willgatesbass Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 As I write this I am awaiting a TNT man to come and collect a VERY well packed Sandberg VM5 from my place in Gloucester so it can be delivered to a buyer in Glasgow. It's always nerve-wracking sending a bass. The bass is worth around the thousand pound mark and as usual the Parcel2Go website asked me if I wanted to insure the bass for the full amount. This would have resulted in a pretty expensive £85 bill for next day delivery but with the peace of mind that we were covered if anything should happen. Happily, my buyer was willing to pay this. Unfortunately, on reading the term and conditions I noticed that all guitars must be sent in a hard case in order for the insurance to be valid. The bass comes in the standard issue Sandberg gig bag which I placed in a proper cardboard bass box (the one my new Yamaha came in) and then into a larger, even sturdier box with plenty of bubble wrap between each layer. I am confident that the bass is about as safe and well-prepared as it could be for such a journey. It seems a shame that no courier will allow you to cover a bass without a hard case. As we all know, not many basses come with so much asa gig bag from new, let alone a hard case. Even my brand new Yamaha bass just arrived from a music store in much the same way as I'm about to send this one. What are your experiences (positive and negative) with sending basses by courier? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshy Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Never had a problem with any bass I’ve sent via Parcel2go and that’s from UK, Europe and the USA. Insurance is a very very grey area and I tend to not opt for it, even on basses worth thousands as they would never ever pay out. I believe this has been the case for others on here. I have a business insurance policy which covers items I send so couple it under this (ive checked and it’s ok). well packaged is the way to go, hard case preferable of course! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 In regards to insurance my fears are more for loss than damages, so try and make sure I follow the stipulations to the letter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 10 hours ago, Lozz196 said: In regards to insurance my fears are more for loss than damages, so try and make sure I follow the stipulations to the letter. That said, if it’s lost, say it’s in a hard case and claim.....if they find it and it’s not.....well they’ve found it 😂 Si 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 17 minutes ago, Sibob said: That said, if it’s lost, say it’s in a hard case and claim.....if they find it and it’s not.....well they’ve found it 😂 Si That wouldn't help with damage, though - my experience is the opposite of Lozz's - I have had a bass damaged in transit but never lost one. The damaged one was in a hard case and I had taken out the extra insurance, but somewhere in the microscopically small print, even with the additional premium paid, the maximum pay-out for a musical instrument was £100.00. I have sent basses to buyers in hard cases that they have then returned to me, and another time a buyer sent me a hard case for me to send a bass to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, FinnDave said: That wouldn't help with damage, though - my experience is the opposite of Lozz's - I have had a bass damaged in transit but never lost one. The damaged one was in a hard case and I had taken out the extra insurance, but somewhere in the microscopically small print, even with the additional premium paid, the maximum pay-out for a musical instrument was £100.00. I have sent basses to buyers in hard cases that they have then returned to me, and another time a buyer sent me a hard case for me to send a bass to him. Oh quite, my mildly flippant remark only works in the ‘lost’ scenario. Si Edited February 26, 2019 by Sibob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 That said, read carefully the T&C and you'll see that they will only refund £100 GBP for musical instruments. There is another thread talking about this here on BassChat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 7 hours ago, Hellzero said: That said, read carefully the T&C and you'll see that they will only refund £100 GBP for musical instruments. There is another thread talking about this here on BassChat. Depends on the courier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 I don't think Interparcel's terms and conditions contain anything about hard cases or payout limits for musical instruments. Worth checking out just in case. But then again, if they are just contracting the work out to other couriers, is the insurance with the end courier (who will each have different rules), or the middleman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) Preaching to the choir I know, but remember to check the T&C's when booking your courier - some exclude musical instruments from their insurance policies but will happily take the money anyway. I've sent and received many instruments. Only on one occasion was there any damage - looked pretty deliberate too - but this was mitigated by the hard case the bass was travelling in. Though I insure items I send, I always have in the back of my mind the risk of damage and I'm prepared to accept a returned item damaged in transit, whether I can claim or not. Trusting somebody else to courier items is significantly less expensive than doing it myself - I just assume the risk. Edited February 26, 2019 by TheGreek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 3 hours ago, tauzero said: Depends on the courier. Indeed, I was talking about ParcelFarce. That