Packing & Shipping Large/Heavy Speakers

I shipped some 250lb each speaker (Von Schweiker VSR) a month ago, after a lot of looking the best option i found was a moving company trucking section. i used Day and Ross (not sure if they are in the USA) it was 1/2 the cost of all the usual curriers that included insurance. the company showed up, took the speakers (in their box's) put them on a palette and tied them down and drove away. halfway across the country they arrived delivered to the door in about two weeks. total weight was just over 500lbs insurance was for $4k total from Victoria BC to Toronto (about 3500km) was $467 Canadian, take 30% off for USD comparison. 

cheapest currier like UPS, Fed X was over a $1000. 

You will not likely sell them to anyone outside the US.

Get a quote from ABF of cost from LA to NY.

That can be your baseline figure.

Never use PSPS or UPS. They roll boxes.

Fed Ex ground has been good for me for under 100 lbs.

Many cities have professional resellers. They take audio gear from trade-ins from audio stores and evaluate and resell. They know how to pack and ship. Or look for local sellers. 

You may change your mind on shipping anywhere. I found buyers for a set of speakers only weighing 60 lbs and all told it would have been $500 or was it a $1,000… you need crates built… then what if there is no damage visible… but they don’t sound right? I finally gave up.

Admittedly, I don’t like dealing with this kind on nonsense.

I shipped a set of Kanta II to Florida from Missouri. I shipped them standing up on a pallet. We shrink wrapped them with Lots of wrap. They got there fine. If you do this use Lots & lots of wrap.

Purchase proper foam and a roll of shrink wrap. The speakers will require 6” of foam all around and top and bottom. Heavy weight NOT the light wight garbage foam or it will crush. Purchase half inch plywood and 1” ferring stips and build a proper box exactly to the speakers size w/ the foam wrapped. You need to prevent wiggle. Find a used pallet and purchase some good straps to attach the boxes to the pallet. Your speaker size will require an extended pallet or if you want to pack them standing up you will need to also build a base for the boxes along with adding some extra support to the bottom of the pallet to bolt the boxes down and then strap and wrap them. Next you need to find a shipping co. I use FedEx freight regularly at work. If you are not shipping to a loading dock you may have issues at best they will drop off at the end of a driveway. Maybe…I usually have large items shipped to me at work where we have a forklift and loading dock to properly offload. Your best bet is to sell them local, not many folks are capable of properly packaging and shipping. Last piece of advice, if i receive something large and heavy that i just spent thousands on and it does not come packaged properly i will not accept the load and return at your cost. If it was damaged the first thing the shipper will claim is improper packaging and void any insurance. If that box can’t take a forklift jab it was bad packaging. I have had it happen multiple times. It’s cheaper in the end to have custom hard sided cases built which we also do often.  Sell local or find a company that will do the work properly. GLWS