the only carrier i will use. i just shipped a guitar a few days ago, a strat in a gig bag, it cost $95!!!! unbelievable! but, their tracking uis accurate, and the one time something was damaged a little, they immediately cut a check.

 

[John4021]

Recent amp trade.
He had an account.( Fed Ex)
I did not.
Shipping to Cali. was damn near $100.00
His amp coming to me was like half that.

 

[Spaceboy]

It all depends on hub locations and such for the recipient. If FedEx has a closer major hub than UPS or whoever, then sometimes they are cheaper because the package doesn't go through as many hands. Some people claim one service is cheaper than the others but I've not found that to be true, it's entirely location dependent. It's best to get a ballpark figure from the online calculators, but usually going into the store is a bit cheaper for a single package without an account or anything.

 

[romanianreaper]

Those prices are f-ing ridiculous!!! You guys would have been better off flying to meet the person and hand carrying the guitar.

I have heard horror stories about UPS and damage but haven't experienced too many issues myself. Is USPS still the cheapest?

 

[GJgo]

USPS has poor tracking & no accountability, remember it's government...

FedEx is good but expensive, and I've been told that if the claim is on a vintage piece of gear they have a loophole & don't pay.

I use UPS because I have an account at my work. We ship tons of product and very rarely have any issues.

 

[keennay]

Never use UPS... unless you enjoy having your items delivered in broken pieces.

FedEx for me.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

In the past when I used to live in NM, FedEx was always 1/3 less than UPS. Haven't shipped anything in the last 4 months since moving to MT, so not sure how they compare up here. I think most the packages I received in the past were usually beat to hell through UPS whereas FedEx packages seemed to fair better. Probably a crap shoot however/whoever you use.

Just pack it like you mean it and it should be fine.

 

[Oblivion DC]

And remember, you can have cheap or you can have reliable. You usually can’t have both. When I get a choice I’ll always choose FedEx for more expensive items, and UPS for cheaper or essentially bulletproof items. I reserve usps for stuff that I don’t mind if it shows up late or gets delivered to someone else’s house first or maybe it’s a used power brick that someone wrapped in one layer of bubble wrap and an addy sticker with pedal cables inside the bubble wrap but no iec cable for 20 bucks shipped... wait, what were we talking about??!??

 

[chondroguitars]

Ship using Fedex, for one. Use a double line box allowing 2 inch's of space on all sides, wrap the amp a few times with 1/2inch bubbles, add an extra piece or 2 of cardboard on the bottom, styrofoam works well to. REMOVE TUBES (if tube amp), wrap them in bubbles, fill the remaining empty space with packing peanuts, and enjoy a safe delivery! I have shipped over 150 used amps of all sizes not one has been damaged using this method.

Also when shipping an amp...CHEAPEST really isn't the way to go. Depending on the amp, these things are expensive to ship. The ave tube amp cost me about 20 bucks in packing supplies.

 

[LP Freak]

These threads are al the same

 

[Spaceboy]

Ship using Fedex, for one. Use a double line box allowing 2 inch's of space on all sides, wrap the amp a few times with 1/2inch bubbles, add an extra piece or 2 of cardboard on the bottom, styrofoam works well to. REMOVE TUBES (if tube amp), wrap them in bubbles, fill the remaining empty space with packing peanuts, and enjoy a safe delivery! I have shipped over 150 used amps of all sizes not one has been damaged using this method.

Also when shipping an amp...CHEAPEST really isn't the way to go. Depending on the amp, these things are expensive to ship. The ave tube amp cost me about 20 bucks in packing supplies.

I have never received an amp this well packed, from individuals here and elsewhere, from stores, or directly from builders.

 

[chondroguitars]

Ship using Fedex, for one. Use a double line box allowing 2 inch's of space on all sides, wrap the amp a few times with 1/2inch bubbles, add an extra piece or 2 of cardboard on the bottom, styrofoam works well to. REMOVE TUBES (if tube amp), wrap them in bubbles, fill the remaining empty space with packing peanuts, and enjoy a safe delivery! I have shipped over 150 used amps of all sizes not one has been damaged using this method.

