Ghost Rider Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I have a few possible buyers for my roscoe beck 5 string but they are outside the UK. I would like to know if anyone on here has shipped a bass from the UK to Russia or France? If so, how much was it, did the bass get there safe & sound, & is there any couriers you could recommend? I'm a little reluctant so post so thought I'd check it out with basschatters to get your thoughts. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I've shipped to Germany before via UPS and it arrived with no problems at all. Cost me around £130-140 as far as I remember. The bass was in a hard case and packed in bubble wrap and cardboard with plenty of tape round it. Only problem was UPS trying to sting me for extra carriage. This despite the bass being checked and weighed at their Edinburgh depot. I challenged them on it and they didn't take it any further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I sold a bass to France last year. It was in a flight case and I covered that in bubble wrap and parcel tape! I was nervous and the buyer paid for extra insurance. I think it was around £35ish in total. The bass arrived safely. phew. Sorry, I cant remember the company but I usually use parcel2go website and compare prices there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Rider Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 Thanks for the info. I'll look into it a bit further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I've shipped all over the world without any issues. Some countries have a worse rep than others. Russia is very expensive compared to Germany and South America is a bit of a no-go zone because many of the big shippers won't insure beyond arrival at the airport. Whatever you do make sure you get full insurance and use a major shipper. Interparcel a re good for pricing and ParcelFlight offer a very good service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I`ve sent basses to Greece and Finland, no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Rider Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1377342989' post='2186456'] I`ve sent basses to Greece and Finland, no issues. [/quote] Who did you use? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJE Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I shipped a NS Design upright to Croatia (I think) some time ago, I was very nervous about doing it especially as I only had the soft bag the NS came in. I wrapped it in card and bubble wrap and it was pretty bomb proof but I was still nervous but I used a company called P4D. They act as a broker for several companies and I called them and went through everything to make sure they would be happy shipping an instrument. I think I paid about £60 fully insured, took pictures of the instrument and packing so there were was no come back from the courier if they smashed it and tried to say the packing was not suitable. It got there in one piece in about 5 days and It was a very easy deal. Just check all the small print with whatever couriers you use and take pictures in case the worst happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I've shipped basses & guitars all over Europe & to the US without any problems. The only places I won't ship to are Eastern European countries as there are just so many scammers & general shipping horror stories from those areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 A lot of sellers on eBay won't ship to Italy. I don't know why, I've sold to Italy and Spain with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 [quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1377359492' post='2186712'] A lot of sellers on eBay won't ship to Italy. I don't know why, I've sold to Italy and Spain with no problems. [/quote] My Dad lives in Italy. Its a wonderful country but their postal and courier services are dreadful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Rider Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 Well there are some good things to come out of Italy... Monica bellucci for instance! If she wanted my Roscoe Beck I'd delivery it myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Interested in this as I may be shipping a bass to a buyer in New Jersey. What insurance did you guys get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Rider Posted October 13, 2013 Author Share Posted October 13, 2013 [quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1381674664' post='2242094'] Interested in this as I may be shipping a bass to a buyer in New Jersey. What insurance did you guys get? [/quote] I went to interparcel to get some quotes. My roscoe beck will be going to Sardinia Italy once payment has cleared, it's being sent with parcelforce euro priority with £1000 worth of cover for £66. It should take around 5 days to get there but that will depend on how long their customs decide to hang onto it. I find that it's best to discuss with the buyer how they would like it sent so that if it does get lost or damaged, the buyer has had the chance to pay for a more expensive courier & the seller is not responsible once it has left their hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 [quote name='Ghost Rider' timestamp='1381675958' post='2242121'] I went to interparcel to get some quotes. My roscoe beck will be going to Sardinia Italy once payment has cleared, it's being sent with parcelforce euro priority with £1000 worth of cover for £66. It should take around 5 days to get there but that will depend on how long their customs decide to hang onto it. I find that it's best to discuss with the buyer how they would like it sent so that if it does get lost or damaged, the buyer has had the chance to pay for a more expensive courier & the seller is not responsible once it has left their hands. [/quote] Check and triple check the terms and conditions in that. My dad lives in Italy and although it is an astoundingly beautiful country full of lovely people their postal service and courier services are utterly dreadful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 If you send to France via Parcelforce, they have a reciprocal arrangement with GLS over here when the item enters the country. The GLS side of things have never given me a problem. However, any problems that have occured have been on the UK side. Probably best with a big name like UPS or Fedex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 [quote name='Ghost Rider' timestamp='1377363228' post='2186777'] Well there are some good things to come out of Italy... Monica bellucci for instance! If she wanted my Roscoe Beck I'd delivery it myself... [/quote] Her mum lives opposite my friend's mum... When I heard, I immediately offered to travel and help buying groceries etc, as I hear Monica visits often... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 [quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1377359492' post='2186712'] A lot of sellers on eBay won't ship to Italy. I don't know why, I've sold to Italy and Spain with no problems. [/quote] When I was an eBay seller back in the day, I lost items sent to Italy on several occasions. In the end I stopped sending stuff there. That's not to say that the situation hasn't improved since, but I'd still be vary wary. Once (or several times) bitten, and all that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Rider Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share Posted October 14, 2013 I've been in touch with the guy buying my RB 5 & he's happy with the cheaper courier. I would rather not be sending it overseas but if thats what's got to happen then so be it. We have exchanged about 20 emails or so & I have raised my concerns but if the buyer is happy then it's ok to go ahead. If parcelforce kept losing parcels would there not be some sort of inquest & if it's tracked then someone must be accountable for it??? Has anyone on here used parcelforce to send to Sardinia ? I will be using parcelforce but booking it through www.interparcel.com You do get stung for an additional £15 because some of there postcodes/zip codes are classed as difficult areas to deliver. Any thoughts or info would be appreciated as I have not sent the bass yet. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacker Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Don't use Parcelforce! Their small print says that musical isntrument insurance is limited to £100. Plus, they're sh*te! Gey your buyer to pay extra insurance via UPS, etc and use sites like Parcel2go or PaisleyFreight. Better still, get your buyer to arrange his own shipping and insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Rider Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 I did ask the guy to arrange his own courier but he said that it would be really difficult to do so. I will double check with some more couriers as I would hate for the bass to get lost or damaged. It's a bit of a tricky one as I went through all the options I could find & parcelforce seemed ok. I'll have a search around & let you know how I get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I shipped a bass neck to Sweden via Parcelforce at a cost of £52. It's been lost at the 'national hub' - appalling service and inflated cost. I used to use Parcelforce all the time but their service has become expensive and inefficient. I'm still waiting for them to get back to me about this. Good luck, I doubt if I will ship outside the UK again unless it's organised by the buyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Rider Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 [url="http://www.parcel2go.com"]www.parcel2go.com[/url] seem to use UPS as one of their carriers so I'll look into them as I only hear good things about UPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 The Interparcel Economy service is UPS. At one time I used them so often the driver noticed we'd changed the hall flooring. Never had a problem with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Rider Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 For my RB 5 string I ended up using parcel2go & the service was UPS. Its cost £89 including £1000 for loss & £100 for damage. It got picked up 23/10/13 so I'm hoping it gets to the buyer in good time. I'll update with more info once it lands in Sardinia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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