Packaging floorstanding speaker-tips?

sence reading this thread ive been using newbee's suggestion to pack & ship out everything ive sold,it works fantastic!!

ive shipped huge speakers, a subwoofer,amps, preamps & cd players all without even a dent in the boxes.

this method is a little pricy to use but it sure beats anything ive ever seen, your gear will arrive safe.

mike.

Like most of you, I have been buying and selling items for years. No problems with shipping for a long time, but I'm now on the cold streak from Hell. Last 3 deals:

1). Bax lost a 150 lb Cinenova Grande amp in the wooden crate.

2). DHL smashed the cage on a dbl boxed Rotel amp.

3). DHL dinged the corner on a dbl boxed pair of Totem Forests packed with extra padding.

Have the carriers gotten more careless recently???

John

I have been in the shipping and receiving buisness for over
20 years. By my experience, Fed Ex 'Red' (not green) does the best job of package handling. I have never worked for any carrier, only dealt with them at various locations around the country. I have never received a mishandled package from them !
Just a thought.

Mstram go to the special services at the Bax Global website. You will find residential pickup and delivery in this menu. It's an extra $30.00 for each option.$60 if coming from and going to a residence. Set up your shipments on the site.. you shouldn't have any problems. It doesn't hurt to ship them from work and to someone's job either.. if possible. This saves the 60 bucks. Been there done that!LOL

I'm just wondering how so many A'goners are able to use Bax. Do they all own businesses? I called them and was told they will only accept shipments originating from commercial entities. You have to be a legitimate business to send something via Bax.

Not much too add but if you have the patience .You can wrap the speakers in plastic as newbee says. Stop by Lowes and pick up some R3 residential styrofoam 7x4 ft sheets. They should run you maybe $5.00 a sheet. Two sheets will be plenty for those speakers.Lay the speaker on the sheet and trace your sides in pairs.Basically trace, cut and attach the identical sides first.Do the same with the remaining two sides. Once they are all secure, wrap tape around the entire speaker.Trace your top and bottom end caps after the speakers are in cased around the sides.If done correctly the speakers should look like they are in a styrofoam box. If need be double the styrofoam on the end caps or corners.Now cut and fit a double cardboard box over the styrofoam. 120 lbs isn't that heavy for a pair of floorstanders. I shipped a pair of speakers totaling a little over 260lbs to Germany.They didn't have a scratch on them when the owner got them.No crates were used. I've also shipped several amplifiers this way. Best shipping company I've used on average for heavy items is Bax Global.
Their ground service is really fast!
Good Luck!

Save your money and don't take the risk.When you have more money down the road trade em or sell em and buy new speakers....Too many horror stories.Its not worth it!

hey newbee, that's one hell of an idea you got there with the expandable foam, ya know that idea could just as well be used on heavy amps too, i like it & im gonna try it soon but i think only in the corners of the boxes.

mike.

Here is a thought - double boxes but use plastic wrap and expandable foam to isolate the speaker from the box. Use thin plastic tarp or heavy duty trash bags to protect the speaker, and if you like to create a lining for the box. Done right, this really can't be improved upon. But for those with heavy/large speakers putting them on a pallet is a MUCH better method. FWIW I just recieved a set of 130lb speakers packed as above but not on pallets - came by air with Bax global. MUCH damage to the boxes but not a scratch on the speakers.

Why not buy new boxes from Von Schweikert? That will add to the cost, but it would be the best way to go about it. Did you mean 60# each? If so, you would be safest by securing them to a pallet. I have heard many tales of woe from members who shipped speakers only to have them destroyed in transit. Choose your freight carrier wisely. Cheapest may not be the best. I received a trashed pair of Thiel CS2.4s a month ago, so I speak from experience. They were not properly packed. I found another pair at a great price, so I spent the money to have them crated and shipped air freight. The total cost of crating and shipping was $475, but they arrived in perfect shape.

Good luck!!

If you are creative it can be done. Double box is the key. If you can find boxes that can be cut down. The inner box needs to house the cushion material;then the inner box can be cut to fit and tapped well.Place additional cardboard for all 4 corners. (Long strips the entire vertical size)---"Make" end caps for both boxes.3 or 4 layers of cardboard outer box. Cross your fingers--or sell local.