I Finally sold the Leblanc one piece contrabass<>Now I have to ship it!!

bobsax

bobsax

So...I Finally sold the Leblanc one piece contrabass clarinet :geezer2:now I have to ship it!!

It came to me with UPS ground in 2007 but the UPS website wouldn't let me create a shipment. It said it was too big.
On the other hand the FedX website worked and I was given a shipping price of $100 which seemed reasonable.
Anybody have any preferences for shipping?

Also ,anybody have any tips on the packing particulars?
Fortunately, I still have the box it came in, but it's really just a cardboard sheath.
It is however the way it's shipped when you buy one new so I assume it's the best way to pack it.

The case has a big open area on the side nearest the handle.
I'm wondering if I should fill it with styrofoam peanuts, paper or bubble wrap?

The box has a this end up sticker and I think it means handle side up witch means the instrument is then on the bottom and closest to the ground.
Assuming the box is in this position and the box is dropped I wonder if the instrument would take less of hit if the case was upside down and filled with styrofoam?

And finally what about the pads? I think it may have come with little cork pieces keeping the pad open.
It seems like something more like the key clamps that they have for saxophones that keep the pads closed would be better??

thanks for any help
bob
 
Assuming that this is the resin body instrument, packing the void full of cushioning (peanuts, excelsior, whatever) couldn't hurt.

(The last time I saw any amount of excelsior (wood worms, for want of a better term) was at a lawn mower factory back in the 1980s. There was a huge pile of the stuff, kept for shipping purposes. Immediately next to it was the firm's storage for magnesium turnings (from cutting bolt holes in lawn mower decks), and immediately next to that was a huge pile of magnesium ingots. Had it ever been touched off, there would have been a hole burned a couple of furlongs towards China.)

I'd use Styrofoam to wedge the keys; cheaper than cork and just as resilient.
 
A comment on shipping: I recently got a used 37" flat panel TV. It was shipped via FedEx. The reason why I liked that is because, after I got the tracking number, I was able to have the TV delivered to a FedEx store that's about two miles from my house. They're also open 24/7, so I didn't have to worry about when I got there. I also didn't have to worry about a big red-and-white box that says, "Vizio 37" TV!" being left in my carport for the neighborhood children to either take or destroy it.

Also, while you might want to wrap up the instrument before you put it in the case then wrap up the case, you might then want to have the thing professionally wrapped for shipment at your shipper of choice. Why? Insurance. There's a sign posted at the local Box 'n' Mail that says something to the effect of, "If we didn't pack it, we're not responsible for it."

Finally, I've shipped a couple bari saxes. In one case, I had a really nice box for shipping it, but, because it was about an inch longer than "standard," the shipping cost went up dramatically -- like $50 or so. Again, if you take it to a pro shipper, you don't have to worry about that sort of thing.
 
Closed. That way they maintain alignment with the tone holes. If a pad gets damaged, it's easy enough to replace, but a set of perfect pads on keys that are out of alignment is a bigger repair problem.
 
I agree with Terry on "closed" because of the reasons he mentioned. Interestingly, though, I've had a couple horns shipped to me without *anything* and there was no problem. Well, one: when I got my new YBS-52 shipped to me in Fredonia, NY, many years ago, it was so cold that almost all the pearls fell off ....

As far as the eBay shipping stuff is concerned, I'm a bit nonplussed. The rates they come up with are generally cheaper than if you package something, weigh it a your local post office and send it. However, you also run that risk of underestimating the shipping cost and the thing gets returned to you or not having sufficient insurance. I've used it sparingly for inexpensive items.
 
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