Share your Greyhound tuba shipping experience....

[toothlesstexan]

Hi everyone,

I am just about to send some equipment for a road trip via Greyhound, and I'd love to hear how your experience was.

I am concerned with their low level of insurance ($300). Has this ever been a problem for anyone?

Thanks for your input!

[roughrider]

The tuba I purchased was shipped from Vancouver British Columbia to Saskatoon Saskatchewan. This is a distance of approximately 1800 miles and the trip took 3 days and no problems at all. I have now sent the horn to London Ontario to have work done on it. This is a round trip of approximately 4500 miles. The horn was packed using the directions posted by Norm Pearson on this website and it was a lot of work, however worth it for sure! The horn took four days to arrive in London and the Greyhound staff at the depot in London were excellent to deal with. I have had only positive experiences so far. Hopefully this will continue. I have to add a correction, the only issue so far was a shipping clerk here in Saskatoon with a real "attitude" I kept my mouth shut as perhaps he might drop the box or run into it with a forklift after I had gone. I left a very snarky note on the website of the local bus company and received an extremely apologetic phone call from the general manager the next day. Hopefully that is the only adventure I and or the tuba will have.

[Alex C]

A friend recently had a tuba shipped and Greyhound lost track of it for about a month. They found it when the shipper called to collect on the insurance. The problem with this particular was that the tuba was being shipped to a small town about 45 mins. outside of Dallas.

I believe but cannot categorically state (not enough research done) that shipping to major cities will get you a reasonably fast delivery. If you ship to a Greyhound station that is also a Chevron station, your chance of a fast, safe delivery diminish.

So, in my opinion, It would behoove the addressee to have the package shipped to the closest nearby city. An hour drive to a major city bus station beats a six week wait.

[Dan Schultz]

I've probably shipped over 100 tubas via Greyhound. Aside from a couple of 'slow' transits... I've not had any problems. Greyhound is under new ownership. They are spending a lot of energy trimming routes and doing things to increase passenger loading. It's hard to say how this might affect their freight handling since this is more-or-less a side-line, anyway.

AlexC is correct when he advises the use of larger terminals. Trying to get a package to what might be a contract station can work out to long delays.

[eupher61]

I've done it just a couple of times, but also with minimal packing. No problems except a wheel broken off the case. External damage only. Think of it this way, the case will only fall a couple of feet, as opposed to a plane.

[Mojo workin']

I was told that I would be notified by phone when my tuba arrived at the Baltimore station.

Coming from one state away, I tried calling Greyhound after about 3 days. No answer. Any time of the day, no answer, or busy. Tried main number and customer service. No answer. Any time of the day. Could not track it online because the order to ship was not placed online.

After 5 days, I drove to the Baltimore station. They had received it the day before, but hadn't gotten around to calling me.

Hey..... that's cool; it's not like I needed it for gigs in a couple of days or anything.

[Alex C]

A friend recently had a tuba shipped and Greyhound lost track of it for about a month. They found it when the shipper called to collect on the insurance.

I have never heard of a tuba injury via greyhound, but they can't tell you where it is at.

True, their tracking is unreliable. However, Greyhound tracked it fast enough when the insurance company called with a $5,000 claim. It was delivered the day after.

[b.williams]

I have shipped or received around 10 tubas with Grehound. No problems. They are fast and cheap.

[Michael Bush]

I've shipped two to California (from South Carolina) and received one from there, and sent and received one each way between here and Connecticut. The three cross-country ones took a week. The one I received from Connecticut took about four days. The one I sent up there took a little longer, because they accidentally tore the envelope with their documents in it off, but they called the recipient, who contacted me, and we were able to put it all back together with the loss of only a day or so. I worried a lot through all these shipments, but it all worked out without a serious hitch.

OTOH, I shipped a tuba to Wisconsin once by UPS. Thought I had it packed in a bullet-proof way, but the bell was crushed when it got there and we ended up with an insurance claim. Fortunately that got paid without the headaches one often hears about with UPS and insurance.

UPS also once stuck a forklift through a box that held a Les Paul. (At least that's what the buyer thought had happened from the look of it.) It was well packed and in a hard case, but what can you do about the tine of a fork lift? Insurance was a tremendous headache for the recipient (and somewhat for me) that time. It did eventually get paid after several weeks.

