Shipping a Cab

What is the best / cheapest way to ship a 4 x 12 cabinet within the US?

That's a difficult question to answer. Mainly because there really is no cheap method of shipping a cabinet due to the dimensions and heavy weight. I'm actually an employee at UPS, so please take my advice concerning this because I see music equipment come through on a daily basis:

The first thing you should know is that - assuming it's a 4x12 cabinet - it's going to be what UPS (or FedEx or whoever) refers to as an "irregular" package, meaning it is either 70 lbs or heavier and/or its dimensions are too wide/tall for the standard conveyor belts that they use for everyday packages. In this case it's probably going to be both, and those two factors are going to jack the price up on shipping.

Secondly, when it comes to irregular packages, they aren't the easiest boxes to move. So with that being said, you run the risk of shipping personnel not asking for help in the process of getting the box to where it needs to go and trying to move it by themselves. I'll leave this part to your imagination as to their various methods of transportation. This is why it's very, VERY important that the cabinet is packaged EXTREMELY well; put as much packaging material as possible in between the cabinet and the box in order to keep it stationary. You don't want a cabinet shifting around in a box! The molded, styrofoam inserts that come in guitar, amp, cabinet, etc. boxes are perfect as they limit movement within the box and keep the item itself away from the boxes' edges so that if the box takes a spill or happens upon the corner of a wall or something sharp, the contents inside are safe.

If you're the one that's shipping and it's through some sort of eBay auction or Craigslist, I would take it to a UPS store, let them do what they need to do in terms of packaging it themselves (unless you have the materials to do so, although those size boxes are very hard to come by) and give the buyer an estimate.

I shipped a cabinet a few years ago and did not follow this procedure and it cost me; the package was damaged upon delivery and the buyer demanded a refund (and rightfully so, I might add). So now I'm happy to give this advice to anyone who doesn't want to suffer the same fate!

Thank you very much for your lengthy reply, it is so very appreciated! I will certainly take your advice..does UPS charge a substantial fee to have them package the materials for you?

Pmaurer said:

Thank you very much for your lengthy reply, it is so very appreciated! I will certainly take your advice..does UPS charge a substantial fee to have them package the materials for you?

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Absolutely DO NOT take an item to a UPS Store to have them package it and ship it, unless you like paying 3X what it normally costs for simply foam peanuts and a box.

Go to your local Mesa dealer and see if they will sell you a box. I know the local Mesa/PRS dealer here will sell a box for $6. Then go to Lowe's and buy some of that 1 1/2" styrofoam paneling. Line the box with that. You'll be money ahead vs. going to a UPS store.

If I'm not able to get a Mesa box from a local retailer, is there anywhere else I would be able to get a box with those dimensions?

mikey383 said:

Pmaurer said:

Thank you very much for your lengthy reply, it is so very appreciated! I will certainly take your advice..does UPS charge a substantial fee to have them package the materials for you?

Click to expand...

Absolutely DO NOT take an item to a UPS Store to have them package it and ship it, unless you like paying 3X what it normally costs for simply foam peanuts and a box.

Go to your local Mesa dealer and see if they will sell you a box. I know the local Mesa/PRS dealer here will sell a box for $6. Then go to Lowe's and buy some of that 1 1/2" styrofoam paneling. Line the box with that. You'll be money ahead vs. going to a UPS store.

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Mikey is right. If you can get a box from some sort of retailer, that's definitely your best bet. UPS DOES charge a hefty fee for their own packaging, which is why I only suggested doing that if it was through a Craigslist or eBay auction in which the buyer is paying shipping charges. I'm all about saving money and helping people but when the time/labor spent gets to be out of hand while searching for packing materials, you do what you can. Unfortunately, I don't have a local retailer that offers boxes/packing material (stubborn bastards), so my options are/were limited!

Does $100 sound about right for a shipping charge from New York to Kansas? I did estimates on both FedEx' and UPS' sites and they both came out to hover around there...but I'm not sure that I did them correctly...

MassiveBoogers, where did you get the box to contain the cab? From UPS?

Dude, I was so pissed at UPS when they delivered my head and cab. Luckily I was home and just as I open the door to go outside the UPS guy is just about to push the cab off the back of the truck. :x I yelled just in time and he grabbed and pulled it back in the truck claiming he was rearanging it. I said bs and offered to help get it down. Now if he had thought about doing the same with the head it would have been ruined. What a jerk. Anyhow there are many horror stories I could tell you about shipping cabs.

Your best bet would be to eat the cost and pick it up yourself if that is an option.