Shipping a trombone

[tbdana]

I have no idea where to put this, so I put it here.

I'm buying a used trombone from someone. He's going to ship it to me on the west coast from where he lives on the east coast. What's the best/safest reasonable way to ship a trombone?

He's not going to go nuts. He'll ship it in a coffin case, with bubble wrap or some such around it, and put all that in a box, and ship it.

Is there anything else I should consider? Is one shipper better than another for trombones? How do you get the shipment insured? I don't want to lose my money if someone rolls a fork lift over it.

What other considerations, guidelines and cautions do you have for me?

[JTeagarden]

yes: Put bubble wrap around the bell and between the slide and bell in the case, and make sure the horn in immobile in the case, and then immobile in the box

[JohnL]

One oft-recommened step is to place a styrofoam cone in the bell. It should stick out a little past the end of the bell. The cone acts as a crush zone as well as transferring the impact away from the easily-damaged bell flare.

There are horror stories about every shipping company. It's a gamble whoever you choose (thus the need for careful packing).

...make sure the horn in immobile in the case, and then immobile in the box

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. Secondary collision is what you're trying to prevent (remember Driver Ed?).

[harrisonreed]

The seller is the unknown variable. Shippers are a known variable -- they will handle the package roughly but will probably not drive over it with a forklift.

I've shipped trombones through UPS a few times without issue. But you can't really control how the seller is gonna pack the trombone. Both with case and without case can work. Packing peanuts are your friend here. Once the horn is immobilized in its case, you then should pack a ton of packing peanuts around it in the box. When you think you can't fit any more in the box, put more in and then force the box flaps closed with strong tape.

[SwissTbone]

Noah does a great job on explaining how to ship a trombone here:



The seller "not going nuts" about packaging sounds like a recipe for disaster.

[ghmerrill]

Several techniques are possible. I've received several instruments packed in different materials including (old-school Czech) excelsior in a wooden crate, from Noah (in the original Getzen wooden case, with extra bubble wrap inside it, and then that within a cardboard box filled with plastic peanuts), and an oval euphonium from some Bulgarian (Ebay) packed in a cardboard box plastic peanuts (it took a lot of effort to get the peanuts out of the horn because the guy didn't bag the horn before putting it in the box!), and from Jim Laabs (just the horn in it's standard Chinese case in a cardboard box with the peanuts). They all came through just fine.

But Noah's instructions are the best. If you can get the seller to follow the principles used there, it should be okay. A fundamental goal is to have seriously cushioned space entirely around the instrument -- all sides, top and bottom and each end. No part of the instrument should be close enough to the enclosing box to allow it to be damaged by being hit or dropped. And don't stint on taping the box closed and along all the seams. It's not hard to do, but it takes some time and effort (as Noah shows). I also trust UPS more than other carriers at this point.

[tbdana]

Noah does a great job on explaining how to ship a trombone here:



The seller "not going nuts" about packaging sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Excellent! Thanks. I sent this video to the seller.

But I'm confused. I don't understand how you can use bubble wrap without popping at least a few...

[dbwhitaker]

Using a service such as pirateship.com to ship via UPS will cost a lot less than purchasing from a UPS store. If you want you can pay for the (pre-paid) shipping label yourself and send it to the seller as a PDF.

The cost of insurance is usually very high compared to the amount of risk so I skip it. It would suck to have a trombone lost or damaged during shipping but it wouldn't break me. (In general I believe: Only Buy Insurance When You Can’t Afford the Loss.)

[JTeagarden]

There is nobody on earth who admits to being a bad packer, so rather then rely on the shipper's confidence level, spell out exactly how you want them to ship it, blame it on OCD.

[tbdana]

There is nobody on earth who admits to being a bad packer, so rather then rely on the shipper's confidence level, spell out exactly how you want them to ship it, blame it on OCD.

I sent him Noah's video and asked him to do it like that.

[ithinknot]

One thing no one has mentioned yet: put the shipping label on the bell flare end of the box. The package will get unceremoniously dropped on one end every time it's loaded and unloaded from a vehicle... you'll watch the driver do it at the tail of the truck, and again at your front door. The label has to stay upright so they can read and scan it, so send those impacts into the less vulnerable end of the case/horn, not inviting a flare/case collision every time. (Ideally you have the cone in the bell for support, but you still want to avoid loading that area if you can possibly help it.)

He's not going to go nuts. He'll ship it in a coffin case, with bubble wrap or some such around it, and put all that in a box, and ship it.

... but if this is his expressed plan, bad luck, and enjoy your crumpled flare.

[tbdana]

He's not going to go nuts. He'll ship it in a coffin case, with bubble wrap or some such around it, and put all that in a box, and ship it.

... but if this is his expressed plan, bad luck, and enjoy your crumpled flare.

Thanks!

[WGWTR180]

Using a service such as pirateship.com to ship via UPS will cost a lot less than purchasing from a UPS store. If you want you can pay for the (pre-paid) shipping label yourself and send it to the seller as a PDF.

The cost of insurance is usually very high compared to the amount of risk so I skip it. It would suck to have a trombone lost or damaged during shipping but it wouldn't break me. (In general I believe: Only Buy Insurance When You Can’t Afford the Loss.)

Is Pirate Ship easy to use? Do you need an account and software as the home page suggests?

[Burgerbob]

Using a service such as pirateship.com to ship via UPS will cost a lot less than purchasing from a UPS store. If you want you can pay for the (pre-paid) shipping label yourself and send it to the seller as a PDF.

The cost of insurance is usually very high compared to the amount of risk so I skip it. It would suck to have a trombone lost or damaged during shipping but it wouldn't break me. (In general I believe: Only Buy Insurance When You Can’t Afford the Loss.)

Is Pirate Ship easy to use? Do you need an account and software as the home page suggests?

Just an account. It's very easy, I use it exclusively now.

[WGWTR180]

Is Pirate Ship easy to use? Do you need an account and software as the home page suggests?

Just an account. It's very easy, I use it exclusively now.

[dbwhitaker]

Using a service such as pirateship.com to ship via UPS will cost a lot less than purchasing from a UPS store. If you want you can pay for the (pre-paid) shipping label yourself and send it to the seller as a PDF.

The cost of insurance is usually very high compared to the amount of risk so I skip it. It would suck to have a trombone lost or damaged during shipping but it wouldn't break me. (In general I believe: Only Buy Insurance When You Can’t Afford the Loss.)

Is Pirate Ship easy to use? Do you need an account and software as the home page suggests?

I only used it twice but I found it very easy to use. Yes, I had to create an account, but that was free and easy. It didn't require any software -- I just "printed" from the web browser.

[WGWTR180]

Is Pirate Ship easy to use? Do you need an account and software as the home page suggests?

I only used it twice but I found it very easy to use. Yes, I had to create an account, but that was free and easy. It didn't require any software -- I just "printed" from the web browser.