Also when shipping an amp...CHEAPEST really isn't the way to go. Depending on the amp, these things are expensive to ship. The ave tube amp cost me about 20 bucks in packing supplies.

I have never received an amp this well packed, from individuals here and elsewhere, from stores, or directly from builders.

I am very careful with my amps. Last thing I want, is for the amp to be destroyed in transit. I am a small shop, I can not take a loss of over 1k because of poor packing. Most amps I carry and sell used, are high end amps. Im not taking that loss, nor have my customers deal with it either.

I also have a friend who drives for FedEx, and knew someone who worked on the packing line at UPS, if you really knew what went on back there, you would demand your amps be packed this way as well. As a dealer, I get in shipments all week long, and am always having to send amps and cabs back due to them being damaged.

 

[Deanmachine]

FedEx all the way open an account and pack it to survive the apocalypse .

 

[Spaceboy]

Ship using Fedex, for one. Use a double line box allowing 2 inch's of space on all sides, wrap the amp a few times with 1/2inch bubbles, add an extra piece or 2 of cardboard on the bottom, styrofoam works well to. REMOVE TUBES (if tube amp), wrap them in bubbles, fill the remaining empty space with packing peanuts, and enjoy a safe delivery! I have shipped over 150 used amps of all sizes not one has been damaged using this method.

Also when shipping an amp...CHEAPEST really isn't the way to go. Depending on the amp, these things are expensive to ship. The ave tube amp cost me about 20 bucks in packing supplies.

I have never received an amp this well packed, from individuals here and elsewhere, from stores, or directly from builders.

I am very careful with my amps. Last thing I want, is for the amp to be destroyed in transit. I am a small shop, I can not take a loss of over 1k because of poor packing. Most amps I carry and sell used, are high end amps. Im not taking that loss, nor have my customers deal with it either.

I also have a friend who drives for FedEx, and knew someone who worked on the packing line at UPS, if you really knew what went on back there, you would demand your amps be packed this way as well. As a dealer, I get in shipments all week long, and am always having to send amps and cabs back due to them being damaged.

keep doing exactly what you are doing

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

So the rep at the Fedex location I just visted to pick up bubble wrap said there is no difference when printing the label yourself or just taking it in to for them to print the label.

 

[glip22]

So the rep at the Fedex location I just visted to pick up bubble wrap said there is no difference when printing the label yourself or just taking it in to for them to print the label.

You might want to look into the insurance aspect when dropping a packed box off on your own account versus shipping it on the stores account. The last UPS store I dropped off a 3K guitar at packed and on my account informed me it voids the declared value unless I ship on their account.

 

[LP Freak]

So the rep at the Fedex location I just visted to pick up bubble wrap said there is no difference when printing the label yourself or just taking it in to for them to print the label.

I know for a fact it’s cheaper to ship under my UPS account vs bringing it to the UPS Store. I created a label and got the cost and then called them for a quote using the same shipping info and they were more. I questioned them why and they said they didn’t know and it should be the same price. That was me doing all the packing.

 

[155]

usps priority is the cheapest and fastest , the less time these idiots have to handle the stuff the better,,,

 

[glip22]

So the rep at the Fedex location I just visted to pick up bubble wrap said there is no difference when printing the label yourself or just taking it in to for them to print the label.

I know for a fact it’s cheaper to ship under my UPS account vs bringing it to the UPS Store. I created a label and got the cost and then called them for a quote using the same shipping info and they were more. I questioned them why and they said they didn’t know and it should be the same price. That was me doing all the packing.

They are well aware there prices are retail costs and higher by a lot. I spoke to a store about it and they told me the truth. They wanted $120.00 insured to ship an amp. It cost me $68.00 on my account insured. Big difference.