Beware Of Tape Deck Shipping Damages!

[Greg Beron]

Obviously I buy lots of raw decks and get them shipped to me from all over.
I always caution the seller to pack the deck correctly and will always email them proper packing instructions.
Yet I still receive decks that are put into a cardboard box with NEWSPAPER stuffed around the deck!
The shipping damages are getting to be ridiculous!

Sometimes I have to salvage clean panels from two or more decks to make one clean deck!

This is just the latest issue, look at this picture!
What happened in shipping, did someone bash this solid aluminum piece with a sledge hammer???
Geez!

[Bruce B]

If that's the outside, I can just imagine what the inside looks like!!

[mep]

Obviously I buy lots of raw decks and get them shipped to me from all over.
I always caution the seller to pack the deck correctly and will always email them proper packing instructions.
Yet I still receive decks that are put into a cardboard box with NEWSPAPER stuffed around the deck!
The shipping damages are getting to be ridiculous!

Sometimes I have to salvage clean panels from two or more decks to make one clean deck!

This is just the latest issue, look at this picture!
What happened in shipping, did someone bash this solid aluminum piece with a sledge hammer???
Geez!

Ron White said that you can't fix stupid.

[rockitman]

The best accessory for compact RTR machines when you need to ship it. All United Home Audio decks are availed this option. In my case...one case for the deck, the other for the DC PS unit.
http://www.thepelicanstore.com/pelic...case-1023.aspx

[Greg Beron]

You are correct Chris, I learned my lesson long time ago and went with the Pelican Shipping crates, they are great and fit the UHA decks and OPS perfectly.
Plus they have wheels, a nice luxury for a heavy crate.

If I buy a deck I typically offer to ship the seller an empty Pelican crate, just drop the deck in and ship it.
However most sellers don't want to be inconvenienced to receive the crate and will say "I know how to ship it", some are correct and arrive nicely packed.
But some also arrive with newspaper or those damn peanuts around the deck, they are a waste of time and a huge mess to boot!

[MylesBAstor]

Wow wee! That is so frustrating. I think many of us have been in this industry a long time-long enough and grown to hate shipping anything FedEx and UPS.

Especially those instances when things are in their original packing, there's no damage on the outside and the electronics, speakers, etc. are trashed. Many times audiophiles ask why shipping boxes and material cost that much. Your example above is a good reason. Many manufacturers actually send product out before releasing to see if it will survive shipping. I remember years ago, VPI sending out a couple of TNT turntables out and UPS-how in God knows how--snapped a leg off the plinth.

Many years ago I sold a cj stereo amp, packed it securely in the cj supplied box and it arrived like UPS had dropped it out a five story window. The power transformer was sheered off the chassis and the front faceplate had been destroyed. Luckily I had insured it through my shipper's insurance not UPS. The insurance was for fine goods and jewelry and while it was a little more expensive, I got an immediate payment. That's in contrast to another 50k amplifier that I received that was packed in a wood crate and had been totally destroyed in shipping. UPS refused to pay because they claimed I did the damage when I brought the amp up from the doorman downstairs to my apt. That was a whopper of an excuse. And I have plenty more where that came from.

Moral is UPS and FedEx will find a way to destroy things no matter what but don't make their job any easier!

[Greg Beron]

This is what my shipping has gone to.
I fabricate a wooden brace and bolt it to the rack mount ears on the deck to protect the face.
The brace is also custom cut to fit the box exactly so the deck is stable in the crate.
Custom sized foam is also on all sides in addition to the brace
The OPS fits into foam that is custom fit to the proper dimensions.
This holds up nicely to any domestic or international shipping.

However at one show the Pelican crate had a big hole in in where they put a forklift through it, but the deck was unharmed!
I also learned that you have to put bolts all the way through the 2x4's on the brace to attach the deck to it.
At one show I used 3" screws into the 2x4's and they must have thrown the crate off the truck because three of the four 3" screws were sheared off like they were cut with a laser or something!
The deck worked just fine, however had to go to Home Depot for longer screws to get the deck home.

