Re: Shipping Woes


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Posted by Rick Denney on November 18, 2003 at 17:10:42:

In Reply to: Shipping Woes posted by Kenny Jay on November 17, 2003 at 21:00:31:

Manufacturers do not ship tubas in hard cases. They ship them in a plastic bag, surrounded by fairly tightly packed polystyrene peanuts in a box that allows 3 or 4 inches of clearance in all directions. The boxes themselves are doubleweight corrugated cardboard, with stapled corners and very stout construction. Most dealers use trucking companies to ship tubas and insure it adequately.

When I bought my Cerveny many years ago, the dealer shipped it to me air-freight ($180 in 1984 dollars) packed in a plastic bag within straw in a wood box. I could not get it into the car in the box, and had to uncrate it at the depot. Fortunately, the depot's dumpster was near to hand.

I shipped a 20J recently by UPS. I had two cartons made for it that were the maximum possible size, and suspended the body of the instrument within the box using rolls of paper towels. I taped bubble-wrap to the instrument in a 2" layer, with three inches on the bottom bow. I then lowered the instrument into the box, and stuffed rolls of paper towels in the four corners of the box to keep it from moving side to side. Three more inches of bubble wrap at the top kept it in place. The cartons were UPS-able, and I insured them appropriately. But custom cartons are expensive--two of them cost me $70. I had to take them to UPS in my truck, which required waiting for a nice day--even the best cardboard will dissolve in a steady rain.

I told the buyer to keep the boxes.

Rick "who wonders that tubas are shipped to the U.S. in large numbers in cardboard boxes" Denney


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