I need to ship a receiver. should I pay fed ex and cover myself or risk with my own packing?

gentlejax

Super Member
ive sold many many things..only had a couple problems but shipping receivers and such make me nervous. wating on one to arrive almost drives me nuts.

anyhow, due to the nature of this receiver being somewhat hard to find I was thinking I need to have it done by fed ex so I cant get blamed.

does that make logical sense? its about normal size and not quite 40lbs.

I know its going to add to my cost but at least I wont have to deal with thieves.
 
I pack and any cost is figured in and buyer pays. Insure for your benefit but again buyer pays. Big bubble wrap foam styrofoam insulation are your friends. Over sized boxes then cut to fit.

I do this ahead of sale and don't forget selling/payment fee's charged also.


Barney
 
I don't know enough to comment on the legal responsibility issues involved but if FedEx is packing I would specify double-boxing with packing material between the boxes. That is the only way that I know of to safely pack receivers, amps, etc. Then again, if you are specifying the packing, does responsibility fall back on you?

I think I would pack it myself and make sure it is properly insured.
 
I would pack it myself. The couple heavy stereo items I've packed and shipped, I took clues from original/factory packing methods and the gear made it fine. It took a bit of time and effort to do it, but it was good, really good, in the end.

(As a side note, afaik, insurance doesn't cover poor packing).
 
Pack it yourself and double box. If you're not comfortable with dropping the box to a concrete floor from 6' or more, to any corner or flat, you haven't done a good enough job to guarantee no damage.
 
Pack it yourself. Just do it right. If you do the only problem you might have is if FedEx runs it over with one of their trucks or a fork lift.

If it does get damaged you'll get blamed regardless of who does the packing.
 
yes double box with packing between boxes and protect corners the outside box takes most of the impact when dropped , i have received 3 damaged receivers all single boxed. they will get tossed and dropped. bubbles in bubble wrap can pop as well from impact had one damaged that way.

20151014_180444.jpg 20151014_180537.jpg
 
yes double box with packing between boxes and protect corners the outside box takes most of the impact when dropped , i have received 3 damaged receivers all single boxed. they will get tossed and dropped. bubbles in bubble wrap can pop as well from impact had one damaged that way.

View attachment 878722 View attachment 878723

Use at least 2" ( 3" is better ) of foam peanuts to protect all sides but put the receiver in a plastic trash bag first. Put enough peanuts on all sides so that the receiver does not move at all inside the box when it is closed and sealed.
 
Foam peanuts shift, and if the box is holed, they run away. The ONLY way they work is if they are contained in small bags, and those need to be sucked clean of air by a vacuum cleaner - THEN they form a resilient enough mass to be useful.
Otherwise they are only useful for volume fill on LOW DENSITY items.
A Receiver is NOT a low density item!

I have also had "professional" packers tell me THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING, yet these arrogant asses are the ones that do the WORST packing jobs with the MOST damage, as evidenced by the claims they have filed and have had denied on the damaged gear floating around here. Stuff that was supposed to be a quick turnaround, good profit item turned into a cosmetic basket case.

Double box, with inner box bubble wrap, reinforce the outer walls of the outer box with sheets of insulation foam.
 
I agree with all of the responders here. I have been told by individuals I have purchased items from: "I have the guys at UPS, FedEx, etc. do my packing professionally" only to receive something thrown in a box with an S-ton of peanuts...
 
Yes...

Tape cardboard onto the corners of the equipment....

Popcorn is an incredible material for the outer box and cheaper than shipping material if you get it from Costco.
 
I try to replicate factory packing, which means I use hard styrofoam on all the corners to protect them. I usually use the shrink wrap that comes on a spindle to wrap the piece and hold the styrofoam in place. I then wrap the exposed areas with bubble wrap. I will strengthen the corners of the box with styrofoam. I also fill the void areas with egg cartons as they provide a crush area with resistance. If you can use a second box filled with more styrofoam, or even large amounts of crumpled newspaper, then that is even better.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
A couple squares of cheap quarter inch luan plywood on the bottom and top of the box can work wonders for making it pretty much crush proof, and it won't add a lot of weight ... Hot glueing some strips of foam blue board to the corners will keep the equipment from shifting.
 
