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MCS 8228 - How do I ship these beasts?

lttnorth

lttnorth

New Member
I found a pair in great shape from good ol CL for a fantastic price. Only problem is they are about 3000 miles away. Fortunately, I have a friend who lives about an hour away and he picked them up for me! They’re as good as mine. Except not really, because obviously he can’t drive them out to me, and air freight is laughably expensive. This was one of those cases where my foresight did not extend very far into the future; I was blinded by my MCS fanaticism and the fact that the 8228s are so stinking rare.
The best ground freight rate I’m seeing is from UPS at about $150 for each packed speaker, and that’s if I pack them conservatively. Does anyone have any experience shipping 100 lb.+ items long distance? What’s my best option? Are the 8228s even worth the price to ship? I know they’re good speakers, but it hurts to know I got such an amazing deal when shipping kind of erases that fact.
 
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Well, sometimes it's best to just say, "I made a mistake," and cut your losses while you can. Gift those speakers to your friend, and hope he stays a friend. When you simply add up the costs - $300+ for a pair of MCS speakers - the answer is pretty clear. It's just a good thing that you bought them for a "fantastic price." Count it as the cost of tuition for learning a great lesson. No shame. We've all done things like this. Just don't wade in any deeper.

GeeDeeEmm
 
I just want to point out that these are not the typical MCS speakers. Check this thread, post #13.

This model is probably the best they ever sold, and so far I haven't seen any indications as to who made them. But as GDM stated, it's unlikely they're worth the price to ship.

However, before you give up, I'd first check Fedex, and also Greyhound shipping. If you Google discount shipping you might find something else that works out, however, check out the company before you commit to using them - there are a lot of bad apples out there.

ETA: post #47 on that same thread says they were made in USA by United Speaker. Never heard of them, no idea if they're still in business.
 
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Maybe try checking quotes at u-ship.
I've also heard that Fastenal actually does some shipping via their company trucks. Might take a little time if transfers are involved, but they would probably get to you and might not be real expensive.
 
Greyhound Shipping is a good recommendation. Seems I saw a thread a few months ago that stated that Greyhound was considerably cheaper than UPS/Fedex. Good call.

GeeDeeEmm
 
goodolpg said:
Maybe try checking quotes at u-ship..
Click to expand...
I was trying to think of this site when I wrote my first response. You can get very discounted rates this way, but what I said about bad apples still applies.

Also, does your employer do a lot of shipping? If they do, there's a decent chance they get a discount, and maybe they'll let you use their account if you reimburse them.
 
sometimes it's not about the money. I have flown long distances to get something I wanted.
though it was many years ago, do I remember what I paid for airfare and hotel? nope.
do I enjoy what I got? yes, every day - yesterday, today, and all the tomorrows.

your friend still has to do a lot of work. packaging/building a shipping crate. moving it
to the shipper's origin station.

you are lucky to have a friend that helps you like this.
 
Bob said:
sometimes it's not about the money.
Click to expand...

This. I know it’s not like they’re Infinity Quantum Line holy grail-esque speakers, but the 8228s are my personal holy grail.

Speaking of flying, that could be a viable option actually. A relative of mine works for an airline and I can get standby tickets to the city where these are located. Logistically speaking it would make new complications because now I might need a rental car and I would still have to pack the boxes for the speakers extremely well for the flight back. A friend of mine said that I could check the boxes as bags, but I haven’t any idea what heavy “bags” are charged as, considering these weigh 100 pounds each.

I’m checking U-ship but the quote seems ambiguous... are these rates from just random LTL freight companies like Yellow and Reddaway? How does that even work? I’m gonna make my poor friend’s head spin...
 
The 8228s are on my bucket list to own someday - someway.

I hope you find a way to get them shipped safely. Very much worth the effort and cost, IMHO.
 
swechsler said:
I was trying to think of this site when I wrote my first response. You can get very discounted rates this way, but what I said about bad apples still applies.

Also, does your employer do a lot of shipping? If they do, there's a decent chance they get a discount, and maybe they'll let you use their account if you reimburse them.
Click to expand...

I got discounted shipping by having the heavy stuff shipped to my employer's address vs a home address. Hope this works out for the OP as some kewl stuff is completely unobtanium in my AO and so I have to buy long distance...
 
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