Shipping

artuba · Post by **artuba** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:30 pm

I have possibly found a tuba through a private seller, loan pending, and I'm more than likely going to have the horn shipped to be due to distance and lack of time to travel. Does anyone out there have any good suggestions as to who to ship the horn through?

WakinAZ · Post by **WakinAZ** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:46 pm

If you pay a shipping store to pack it, make sure you inspect their work. I had someone ship me a sousaphone that was packed at one of these places, and they just placed the body on top of the bell with no peanuts or anything else in the box. It made it OK, but it only had to go about 130 miles/one or two transfers. Non-tubists have no idea how delicate these tank-looking big horns really are.

Eric "hates shipping" L.

Art Hovey · Post by **Art Hovey** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 11:28 pm

I may not have enough experience to be statistically significant, but my impression is that DHL is usually less brutal than UPS. Whoever you ship it with, you can be sure that they will drop the tuba either on its bell or on its butt at least once. Keep that in mind when packing the instrument.

eupher61 · Post by **eupher61** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:13 am

I cannot recommend DHL whatsoever. My tuba, shipped from CA, went to Denver by truck, then by air to Ohio, then trucked back to Kansas City. It was 5 days late, according to what DHL promised. They also refused to refund any of the shipping charges.

Greyhound is a great alternative. Amtrak, if it's close at all, is even better.

ParLawGod · Post by **ParLawGod** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:20 am

Greyhound is a great alternative.

I used Greyhound about a year ago for a Conn 20J and was very pleased. It was very affordable and everything went smoothly.

pulseczar · Post by **pulseczar** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:37 am

I've recently received a tuba that was shipped from coast to coast with Greyhound. The packaging was frighteningly less than ideal (cardboard wrapped around hardcase) but the tuba arrived without any noticeable problems.

Alex F · Post by **Alex F** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:46 am

I've used DHL ground twice, once from Chicago to Kansas and once from Chicago to the Iowegian Tubameister (Lee Stofer). They picked up from home and got both items delivered within 24 hours without damage. YMMV.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:33 am

I have tubas coming and going almost weekly. I use Greyhound whenever logistics will allow. That being said, please bear in mind that most all of my horns are in the realm of less than $3,000 valued 'play conditions'. I totally agree with Joe.... if you have a horn of great value, the very best way is to just 'go get it yourself'.

John Caves · Post by **John Caves** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:36 pm

Two thumbs up for Greyhound. I sent two sousaphones to Bloke some time ago and they arrived without any problem. Remember, in a bus they only ride a few inches above the pavement.

Dean E · Post by **Dean E** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:48 pm

Do not use UPS. They have mishandled three moderately valuable shipments, for which their insurance plan paid me full purchase price. The driver once pushed a large Kennedy rolling tool chest off the back of the truck and rolled the package, end over end, to my front door. Another time they bent a set of wooden venetian blinds in the middle of the box. An upright tuba that was shipped to me looked like it had been dropped from the loading dock and landed on the bell end, crushing the box and bell.

I did have good luck with a sousaphone shipped Greyhound in a large cardboard box. Their tracking wasn't the best, but the horn arrived undamaged.

I highly recommend double boxing, with a small soccer ball and bubble wrap being inserted into the bell. Stuff the space between the inner and outer boxes with peanuts.

More valuable horns warrant special treatment. My 5/4 horn came in a Walt Johnson flight case, placed inside a wooden crate, and arrived without a scratch. Customs forgot to rebuckle the straps inside the flight case, however, so remember to design around human error. That was shipped internationally with Fed Ex.

djwesp · Post by **djwesp** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 9:11 pm

My opinion of my two greyhound experiences can be found elsewhere. I was greatly dissatisfied, but seem to be in the minority. (i'm pretty sure one guy is still in prison out of the whole deal) I've had good experiences picking up the horns myself or using ups/dhl (*gasp*). I think that with anything as big, cumbersome, expensive, and uncommon for the carrier, as a tuba, there will be some problems with just about anyone you pick.

Anyway, the good news is you found a horn, Matt! I hope it turns out well, I know you have been in the market for a while.

kingrob76 · Post by **kingrob76** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:09 am

Amtrak whenever possible. Greyhound if Amtrak not feasible. DHL is unreliable at best IMO, and so is UPS and FedEx for anything like a tuba. Deliver or go get the horn by car if it's a day away (or any reasonable distance) and spend the shipping costs on a hotel room.

Packing the instrument for shipping isn't difficult once you learn a couple tricks. Always stuff the bell of the horn with rolled-up bubble wrap. And stuff it fairly tightly. If there is enough tolerance to wrap the horn *once* with bubble wrap before putting it in a gig bag or case than wont hurt either. Put said horn in case / bag, then take it to a shipping store. Procure a box that will have at least a foot in any direction between the bag and the edge of the box. Now the fun part - peanuts. They should be packed around the case / bag fairly tightly. When the box is sealed the horn should effectively be suspended in the peanuts and needs to NOT be able to move.

The idea is the peanuts will absorb the energy of any impacts, and the bubble wrap in the bell should provide enough counter-force to keep the bell from getting smooshed. And pack it yourself - packing places don't understand tubas.

I've seen shipping where foam was injected into the box and molded itself to fit the horn inside the box. That worked well but might be cost prohibitive.

ParLawGod · Post by **ParLawGod** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:35 am

Do not use UPS.

I agree! I've had more than one package arrive in damaged condition from UPS (luckily the items were still okay). They also LOST a trombone of mine about four years ago. I've never had those problems with USPS, Greyhound, and DHL.

artuba · Post by **artuba** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:27 pm

Wow! Thanks to anyone who provided feedback. I think I'm going to try to have the horn shipped Greyhound since Amtrak is not accessible where I'm at.

jasonkoi · Post by **jasonkoi** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:17 pm

I had a pretty bad experience with Greyhound this past summer. If you do end up using them, try to insist on having the tuba shipped priority. They will say that anything over 600 miles (I believe) cannot be shipped priority. Try to insist anyway.

If you do not ship priority, Greyhound does not track the package during transit, so if something goes wrong (as it did with me) they will have NO WAY of knowing where the instrument is. They weren't able to tell me where my horn was at all over the course of 5 days and then it just magically showed up at the destination. This was about 5 days too late, and their customer service was HORRIBLE the entire time.

Just my 2 cents.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:23 pm

jasonkoi wrote:their customer service was HORRIBLE the entire time

But was the horn OK?