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I'm faced with setting up shipping the flight trunk I have for sale to a potential serious buyer overseas, but know very little about international shipping on the "individual-doing-a-once-in-a-lifetime-shipment" end of things.

I've sent and received tubas and cases from all over the United States via common U.S. methods (Amtrak, Greyhound, DHL, FedEx, UPS), but have no idea who to use for overseas...any ideas?

For those of you that have done similar international shipping, what did you end up paying? Preliminary quotes from UPS are upwards of $400 using their web calculator system set to the lowest level of overseas service they offer. I was wondering if this price is in line with what others have paid or if it is on the extreme upper end of the spectrum.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Just last week I shipped a tuba from Maryland to Japan. This was my first time shipping anything this big anywhere, much less Japan. So it was a huge learning experience. I went through Fed-x. Because of the value of the item, I had to get a shippers export number. Fed-x took care of this, but I had to fill out some paper work to get it - which involved phone calls to get the info. I had to know the LxWxH and the wieght. I had to take it down to the airport to have it shipped from fed-x cargo facility. There, I had to fill out 2 more forms which were painless. But, the cargo facility was definitely not set up for customers. So, hopefully you can just go to a local drop off point. Your package may not be as big or worth as much, so everything could be different. Call fed-x to find out - they were pretty helpful on the phone.

Stefan

Bax Global have handled my several cross-the-big-water bulky shippings very well. They may not be the cheapest, but they are strong in full value insurance. And there have been no damages during transport.

Carolus Marximus Baximus

I shipped a sousaphone from L.A. to France a few months ago. It was a difficult experience to say the least. It had to be "foam injected" into the box to keep it safe, which cost about $200. Then the shipping alone (it had to go freight) was another $1500 or so. I can't remember exactly now. The buyer was very cooperative, but I had no idea it would be so expensive.

MellowSmokeMan wrote:I shipped a sousaphone from L.A. to France a few months ago. It was a difficult experience to say the least. It had to be "foam injected" into the box to keep it safe, which cost about $200. Then the shipping alone (it had to go freight) was another $1500 or so. I can't remember exactly now. The buyer was very cooperative, but I had no idea it would be so expensive.

Sounds like you had a bad experience there and so did your French buyer assuming they caught the extra costs! $1500 is obscene! Whoever charged that ought to be shot

I'd recommend BAX over all others. Used them and never had any trouble.

FedEx offer a good service (though certainly no better than BAX) and have a good name but you pay for it; bit like buying BMW...

I'm sure 99.9% shipments go just fine but you do hear horror stories. Just make sure you wrap it up so it's as near bullet-proof as possible - keep everything tight. I'd also get the receiver's phone number put right on the outside of the box so they can be contacted easily - a lot of places could use this and it's not always given.

Best of luck!
P

As one who shipped an E flat sousa to Denmark about two years ago, I can tell you that FedEx is the best deal and the best way to go for international shipping.

The things to remember are:

1. Buyer of a tuba/sousa should be prepared to pay $100s of dollars. In my case, it was about $360.

2. Be prepared to fill out some customs forms and tell exactly what you're shipping and how much it is.

3. Have your own packaging available, like a large box for the tuba/sousaphone.

The best thing about FedEx is they help you a lot with the process. Plus they have a tracking system to tell you exactly where the package is along the route. Everything went smoothly in my case. The buyer and I still keep in contact and was very pleased with the horn. Hope all is well with your situation. FedEx is the way to go.

Hank74

I have just sent a tuba overseas today.

The tuba's weight was only 56lb, but apparently it takes up 230lb of air freight space. So I had to pay for 213lb worth of cargo.
Some quotes I had were more expensive than buying a return air ticket to the country.

What can you do????

Another lower-cost option is to ship it yourself via an airline's air cargo operation. I have shipped instruments to Korea and Germany and received from Germany this way. It is more work for you and the person on the receiving end since you should plan on trips to the airport on both ends. This works well if you live near an international airport with service to the city where you need to ship the horn. The airlines generally offer local pickup and delivery but it is expensive.

Most recently, I received a tuba (B&S PT-4) from Germany on Lufthansa air cargo. Total cost was about $230. Just make sure that you pack it well! Air cargo isn't given first-class treatment, but it is fully insured. This serice is fast, also. The cargo will arrive the next day in Europe. Quotes for shipping via FedEx or UPS were several times as much even with the slowest delivery.

Also, the person who receives it will need to deal with customs. This was no problem for me at the Newark NJ airport, but other airports may be different.

Good luck-
Bill Anderson