Greyhound Shipping Insurance No Longer

[groth]

My wife and I purchased (used) a horn for my high school aged son within the past month from a private seller which we both agreed Greyhound would be the best option to ship a large instrument for the least amount of money. We came to find out (as of a couple of months ago) that Greyhound no longer allows Shipping Insurance on ANY musical instruments and does not include the "Declared Value" of such on your waybill receipt. Formerly I was under the impression it was $300 maximum. Now, it's not even an option. The clerk told me in person it was because of damage claims and liability, and if the instrument gets lost or stolen then there's a separate process to file for that. (Who knows what rabbit hole that leads down). Just a heads up.

[GC]

Could someone who deals with Fedex Palletized Freight please chip in?

[saxophyte]

I have a fed ex account and just priced a pallet of sousaphones from Ohio to SAN Diego 266# $1045.00 picked up at my curb and delivered to a business with a fork lift .I shipped by Saia freight $502.00
pallet size 40x48x62

[edsel585960]

Did the horn arrive safely?. I've had good luck with Greyhound but it is a crap shoot with the insurance issues.

[groth]

Did the horn arrive safely?. I've had good luck with Greyhound but it is a crap shoot with the insurance issues.

I agree, it seems like Eastbound shipping from out west goes smoother and arrives quickly but stuff going west takes forever. I knew what horn I wanted and realized it wasn't going to be hanging on the wall at my local music shop. Thank God I don't do this very often.

[Dan Schultz]

This sounds like you may have received some bum advice from an uninformed Greyhound agent. I've shipped AND received tubas (and other instruments) via Greyhound within the last week or so and nothing has changed in the way they insure things. Their maximum is $1,000 within about 1,000 miles and $300 beyond that limit.

[groth]

This sounds like you may have received some bum advice from an uninformed Greyhound agent. I've shipped AND received tubas (and other instruments) via Greyhound within the last week or so and nothing has changed in the way they insure things. Their maximum is $1,000 within about 1,000 miles and $300 beyond that limit.

Did you specifically tell the clerk it was a tuba on the ones you shipped? If it's in a large unidentifiable shipping box they probably won't ask the contents. I'm glad I don't have to do this often as some may for this exact reason.

[Dan Schultz]

... Did you specifically tell the clerk it was a tuba on the ones you shipped? If it's in a large unidentifiable shipping box they probably won't ask the contents. I'm glad I don't have to do this often as some may for this exact reason.

Yes. The agent behind the counter in Evansville knows me VERY well and knows EXACTLY what I am shipping and receiving.

I'm not doubting what you are trying to say. ... just wondering if your 'counter person' knows what's going on.

[groth]

just wondering if your 'counter person' knows what's going on.

Or has a buddy that collects tubas in the bed of his pickup truck and sells them across the border. That's what had me worried.

[MaryAnn]

Well, I got my NStar intact in a box via FedEx from somewhere across the country, six months ago. The thing is, it's a crap shoot no matter how you do it. Of course I'm grateful and delighted that it was shipped to me, but tend to agree with Wade that if you really, really want to be sure it's safe, think twice about shipping it. You never know which set of gorillas is going to be handling it.

[groth]

To further investigate this matter (outside my region) I called Greyhound corporate customer service and this IS the new policy as of April. So perhaps Dan you have a nice clerk who allows it still but is going against company policy. They said if the instrument gets lost or stolen during it's transit, then it becomes a claim where you have to show proof of purchase and amount. I guess if you're shipping something old with no retail ledger and it gets lost, good luck to you.

[bisontuba]

ALL shipping...GPX, UPS, FedEx, common carrier...is a crap-shoot.

Huge +1

[Dan Schultz]

To further investigate this matter (outside my region) I called Greyhound corporate customer service and this IS the new policy as of April. So perhaps Dan you have a nice clerk who allows it still but is going against company policy. They said if the instrument gets lost or stolen during it's transit, then it becomes a claim where you have to show proof of purchase and amount. I guess if you're shipping something old with no retail ledger and it gets lost, good luck to you.

