Shipping to England

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 1:41 pm

Anyone have any guesstimate what I should charge someone for shipping a bass to London from the Midwest USA? The shipping calculators on Ebay are horrible, I know it can't cost $300.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 3:20 pm

Steve, in my experience, USPS has been the least expensive way to go. I'm thinking about $60.00 USD. USPS tells me they will not ship something that size in the slower, less expensive route, it has to go airmail.
UPS, FedEx, etc. are much more expensive to ship a guitar overseas.

marc61 · Post by **marc61** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 3:26 pm

Problem with USPS is that it's not insured after it leaves the US. It usually runs about $100. Fedex I've done for $180. UPS a bit more, say $200-220.

jps · Post by **jps** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 4:55 pm

Check out DHL. We use them to ship things to the Middle East.

mgauction · Post by **mgauction** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 5:29 pm

I do lots of it. UPS and Fed Ex are about $180-200. USPS is about half of that but the dimensions are quite restrictive. You could ship it with a guitar or bass that was short scale, maybe/barely.

ken_swearingen · Post by **ken_swearingen** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 5:33 pm

I just got that 21 fret from the Netherlands it was $160.00 FedEx

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 5:59 pm

Great, guys, thanks for the numbers! I just cannot fathom someone wanting to pay $160-200 to ship a $250 bass. But hey, if he wants to pay it...Joey, I think this might be too big to go USPS. I've had a lot of trouble with their combined width & length in the past.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:17 pm

Yeah, I've gotten doubts from usps about the size of a bass box also, but so far I've been able to ship them without a problem. It may not be the best route, but it is the least expensive, which is what most people ask for. I just inform them that if the item not insured, it's their own risk.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:04 pm

That's exactly what I did.

I walked into USPS last time I shipped and the guy was shaking his head "no" before I even got to the counter.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:19 pm

My '91 V63 that I bought was shipped to me via USPS and never reached me. It took a year to get the insurance money and by that time the exchange rate had changed so much I lost £200 into the bargain. Tread carefully.

jnbass · Post by **jnbass** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 3:07 pm

USPS cheaper-until the cr_p hits the fan. Then trying to collect is a nightmare.

mgauction · Post by **mgauction** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 3:47 pm

USPS - No tracking whatsoever or claims until 30 days have passed and the buyer has negged you!

jnbass · Post by **jnbass** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 7:50 pm

Pete Townsend works for USPS?

mgauction · Post by **mgauction** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 8:22 pm

Or else it's Jim Carrey. Ooops! Wasn't he working for UPS in Ace Ventura? Alrighty, then.....

henny · Post by **henny** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:45 pm

USPS - No tracking whatsoever or claims until 30 days have passed

Eh?

I've just had a bass shipped from Ohio to England, with full insurance + tracking, apprently with USPS. It got here in three days.