To whomever has sold/bought a bass on ebay

[danb291]

How was the bass shipped? I am thinking of selling one of my basses because I could use the money (although it would be a somber departure). Anyway was the bass shipped only in a hard case, or was there extra packaging? Also what kind of shipping service was used?

 

Thanks in advance

Dan

[josh a]

I think a cardboard box (like the ones they are sent to the dealers in) with foam and special postage would be fine.

[jeremy c]

I've bought and sold.

 

The bass was always double boxed.

 

That means either the case was put inside a cardboard box, or their was a guitar-shaped box inside a rectangular box.

 

Lots of padding was always included so that the bass could not move.

 

I've used the USPS and I've used UPS, as well some strange shipping company for an upright bass which would have cost a small fortune otherwise.

 

Maybe I've been lucky, but there has never been any problem associated with shipping.

 

Or anything else for that matter.

[dcr]

Yep. The bass needs to be in a case (I've had basses shipped in soft cases, ie gig bags, as well as in hard cases), inside a box (like the ones they come to the dealership in), with lots & lots of padding in between. Shippers won't accept it if the contents shift inside the box.

 

I've used UPS & FedEx (in the USA). I've had good results with both. For me, I preferred FedEx. Both will let you calculate an approximate fee online, if you have weight, dimensions, & to & from postal codes.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Originally posted by dcr:

I've used UPS & FedEx (in the USA).

What about in Oz?

 

All luv,

--S-Dub

[ArwinH]

Not to hijack, but what's the procedure for shipping speaker cabinets?

Anyone, SteveC, Jeremyc?

[dcr]

Dude, not funny!!

[jeremy c]

I've never shipped a speaker cabinet.

 

And the ones that I've bought and sold have all been local.

 

No one from out of town bid on my cabs when they were on eBay.

 

I can't imagine shipping a cabinet....the cost of the shipping would probably end up being almost as much as the cost of the item.

 

When I shipped an upright bass, it cost a few hundred dollars. The box was enormous and was considered too large by most shippers.

 

A speaker cabinet in a box would not only be large, but it would be very heavy.

 

I guess stores do ship cabinets, but I wouldn't want to try it myself.

 

No matter how well a speaker is packed, if you drop it and the magnet gets misaligned, you no longer have a speaker.

[dcr]

Ditto. I've sold some cabs on eBay, when I lived in Wichita. One was an Ampeg 1x15, so of course it was a brute; I advertised it as local pick-up only, & a guy came down from Topeka. The other was an old Peavey 1x18 + 2x10, just a HUGE beast; again, local pickup-only, & it was bought by a guy who lived just a few miles away! (He even turned out to be a friend of some friends; gotta love those smaller cities.)

 

I don't recommend shipping a big cab. Myself, I'd probably rather not ship a cab at all. If you do decide to ship a cab, find a good box, then MEASURE and WEIGH that sucker. For non-commercial shipping, the size & weight restrictions can be pretty tight. The major shippers will usually let you check online by plugging in your package's dimensions. It'd be a real problem if you sold a cab to a guy across the country, only to find no one will handle the shipment. (I've been down that road, too...the guy from Topeka was not the first to bid successfully on the Ampeg, I'm afraid. I got out of that mess without taking any negative feedback. I got lucky.)

[Basshappi]

My one and only e-bay purchase was my Jazz. It was shipped to me in a hardshell case in a cardboard box via UPS. Everything was a-okay except that UPS will just leave it on your porch if you're not home (that's what happened to me.)

[Bottomgottem]

I purchased a 1x15 cab. off e-Bay just a few weeks ago. Weighed about 70 lbs. and came in a cardboard box and was totally surrounded by the styrofoam "peanuts". At least 4 inches worth all the way around it. They were a pain to clean up and dispose of, but it arrived in excellent condition. FedEx delivered. It cost about $55.00 from southern Fla. to western N.C.

[The Geoff]

Sorry, I drove in both cases, and picked up for cash.

 

G.

[bc_dup1]

I've bought 2 basses and sold 1 all of which had to cross the Atlantic. Packed as Jeremy suggests, and never any problem.