I worked in electronics mfg'ing back in the 90s.
We had problems with shipping failures, so hired a company to advise us on best methods.
Ended up using (custom cut), rubbery foam carriers around the consoles (lighting) in just three places.
That was the only thing we had to change (from peanuts), and it reduced shipping damage to nearly zero...pretty remarkable.
There is something special about the resilience of that 'squeezably soft' foam that absorbs drops and bangs...interesting materials tech, anyway.
I notice that Emotiva and Oppo (and other OEMs, Crown, too I think) use the exact same material & technique today, though they double box in addition (plus cloth bags!), presumably for impact/intrusion protection.
Big difference between that commercial/industrial $100k gear and $1k consumer electronics...amazing.
So, now, I save any 'leftovers' of that rubbery foam stuff I get in shipments, and use for outbound shipping.
So far so good!
 
Often wondered if spray in closed cell foam would be an option. Wrap the component well in plastic, set it on some foam blocks to keep airspace below it, then spray away and trim off any excess.

Then again, there's a fine line between destroying the piece in transit ... and destroying it trying to get it out of the @#%^&#^ packaging ... <G>

PS ... I remember seeing something similar that was already a two part foam in a plastic bag ... pull the tab to inflate. Wonder what happened to those?
 
Lot of excellent info here.

I ship constantly.
I pack it ALL myself.
I have received "Professionally" pack packages, they must be professional idiots. You KNOW the company trains them, right? AHAHHAHHAHHAHAHAHHHHAAAhhhhahhahahahaha!

KEY points.
1) PROTECT THE CORNERS.
2) BIG ENOUGH BOX TO ALLOW FOR SOME CRUSHING.
3) SOMETHING SOFT AND CRUSHABLE TO CUSHION, PACKED SO IT WON'T MOVE. (hint, make pillows from Styrofoam peanuts and grocery sacks). Happy to see someone else knows about egg cartons. Remember, the package is expendable, just like todays cars, design it to collapse to protect the passenger.

BONUS POINTS
4) DOUBLE STRENGTH BOX (some boxes are two layers thick and hard as hell)
5) SOLID STYROFOAM (there is light weight, turn to crumbles and get in everything kind and then there is the hard stuff. One is insulation, the other is shipping coolers) IF YOU USE CRUMBLE STYROFOAM PUT THE PASSENGER IN A PLASTIC GARBAGE BAG TO KEEP THE BEANS OUT.


EXTRA CREDIT
6) DOUBLE BOX WITH 2 INCHES ON EACH SIDE AND SOMETHING SOFT BETWEEN. Here is where all those gawd damn peanuts go, use lots, pack it)
7) FOAM RUBBER, GREAT STUFF, NICE AND SOFT AND FORM FITS. RECYCLE PILLOWS, CHAIRS, SOFAS, BEDS,

8) NEVER use FRAGILE stickers. That mean "MADE OF STEEL, TRY TO BREAK" in swahili which is what shipping gorillas speak.



AND ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS INSURE! THEY CAN BREAK ANYTHING! THEY WILL PROBABLY DROP MY BOX ON TOP OF YOURS!
 
Oh ... never put anything like "vintage" or "classic" or similar tags on the insurance forms. That can automatically trigger limits, no matter how much you think you're insured for ... "electronics" insured for replacement value, seems to be about the best bet.

Something else ... protrusions like knobs, switches, and antennas can take a beating. That's where package stiffeners like the luan squares I mentioned earlier pay dividends. Also a good idea to bubble wrap cords and such - those can get jammed into cases and mark them up pretty good.
 
I always pack myself. I think the biggest issue is that you want to pack it tight so the receiver won't move. the more it moves, the more things will shift around during its travel. And in my experience don't bother with insurance - I have filed three claims for obvious damage and haven't received a dime. If you have had better success then kudos and I would like to know what the trick is.

If you are getting something shipped to you, be bold and give them your minimums for packing - double boxed and/or 2-3" of packing material on ALL sides, top and bottom. I have had more than one unit arrive with literally one layer of small bubble wrap between the box and the edge of the unit - or what was left of the unit.

Interesting to hear that you should not use fragile stickers. I always wondered if they even pay attention to anything other than the label. There are all sorts of things you can buy to put on the outside of boxes that measure moisture exposure, shock and tilt.

Again, if they never pay out on insurance then I doubt they pay much attention to any of that stuff.
 
I've only had three insurance claims due to shipping damage, and got my money back on all.

Only trick I'm aware of is, it's usually the shipper who has to file. Snap a few pics to document damage, email those over, and that gives them the proof they need to file on their end and initiate a refund. Even had that work with an international shipment a while back when a turntable showed up in pieces.
 
Back
Top Bottom