I just dropped off another horn today heading to New Orleans. The same insurance rules apply that have been in place for quite some time. $1,000 to New Orleans is the maximum declared value from Evansville, Indiana. The agent here is accessing the Greyhound network that the rest of The Country is using. I discussed this at length with my agent. The Evansville terminal is a contract station and the local agent is not a direct employee of Greyhound... only a ticked and shipping agent. He commented that anything is possible and as far as insurance goes... that's through a third party, anyway. Greyhound just sells the insurance.

All know at this moment is that I have a tuba heading to New Orleans as I type this message that has a $1,000 declared value on it and the added insurance cost $9 on top of the bus ticket.

Another thing that's possible is that insurance companies have rules dictated by individual states and different rules may apply depending on where you are. It's all sometimes quite confusing but you've gotta trust someone along the way.

I totally agree that the only REAL way to transfer a tuba is hand to hand for CASH!

[bort]

Question -- does insurance like Clarion cover damage during shipping? As in, buy the tuba, get it insured, and then ship it... Is it covered?

[Dan Schultz]

Question -- does insurance like Clarion cover damage during shipping? As in, buy the tuba, get it insured, and then ship it... Is it covered?

Homeowners insurance usually covers 'personal property off premises'. I don't know how it might apply to shipping on a common carrier.

[basslizard]

My tuba arrived via USPS shipping. The seller wrapped the tuba in bubble wrap, put it back into the case, clear-taped the case closed, and slapped on a shipping label. Since the tuba was already rather beat up prior to shipping, and I had no pictures of the case pre-shipping, I have no idea how much damage was actually caused in transit. I would guess a couple dings to the case were the result, but the horn probably didn't incur any additional dents or scratches. All I could say when the postmaster opened the side door and handed me my 'too big to fit in your mailbox' mail, was, "huh. So that's how they shipped it." She (the postmaster) was almost beside herself over the whole thing.

I would not recommend this as a shipping method. The Greyhound shipping method is how I ship spinning wheels, that or we have a 'wheel railroad' where strangers agree to drive the wheel to it's new owner in a relay. They really don't ship well otherwise.

[bort]

^ I called this the "tuba taxi."

I did this when I traded my Neptune for my Willson (NYC to Kentucky). Two very large tubas, which I had no interest in shipping, and could not drive them myself. The tubas caught a ride with a grad student tuba player who was driving from NYC to Arkansas and back. The other person and I agreed to a rate with the driver, and each of us paid half. We also drew up a short contract for the transaction and all signed it. Not sure that's legally binding or anything, but I think all 3 of us felt better to have something on paper.

End result -- 2 huge tubas traded places with each other with no damage.

I also did a tuba trade once near Pittsburgh, when I was driving from Minneapolis to New York. A little inconvenient to have the entire trunk taken up by a tuba on a long road trip, but a minor inconvenience.

TLDR; driving is the best way to get a tuba from point A to point B.

[edsel585960]

In the online Jeep world we regularly set up relay shipping. That would be much harder for low brass players since there are so few of us.

Perhaps we need to set up a national Driving Board like you see in university Student Unions whereby you post where you are going and how much you need for gas, etc. and riders then contact you.

We could have a TubeNet shipping map where people willing to drive (for the cost of gas plus a low, flat fee based on actual miles driven) and the BUYER then plays connect-the-dots to piece together a one-way shipping route that only uses us. Might end up a bit more expensive, but lots of guys will get to meet each other and no one but us will ever touch a horn, and no shipping materials will have to be used.

I Could do the Valdosta to South FL leg on the weekends.

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Amtrak.

Nuff said.



Dan'l

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Besides Michigan, they get it close to you without wrecking or losing it. Sure you will need to make a trek to the local express office, but for the reasonable cost and safety they provide, I feel its worth it.

However, if having your tuba dropped off in the alley or in the front yard is okay with you along with the damage caused by the forklift or getting caught in a conveyer system and if you see it as a perk to struggle with collecting on insurance in addition to the crazy shipping cost, then go with FedEx, UPS, Fraight, etc. We repair folk are here to serve.

Now Joe, if you had not chose to build your utopic compound paradise in the boonies, you could take more convenient advantage of the great service our nations rail system has to offer.


Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
http://www.oberloh.com
http://www.facebook.com/Oberloh-Woodwin ... &pnref=lhc