[Gruuve]

I've bought basses and sold cabs over Ebay. I agree with what everyone said about basses...put the case in a box and fill it up with foam peanuts or whatever. Shipping a cab is about the same...put it in a box and fill with packing material. If it has casters, it's probably a good idea to take them off and put them in a bag...They make poke holes through the box, then get broken off or damaged. As long as the whole deal weighs under 70 lbs, it's not that expensive...I think I shipped two Carvin RL-410T's for around $40 each. If you get heavier than 70 lbs, the price goes up however.

 

HTH,

Dave

[Tenstrum]

I've bought 6 basses and sold 5 using ebay. I've always double boxed the basses. 1st box is one of those guitar shaped boxes that has foam supports for the neck and body to keep the bass from moving. Then I put that inside a square box with lots of foam peanuts in between the 2 boxes. I shipped using FedEx from TN to CA only about $15. Packing materials cost from $5 to $10.

I've also sold a Peavey TNT 115 combo. That sucker was heavy! It cost about $50 to ship using UPS. I put it in a very large box with lots of foam and peanuts.

All the basses I've recieved have been packed in a similar matter.

[cornbread_medhotmail.com]

I've shipped a combo amp on eBay before. Just make sure you get a good sturdy box and put it inside another sturdy box. I also made several triangle "shims" out of thick cardboard and put several all the way around the amp as well as putting a lot of packing material. It was a little expensive to ship. The guy ended up not able to buy it, so he shipped it back to me, never opening it. It went from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Upstate New York and back and there was no damage to the amp and the packing material was in good shape, although the outer box was a little worse for wear. I shipped that one through the Post Office. I think it was about $35 - 40 to ship it.

 

With a bass, make sure you double box it, and a case with a cardboard outer box will suffice. I always make sure and put plenty of bubblewrap around the bass in the case and around the case inside the box to make sure. I get made fun of how well I pack a bass, but, I'd rather put too much packing material than not enough. I have never had any of the buyers complain about the amount of packing materials used. I pack them to withstand the gorilla from the old Samsonite commercials.

[Mark2112]

I have Sold Basses Guitars and Cabinets, mixers, pa systems and more on ebay.

Make sure after you take your pics that you get it ready for shipment and box it up. Then you can put up a shipping calculator and not have to answer a bunch of questions from people to lazy to go to the USPS, UPS, FedEx web sights. I have used al three and I ship worldwide. I check all three shippig methods and use the one that works out best for me and the buyers.

[Fred TBP]

Originally posted by cornbread:

I also made several triangle "shims" out of thick cardboard and put several all the way around the amp as well as putting a lot of packing material.

I always wanted to learn how to make those. Can you post instructions or point me to the right weblink?

[bikertrash]

You should be able to get your standard 410 cabinet across the USA for about 50 bucks or less going regular ground transport. Those things are real close to the size / weight limit. If you over pack them...you get killed on over size fees.

 

last time a shipped a cab, I scheduled the pickup online and they came to the house for pick up and it cost $3 less that if I had dropped it at their main depot. Go figure....That was an Eden 210XLT that went from NE Florida to W Texas for $27.

[wraub]

The only time I sold a cab on the 'bay, it was a massive old 1x15 with pull-off casters.

I specifically overpacked it, as a box for it was impossible to find. I used layers of cardboard flats against the cab for max protection, and built up with water-activated tape (the best!!). Like a big croissant, layers of goodness.

It shipped as oversize 2, the same as it tallied unpacked, just better protected. Shipping weight was 63 lbs IIRC. (Did I mention it was a big cabinet?)

 

No complaints from the buyer.

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[cornbread_medhotmail.com]

Originally posted by Fred the bass player:

Originally posted by cornbread:

I also made several triangle "shims" out of thick cardboard and put several all the way around the amp as well as putting a lot of packing material.

I always wanted to learn how to make those. Can you post instructions or point me to the right weblink?

All I did was cut 8" x 8" pieces of cardboard, score them every 2 inches and then fold them into a triangle with the bottom doubled up. Then, I taped them compressed with some strapping tape, covering them completely. Then, I just taped them in the box where I wanted them.