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I have been attempting to ship a tuba to a buyer but the cost through UPS and a Frieght Shipper has been prohibitive.
Going from New York to Texas

UPS - $259 Shipping, $45 packing plus insurance
Freight Shipper - $365
Greyhound - Only insures up to $300.

Any suggestions?

eupho wrote:I have been attempting to ship a tuba to a buyer but the cost through UPS and a Frieght Shipper has been prohibitive.
Going from New York to Texas

UPS - $259 Shipping, $45 packing plus insurance
Freight Shipper - $365
Greyhound - Only insures up to $300.

Any suggestions?

This has been discussed so much that I'm not sure I have anything to add. But I will say that if you decide to let UPS pack it, you're definitely going to need all the insurance you can get.

Does it have the case. USPS will ship with just a case. Saves a lot of weight and bulk and is cheaper than boxing it up. Just want to pad horn well inside case and wrap case with plastic wrap and securely tape shut. I've had good luck this way.

And good luck is what you'll need.

Amtrak is another sometimes viable option.

The Amtrak route between NYC and Chicago is the Lake Shore Express (also called the Lake Shore Limited) and it has a terrible reputation for running late . . . almost guaranteed to be late (mine was 24 hours late running west, 6 hours late running east).

Other Amtrak routes I have taken are more reliable, better scenery, and have a more pleasant (or less perturbed) clientele.

On the whole, I like train travel and it could be a good way to ship a tuba, along with an excuse to take a trip. Just avoid the Lake Shore route.

Hup

No offense... but it seems like a good idea to figure out a plan for shipping *before* selling the tuba.

Otherwise, +1 for a "tuba taxi" (hitching a ride with someone who is already driving in that direction). I did that last year with a DMA tuba grad student who was driving from NY through Kentucky and back. The buyer and I agreed to an amount with the driver, and split the cost with him. It worked out great -- got my tuba to the right place, with a person who knows how to handle a tuba, and he made some extremely easy $$$.

If it were me and I couldn't do the drive myself, I'd definitely try to see if anyone here was already driving a similar route.

uShip is interesting - it's the Ebay of shipping. Privateer "truckers" bid on your load. Not sure you'll a bid under what you already have, but on a common route I'm sure there are guys looking to throw one more thing in for quick cash.

hup_d_dup wrote:The Amtrak route between NYC and Chicago is the Lake Shore Express (also called the Lake Shore Limited) and it has a terrible reputation for running late . . . almost guaranteed to be late (mine was 24 hours late running west, 6 hours late running east).

Yeah -even with Amtrak's large built in cushion most routes east of the Mississippi are going to run late.

Other Amtrak routes I have taken are more reliable, better scenery, and have a more pleasant (or less perturbed) clientele.

Was on the St. Louis to Chicago route on a late night run a few years ago. Couple hours out some nut case pulled out a revolver, started running through the train screaming he was going to start shooting people. He was wrestled to the ground, the cops were called and the train made an unscheduled stop in the middle of nowhere. Ended up almost 4 hours late leaving me just 5 minutes to run to the other train station to catch the last commutter train out to the burbs.

On the whole, I like train travel and it could be a good way to ship a tuba, along with an excuse to take a trip. Just avoid the Lake Shore route.

He could certainly ride the rails and make a trip out of it - my intent was to just ship via Amtrak. The scenery and the time delay won't be as meaningful to the tuba.

But a new low cost low tech start-up has just emerged for shipping tubas.



"Trust the good hands people"

eupho wrote:I have been attempting to ship a tuba to a buyer but the cost through UPS and a Frieght Shipper has been prohibitive.
Going from New York to Texas

UPS - $259 Shipping, $45 packing plus insurance
Freight Shipper - $365
Greyhound - Only insures up to $300.

Any suggestions?

Kinda sounds like you have a cost issue. I've shipped two horns Greyhound for about $100 each and no problems. But the they were not expensive horns.

So...
If you can take the financial hit if it gets damaged, ship greyhound.

If the horn is worth to much to take the loss, use another shipper at a higher cost with insurance.

I'm not a huge believer in insurance, they are betting on making a profit and the insurers are better at math. Sort of like betting in Vegas.

Buy a Greyhound ticket to his city. Put the tuba in the seat and bicycle lock it in. Get off the bus and go home.
Buyer has the lock combination and whatever cheapest ticket lets him onto that bus, if you even need that. And dumps out all the trash riders have thrown into the tuba

Won't work with any transfers - check the route. You'll have to choose the right starting place.