 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: RefacerMan
Date: 2018-05-08 07:16
Hello Everyone,
I have to ship a clarinet to Colorado soon. What is the safest way to do this - Post Office, UPS, or FedEx? Thanks for any information.
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Author: Doug Leach
Date: 2018-05-08 07:27
I have used UPS several times to ship either of my horns to Wes Rice for service. It's worked well, with no problems. I believe Wes uses UPS pretty much exclusively with equal satisfaction. Fed Ex may be fine as well. I'm not as sure about USPS.
Doug Leach
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2018-05-08 08:55
I've shipped instruments between Australia, New Zealand Europe, the US and South America numerous times, and I've generally found that registered and insured post is the best way to go. Not always the cheapest, but the most certain of getting from A to B and being delivered OK. UPS are good, but don't go everywhere no matter what they say. FedEx have been responsible for the few problems I've had. I never use them now. The instruments must be packed properly, in a strong carton with lots of bubble wrap or scrunched up newspaper. Also, the instruments must not have movement within the case. "Fragile" tape may help, but some shippers see that as a challenge.
Tony F.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2018-05-08 16:20
Ask the person you are sending it to. My UPS guy is fantastic. US mail for my home is good, but not so good for my business. Fedex ground used to be bad but is improving, but I had one crazy episode last year.
Steve Ocone
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2018-05-08 19:39
Re: ""Fragile" tape may help, but some shippers see that as a challenge." A postal employee also warned me about that one time, though that didn't involve an instrument shipment. He suggested the label "Fragile: Contains Liquids", as shippers take care to not mess up their work stations.
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Author: Burt
Date: 2018-05-08 20:39
Check prices. I found USPS far less costly than UPS for shipping a clarinet in a case.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2018-05-08 22:12
This thread has been amusing to me. I guess we're used to some pretty bad shipping experiences up here, and have just come to accept them.
For us, FedEx has always been best, then it is a toss-up between USPS and UPS.
Once, UPS had my over-night delivery item "out for delivery" in my hometown in Wyoming, but it didn't arrive that day. The next day, it showed up as "delivered." The catch is that it was delivered in Hawaii. Same thing happened another time, but the second time it ended up in Kentucky. On average we have at least one package either lost or destroyed every two months with UPS. This past December, they delivered our annual extravagant food item to a vacant building several doors down from ours. Eventually the wild cats and smell of rotting food substance led us to it. Since then, a one gallon metal can of epoxy (and the box it was shipped in) was crushed and leaking.
USPS - just last month lost a very-eagerly-awaited five-CD order of trad jazz from New Orleans. Our problems with USPS usually just pertain to lack of tracking and extreme delays though. Some times we receive our neighbors packages, and sometimes they receive ours.
FedEx - due to shipping contracts in our area...they are now too expensive. FedEx had been our go-to for nearly a decade, but now we can't afford them. I think we only had one bad experience with them over the decade we used them.
One interesting side note is that our UPS shipments almost always arrive through the Centennial, CO UPS facility near Denver.
Fuzzy
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2018-05-09 00:21
The packing inside the case is far more important than the packing outside the case. Loose metal parts inside the case like ligatures, caps, pegs and brushes can cause all sorts of damage.
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Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2018-05-22 06:41
Attachment: shipped_clarinet.jpg (684k)
I just received a shipped clarinet (a Vito V40) that I bought on FleaBay. When I first opened the case, it looked like this (see attached). Not the way to ship them but it seems to be fine.
Worth adding that I knew this would need a full overhaul.
Post Edited (2018-05-22 06:42)
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2018-05-23 02:44
shmuelyosef wrote:
> I just received a shipped clarinet (a Vito V40) that I bought
> on FleaBay. When I first opened the case, it looked like this
> (see attached).
I have seen examples where the case has been protected to survive a direct hit from an atomic bomb, but where the inside of the case looked like yours.
A sheet of foam inside the case is most of the time all that is needed to prevent movement. The rule is: no noise when the case is turned upside down. Message sellers before they ship, even for reputable shops.
Post Edited (2018-05-23 02:45)
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Author: Speculator Sam
Date: 2018-05-23 03:21
@shmuelyosef Did the seller happen to own a vaccum? That's REALLY dusty. The smart-aleck left the reed on the mouthpiece too. I take it they probably weren't a clarinetist. Let's just be grateful the clarinet didn't crack or snap; nonetheless it's a little upsetting to be spending money on something that's probably not going to last the shipping journey.
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Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2018-05-23 05:27
It was a fleaBay sale, so no knowledge of the seller. It was a good price for a Vito V40...I think that it was a pawnshop or non-profit seller.
There were two pictures on the listing...one that looked just like the picture I posted and a nice one of the outside of the case. I inquired about the serial number and bought it on faith, although I assumed it would be properly stashed in the case...sigh
The Vito clarinets are pretty bulletproof thankfully...this one will get a nice professional overhaul before being sold, likely as a step up for some middle schooler.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2018-05-23 05:54
I had a clarinet dropped off for repair by the players mother, a lady of whom the term "Bimbo" might have been coined. It was a jumble of parts bouncing around in the case much like the one shown. I suggested to her that perhaps she should persuade her son to be more careful about how he treated the instrument, and that it could be easily damaged by such handling. She said that she had put it in the case herself, but that she never knew which bit went in which hole. I managed to keep a straight face until after she had left.
Tony F.
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Author: clarimad
Date: 2018-05-25 00:37
My advice would be to ensure that whoever you choose to ship your instrument as many couriers here in the UK will not include any damage cover for musical instruments. One exception to this is UPS who I have never had a problem with. I always send the tracking details to the recipient and avoid sending an instrument knowing that it may be in a warehouse over a weekend when the courier might not be working; this negates changes in temperature that can affect clarinets especially and cause cracks and/or splits to the wood.
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2018-06-01 21:01
clarimad wrote:
> and avoid sending an
> instrument knowing that it may be in a warehouse over a weekend
> when the courier might not be working; this negates changes in
> temperature that can affect clarinets especially and cause
> cracks and/or splits to the wood.
Sensible advice. A shorter transportation time and the avoidance of weekends should also lower the risk of packages disappearing.
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