BassBeast Posted April 22, 2023 Share Posted April 22, 2023 Hello team, Has anyone any experience shipping their bass either inside the UK or overseas in terms of a highly reputable company that’ll help make this a very easy process (collection, tracking etc)? I’ve sold my bass (with hardcase) via eBay to someone in New Zealand but my ad was for collection in London, UK…so now we’re trying to sort this out… Any help would be amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 The big problem is dimensions. It would be a lot more viable to ship with the neck off and forget the hard case. If going that route you can post it either Royal Mail direct to NZ or via NZ Post YouShop scheme out of UK. I hope you know who you are dealing with. Scamming has been on the rise here lately when it used to be rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 The last bass I got from the US came via DHL Expedited service. Hell pricey but they were true to their word in handling end to end with no additional charges aside from what I owed NZ Customs. As sender you always have to fill in a Customs form for the shipment. Very straightforward. Always give the actual sale price in your local currency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBeast Posted April 23, 2023 Author Share Posted April 23, 2023 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJE Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 (edited) I used to use online brokers like P4D and Parcel2go. With P4D I used to get written confirmation they would ship and insure instruments to the full value I was asking so there was no room to argue if anything went wrong. I then wrapped up the basses inside the case, but never locked the case itself in case someone wants to look at it at in customs (never happened). I then wrapped the case up thoroughly and put my address and delivery address in multiple locations just to be safe. I took photos at every stage of wrapping and packing so that they couldn’t argue it was insufficiently wrapped if anything happened. This saved me with a cab sale once and they had no room to argue with me that the courier was to blame. Edited April 23, 2023 by NJE 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 This ∆∆∆ , plus adding some polystyrene panels "around" the case and adding an A4 sheet with the sender and recipient adresses with phone numbers inside the case clearly visible as couriers have the authorisation to open parcels in case they get "lost". Also ask the recipient to video the unpacking process, only for insurance purposes. You can use TNT Express which is very fast, just like UPS, and these two companies will insure the instrument at the value you declared ... and can help you fill all the forms. Avoid anything by the post or brokers as they don't give a shīt about parcels, and don't be a cheapskate unless you want to face a lot of issues... I've sent hundreds of instruments or even amps all over the world without any problems, but two: the first was a parcel stolen (you can't do anything about this) and the second was a parcel dropped from the bagages hold of the plane (shīt happens). Both times, I was fully refunded by the insurance and gave the money back to the buyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 I don't live in the UK, but for my most recent shipping of a bass (a neck-through Ibanez MC924 with original case) I used UPS and they were great - mostly... Everything was easily arranged on the UPS website once I knew the final dimensions of the package. I had arranged pickup at my work address, but they didn't show up. But they also have many drop-off points in my area so I went with that. Many of these are small, independent shops who wouldn't be happy if you dropped off a huge box so I had to choose carefully. Just don't do what I did and don't use laminated wood or fibreboard panels to strengthen the package. I laminated the hardcase (of thin, fragile wood) between two boards of MDF, and US Customs weren't too thrilled because apparently there's formaldehyde in wood glue and the MDF had to meet certain US standards... I had to trace and contact the manufacturer for the specifications of the boards and the type of glue used, and meanwhile the package had to stay in a UPS warehouse until it passed Customs. And apparently a UPS warehouse is some sort of luxury parcel hotel, because for each night (over 3) spent at their fine etablissement they charged a considerable amount. No fun was had! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 I’d consider whether you want the hassle and risk. I refuse to ship basses on eBay as it’s just too risky for me, and time consuming to package up etc. You could be looking at half a days work to sort this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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