fezzza Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 A gentleman got in touch with me recently inquiring about buying a bass I have for sale on this forum! Whilst I'm pleased he's definitely interested in purchasing I'm unsure as he's based in France, whilst I have no problem going through the hassle of shipping internationally, I'm not too sure where to start, what's the best way to ship it as cheap as possible and risk free ( still want to do it tracked and insured if possible! ) Apologies if this has been raised elsewhere in the forum! Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 You'll hear scare stories about pretty much every courier company, but Interparcel have a good rep here. http://www.interparcel.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 No such thing as risk free but most parcels get there safely. But if you use, for example, Parcelforce, then when the item gets to France some French setup takes over - I don't know what they are called. Stuff coming from Thomann in Germany goes DHL then Parcelforce when it gets to the UK. If it's European Union then it's just like going to somewhere in the UK. No customs or customs charges. It's worth checking the foreign address more than once; they don't all work like UK addresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I made a crate to ship a bass to Greece once. It cost more, sure. But it would have taken malice to damage the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1454367792' post='2969142'] You'll hear scare stories about pretty much every courier company, but Interparcel have a good rep here. [url="http://www.interparcel.com/"]http://www.interparcel.com/[/url] [/quote] Yep, I`ve always used the UPS option via Interparcel and have had no issues. Sold basses to Basschatters in Greece and Finland. Whatever you do, don`t choose Parcelforce. Their prohibited items lists musical instruments, so any loss or damage, they won`t pay out. Edited February 2, 2016 by Lozz196 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 UPS or TNT booked via Interparcel. However with shipping out of the UK the important thing to ensure is that the parcel is shipped all the way by the same carrier. For smaller parcels some of the big carriers contract out collect or delivery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fezzza Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 Cheers for all the advice! Definitely going via interparcel for this one! Excuse my ignorance as i've never had to deal with couriers before but will the shipping of my bass be tracked and signed for to ensure I don't get scammed by the other party, I.e: he claims he hasn't received it, etc... Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I had a couple of dozen basses travel from/to me within Europe in the last few years. ( I live in Hungary ) In most cases I organized the shipping and I use TNT: Not the cheapest but they are reliable, offer tracking ,insurance etc. My advice is to pack the bass well. Hardshell case is better than a gigbag, but I had basses that were put into a gigbag, bubblewrapped AND the put into a carton box then wrapped with black vinyl foil and they made it w/o problem. Source a box, some bubblewrap and some tape and pack the thing. Takes about 10 mins and gives a great piece of mind. And always add more packing material than less. I have to say that so far I never had any shipping damage either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 [quote name='fezzza' timestamp='1454425654' post='2969621'] Cheers for all the advice! Definitely going via interparcel for this one! [/quote] Good choice. [quote name='fezzza' timestamp='1454425654' post='2969621'] Excuse my ignorance as i've never had to deal with couriers before but will the shipping of my bass be tracked and signed for to ensure I don't get scammed by the other party, I.e: he claims he hasn't received it, etc... [/quote] How are you being paid? Read up on the whole paypal thing if that is the method! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.