I’m thinking of posting some large bookshelf speakers to Spain with UPS has anyone done anything similar or with another courier?
I would have a word with a local dealer…or even Signals…they ship around Europe and the World and would be happy to advise.
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4 years ago I bought a pair of PMC EB1i speakers - considerably larger and heavier that anything I would describe as “bookshelf”! Packed in their original boxes, they were shipped from mainland Britain address to an offshore island involving some 300 miles by road and 70 miles by sea: arrived safe and well.
N.B. I would never countenance Sending anything of significant value of value by such a journey without full insurance - and for overseas transport the insurance os often an add-on, though the shipper is likely to be able to give a cost.
By the way, @feeling_zen had an unfortunate experience shipping speakers, though a lot further (UK to Japan I think). I don’t know tha carrier(s) concerned. He recounted his experience in the old forum - may be worth reading in case it provides useful tips, though I don’t know how easy to find by searching.
These are Dynaudio Audience 52’s that only cost me a little over £200 but of course replacing them with something of similar quality would cost more than that.
UPS offer to deliver them to mainland Spain in 2 days for a little over £20 which is exceptional value but there is a problem in that they will only offer insurance up to £60 on them any greater insurance is only offered to business customers.
I used to work for FedEx and can tell you that £20 UK to Spain is not a bargain.
It’s a gamble.
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Imported Zu from Utah and had to return some via Brighton. It is very much a gamble. I didn’t really enjoy watching £4K of new speaker being bounced on the pavement and the other one swivelling horizontally on our gatepost.
Bob from Neat has shipped me speakers 4 times from the UK to Japan. It wasn’t cheap, but as I’m sure other Neat Owners know, his packing crates are excellent which from other experiences is key.For most stuff I use Fedex, but Bob used TNT who were excellent on all occasions. No damage at all.
Sadly the thread was deleted on the old forum. No idea why.
I used UPS and both boxes were punctured and speakers worked but cabinets were unrepairable and were an insurance write off. Took ages to settle the insurance claim. Cost me far more in time that the new PMC Twenty5.23 were worth retail.
But it led to new revised boxing (so I heard) and taught me to not waste money on insurance for anything that costs less than a SuperCap. The time spent arguing for the claim and dealing with insurance and shipping inspectors would have been better spent just working in the office and swallowing the cost of a new pair. If you have to make a claim, it will consume a lot of time and require time off work to deal with inspectors etc. It’s a scam to make you try and give up the claim (I didn’t) but simpler to just not give them money in the first place.
I can bring them on the plane with me though in the hold for £50. At least that way they are only out of my site for the time I’m at both airports.
Alternatively as I’m making two trips in the next month I may just take one per trip in my suitcase. I’m already taking an amp in my hand luggage.
I had a similar thing happen here going from Brighton to Birmingham and like the insurance claim was a monumental PITA and again I would never buy extra insurance for anything worth a few hundred pounds.
I recently had a pair of SL-2’s shipped frpm uk to france by ups [without the useless insurance] no problems at all arrived with no rips etc., and, took only 4 days even in this lockup.
I wonder what happens if it gets damaged during transit? Do you lose it all?
My dealer usually takes a lot of photos and pays insurance before he ships something expensive.
try making an insurance claim for 2nd hand hifi you will be probably the first successful claimant !!
The plural of anecdote is not evidence as they say.
The packaging on speakers ought to be irrelevant and usually is but the handling is random. Luck of the draw. I’ve had issues with UPS, almost always with TNT and periodically with Fedex. Has nothing to do with packaging and everything to do with routes and pressure and a degree of idiocy. No amount of packaging can legislate for someone throwing a package out of a van so hard the magnet dismounts and comes out of the back of the speaker!
Pays your money. Makes your choice.
Maybe that’s where size and weight is a benefit! Too big and heavy to throw…
I had an insurance claim rejected by Parcel Force on the basis that the packaging wasn’t damaged so it wasn’t their fault. Yes it was. In conversation with the agent tho he made an honest admission, that anything delicate is prone to damage not because of burly chaps throwing cartons around but because things are moved by conveyor belt and sometimes a big heavy box falls off the end of a conveyor onto something more delicate and that’s where the damage occurs. No-one sees it as it’s all in the automated routing, and unless the box is damaged there is no evidence.
I could have argued it but for £40’s worth of used minidisc player it wasn’t worth the bother. Live & learn & all that…
I’ve had lots of positive feedback from UPS regarding larger speakers as has been stated to large to hurl around. I’m going to get my large North Face bag down which is incredibly strong to see if I can get a single speaker boxed in there if so I’ll take one next week and another when I go back a couple of weeks later.
It looks like UPS it is. As the speakers are bigger than I remember and even one packed properly is too large for either of my bags.
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