said, I don't care as I'm living in Belgium and can insure a musical instrument up to €3750 Euros over here. And it's working, ask @binky_bass ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 3 hours ago, Hellzero said: Indeed, I was talking about ParcelFarce. That said, I don't care as I'm living in Belgium and can insure a musical instrument up to €3750 Euros over here. And it's working, ask @binky_bass ... Yes, this thread started off about TNT though. I've insured musical instruments for somewhere over £1k with UPS and couldn't find anything in the small print about it not counting and they'd got their fingers crossed when they sold it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willgatesbass Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 Thanks for your input, everyone. The package made it to Glasgow safely. The only problem was they delivered it several doors down to a complete stranger and didn’t leave my buyer a card to say that they had done so! After chasing TNT I got a name and house number and he got his new bass. Phew! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 On 26/02/2019 at 18:31, dannybuoy said: I don't think Interparcel's terms and conditions contain anything about hard cases or payout limits for musical instruments. Worth checking out just in case. But then again, if they are just contracting the work out to other couriers, is the insurance with the end courier (who will each have different rules), or the middleman? Just tried to book something tonight. It was actually prohibited from sending via interparcel without a hard case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpup Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 The only time I've ever couriered a bass - albeit a Musicman Sterling so fairly high value - i insisted that the buyer arranged the courier and that he also paid me an extra £50 for me to buy a new hard case as i only had a gig bag for it. I wouldn't have been happy without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 21 hours ago, Woodinblack said: Just tried to book something tonight. It was actually prohibited from sending via interparcel without a hard case Was that Interparcel's terms or the terms of that specific courier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 (edited) Parcelforce won't insure guitars unless in a hardcase,there's a poster on the wall in the Edinburgh depot explaining this. No idea if they cover damage to the case. Was in there Monday night. 19hrs Edinburgh to Redruth for £9.78 😎 Edited March 6, 2019 by kodiakblair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstraker123 Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 22 hours ago, Woodinblack said: Just tried to book something tonight. It was actually prohibited from sending via interparcel without a hard case Used Interparcel a lot and never noticed this clause - as the subsequent poster said was this interparcel terms or for a specific courier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstraker123 Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Yes just checked Interparcel and in prohibited items Musical Instrument that is NOT in a hard protective case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Yep, bit of a pain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 4 hours ago, kodiakblair said: Parcelforce won't insure guitars unless in a hardcase,there's a poster on the wall in the Edinburgh depot explaining this. No idea if they cover damage to the case. They dont cover any case used as protection for its contents. As for basses, they may well insure them unless they're high value, because high value basses are not eligible for enhanced cover. https://www.parcelforce.com/help-and-advice/sending/items-we-exclude-compensation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Parcelfarce thread .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJE Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 I have used a couple of broker services over the years and always call the main office and ask if they will ship instruments and are there any special requirements. I ask for the name of the person I spoke to and make a note. I have never had any issues posting without a hard case (only done it twice) so long as you use an appropriate amount of packing. Now this is a vague term, but in the cases (excuse the pun) where I didn’t have a hard case, I used the original shipping boxes plus a ton of extra bubble wrap and reinforcement. I take photos at ever stage of packing as proof and have the fall back that the instrument made it from China/America/wherever in that box so it should make it across a few counties in the UK, especially with the extra packing. I also insist on sending instruments full insured for their replacement value, not secondhand value so that I and the buyer are covered. I have to say that I have never had to pay anywhere near £85 for delivery, even sending a NS Upright to Europe. Luckily I have only had to claim once, I bombarded them with photos and emails about how/why the damage had been caused and got a full payout for what I asked for......happy days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 ^^^ Exactly what I always do and have explained it over and over. I've sent hundreds of instruments and musical related stuff all over the world with only two solved issued where the insurance fully refund the value : lots of pictures help a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Thats all good for basses worth many hundreds to thousands, I would use a hard case too, but if the bass is £100-200? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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