[MrBasseyPants]

I got my King Jumbo 1265 via Greyhound. Just lots and lots of bubble wrap. I would think shipping a sousaphone this way is a no brainer...bubble wrap the bell, put the body on..then bubble wrap the whole thing....presto...a nice package!

I made the mistake of having it shipped to the terminal by O'hare airport in Chicago. It spent three days waiting for room from the main Chicago terminal. It made it from NC to Chicago in a day. I called and they said I could pick it up from the main chicago terminal. I did, but I had to look through the warehouse for it....it was neatly placed in an area bound for the O'Hare terminal (Cumberland). I was quite impressed. the freight warehouse was clean, organized and nothing was stacked on top of anything else...and EVERYTHING was bubble wrapped....it looked like lots of car bumpers and parts.

I agree they may not be the best full-service shipper...but it seems like they have figured out how to offer a nice service for oversized and odd-shaped packages. I'd ship with them again, but I am going to always be worried with anything of value.

I think guitars are a major hassle to send via UPS/FedEx. I have sent quite a few bass guitars with none worth over $700. I don't think that is a big deal, but getting into pricey guitars seems to make UPS/FedEx scared....I am not sure if'd I'd ship a really expensive guitar through them myself.

jc

[tclements]

I had one sent to me, then went back cross country with no problems. Maybe it has to go out of and into a bigger station, where their facilities are better equipped to handle freight. Whatever you do, make sure you pack it really well.

[Ferguson]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Tim_McLean





Ferguson

[eupher61]

no ill will toward the Horn Guys, but they shipped me a tuba via DHL 5 years ago or so. It went by plane from LA to Denver, flew Denver to Ohio, then trucked Ohio to KC. And, it was a week late.

I'll take Greyhound any day. For tubas, not for me. Amtrak for me or a tuba.

[Ferguson]

Hey Eupher, I remember that shipment. It's no surprise that DHL gave up providing service in the US. Their deliveries were simply random. I remember giving a big sigh of relief when that tuba arrived unscathed.

Lately we mostly ship tubas via UPS Freight (not small package service), often on a pallet. Greyhound and Amtrak have provided stellar service for tuba shipments. Amtrak service is limited, as they consider tubas to be heavy freight, and unloading means they want access to a forklift at the station. Not all Greyhound stations are staffed or offer freight services either, so you may have to choose to pick up the tuba at a busier station in a larger urban area. For Greyhound, choose the upgraded priority service for sure.

If anyone in SoCal needs a tuba box, I have stacks of them to give away. Most are 23x30x48".

Best,

Ferguson
/occasional troll

[Ferguson]

If anyone has needs to contact me regarding shipping or boxes, please email me directly at sales@hornguys.com" target="_blank rather than through Tubenet PM. Not everyone can receive or send them. I'm meaning Kiltie.

Best,

Steve

[toothlesstexan]

Wow, this is very helpful to hear what everyone has to say... thank you!

This leads me to another question: Is it safe to say that the general consesus is that Greyhound is a very safe bet for shipping a tuba? So....even if the tuba was only insured for $300 by Greyhound, and not covered completely by home owner's insurance, this is still a safe/reliable method to ship?

[arminhachmer]

[quote="roughrider"]The tuba I purchased was shipped from Vancouver British Columbia to Saskatoon Saskatchewan. This is a distance of approximately 1800 miles and the trip took 3 days and no problems at all. I have now sent the horn to London Ontario to have work done on it.

I would like to ask who the repair shop is in London,ON
please.
Armin

[Dan Schultz]

So, do you need an account to ship by GPX? Or can you still just ship by dropping it off at Greyhound station?

No account is required. Just drop it off, tell them which terminal it goes to, and pay the bill.

Go to the Greyhound Package Express website to see all the locations that handle freight. Some are contract stations and have limited hours. I've found it's usually best to choose a station in a larger city that has lots of open hours. All of that information is posted on their website.

[tubajon]

Don't do it unless you are traveling with your horn(s). Theft is very common. -Jon

[b.williams]

So, do you need an account to ship by GPX? Or can you still just ship by dropping it off at Greyhound station?

Just drop er off.