[jcmusic]

Well after my latest encounter with UPS I will be getting one of these cases also, UPS simply destroyed my Studer and then to top it off lost it!!! So now I am just waiting to be paid, this is still ongoing. They are dragging their as much as they can!!!

[astrotoy]

Shipping is a pig in the poke. Of the four pro and semi pro machines that I have acquired over the years, 3 were either delivered or picked up locally. The only machine I had shipped was my monster Ampex ATR-102 that I bought through Jonathan Horwich in Chicago. I found a used road case built for the 102 on line and bought it and had it shipped directly to Jonathan. In addition the shipping company he used palletized the entire shipment, including the roadcase, the stand and built a wooden crate for the prepro that I also bought. So the tape recorder and prepro were both in their cases and then everything was additionally put in a custom wooden crate mounted on a pallet. The shipping company used a private trucking service to ship the pallet. It took a couple of hours to uncrate everything. There were probably over 100 wood screws holding everything together. I gave the external pallet and wooden crate materials to a neighbor who built a playhouse for their kids with the materials! Everything arrived safe and sound. Not cheap, but neither were the contents.

When I sold my two semipro machines late last year, I insisted that the buyer pick up the machines. One buyer was local, but the other drove over 1000 miles both ways (on the same day!) to pick up the machine and take it home.

Larry

[dcc]

I drove down to Paris to get my Studer A80 and I would have driven more if it were located even further.

When I returned my mighty Krell Evolution One to the distributor in Hamburg for a full overhaul, the four boxes were put on a pallet and they were returned to me the same way.

[Greg Beron]

You guys are right using a trucking company and shipping on a pallet is a safer way to go.
A more expensive way but safer.
However with that said when I had the forklift pop a hole in my Pelican crate it was wraped and strapped on a pallet.
One good note is that the Pelican crates are warranted for life and I did get a new crate for free.

Driving to pick up any heavy audio gear is the best way to go.

[Purevinyl]

imo: when shipping any electronics thru UPS or Fedex, it MUST be doubled box or triple box with lots of bubble wrap period!

those sellers on Ebay are the Worst! once they get paid its YOUR PROBLEM!

its easy to blame UPS or Fedex for the stupidity of sellers. that have no clue how to pack or ship expensive big electronics!


Next time you buy a R2R , send them this link how to pack a tape machine or any expensive electronic----Thanks UHA

http://www.unitedhomeproducts.com/how_to_ship_a_reel_to_reel.htm

[Purevinyl]

this is why you double or triple box ALL your Electronics!

look at the box on top of the pile already Coming Apart!

[Rob]

Greg, sorry about your deck. it bears repeating, just get a spare Pelican case, pay the extra $60 in freight and insist the seller uses it to ship it back to you. This RS1500 has been all over the country and probably toppled off the tailgate of a UPS and Fedex truck at least a few times.

[MylesBAstor]

This is what my shipping has gone to.
I fabricate a wooden brace and bolt it to the rack mount ears on the deck to protect the face.
The brace is also custom cut to fit the box exactly so the deck is stable in the crate.
Custom sized foam is also on all sides in addition to the brace
The OPS fits into foam that is custom fit to the proper dimensions.
This holds up nicely to any domestic or international shipping.

However at one show the Pelican crate had a big hole in in where they put a forklift through it, but the deck was unharmed!
I also learned that you have to put bolts all the way through the 2x4's on the brace to attach the deck to it.
At one show I used 3" screws into the 2x4's and they must have thrown the crate off the truck because three of the four 3" screws were sheared off like they were cut with a laser or something!
The deck worked just fine, however had to go to Home Depot for longer screws to get the deck home.

Considering how many shows you ship decks too...... must have nerves of steel and ice water in your veins!