Who do we like for couriering amps currently?

bbill335

Need to get a 35kg amp from Glasgow to Birmingham. I refuse to use UPS because the local depot seems to go out of their way to destroy my amps. I'd like to use Parcelforce 24hr but it seems that I'm over their weight threshold. The best quote I'm getting through parcel2go is TNT at ~£30 no cover, ~£50 with cover.

Has anyone got any good recommendations? Is P2G's cover worth the paper it's printed on?

ThePrettyDamned

I truly believe the best courier would be yourself, and charge for petrol. 

I've had a couple of bad experiences and if you can't afford to write the amp off, it's just not worth it. 

bbill335

ThePrettyDamned said:

I truly believe the best courier would be yourself, and charge for petrol. 

I've had a couple of bad experiences and if you can't afford to write the amp off, it's just not worth it. 

I don't think I'd be saving very much after I've factored in buying a car...

mgaw

ups

Bygone_Tones

The best insurance you can buy is your own packing standards. Then  just use any courier you want, they all operate in the same way. I use UPS all the time and have never had anything damaged.

If your idea of good packing for a heavy amplifier is just wrapping some cardboard around it then you are the problem, not the courier. Always use thick polystyrene for heavy items like that or expect damage. No courier will baby it for you. It will get thrown on and off vans and lorries, sorting conveyor belts and warehouse cages. Pack it with this in mind and you wont have any problems. The general rule of thumb is that you should pack it to withstand being dropped from a height of 6ft.

Bubblewrap is only good for lightweight items, not heavy items like a combo or speaker cab - it will just pop and turn to cling film, especially at the corners where you need the protection the most.

ourmaninthenorth

Bygone_Tones said:

The best insurance you can buy is your own packing standards. Then  just use any courier you want, they all operate in the same way. 

This. 

/thread.

RiftAmps

I NEVER courier an amp over 30kgs, always deliver myself. Have you seen the conveyer belt systems in sorting depots?! Even if you ninja pack the amp to the nth degree, it won't stop the weight of the TXs warping the chassis from a big drop. The amount of big amps I've seen with twisted/bent/dented chassis is unbelievable.

timmysoft

RiftAmps said:

I NEVER courier an amp over 30kgs, always deliver myself. Have you seen the conveyer belt systems in sorting depots?! Even if you ninja pack the amp to the nth degree, it won't stop the weight of the TXs warping the chassis from a big drop. The amount of big amps I've seen with twisted/bent/dented chassis is unbelievable.

Most stuff over 30kg would be non conveyor for most of the couriers now. It would only be TNT that would put that on a conveyor.

The main problem comes from the handling between the hubs and depots, if it can't go on a conveyor its usually lifted/thrown by the hand of some nightshift minimum wage worker, who couldn't give a shit if your parcel gets delivered or not. 

If you want to avoid conveyors, final wrap your parcels in clingfilm, they then tend to get stuck on the corners of the conveyor trays. Although the conveyors are really the lesser of the two evils now!

bbill335

timmysoft said:

Most stuff over 30kg would be non conveyor for most of the couriers now. It would only be TNT that would put that on a conveyor.

Would this be the reason that I could only get a quote for TNT? (ie the other couriers have decided that if >30kg won't go on a conveyor, we won't take anything that heavy)

Legionreturns

Pay me to do it...I'm currently in Carlisle, and heading down through Brum on Saturday on my way to the Leicester Jam  

ICBM

RiftAmps said:

I NEVER courier an amp over 30kgs, always deliver myself. Have you seen the conveyer belt systems in sorting depots?! Even if you ninja pack the amp to the nth degree, it won't stop the weight of the TXs warping the chassis from a big drop. The amount of big amps I've seen with twisted/bent/dented chassis is unbelievable.

This. Even at under 30Kg, its almost impossible to pack a lot of heavy amps well enough that they don't suffer damage from their own internal inertia if they're dropped from several feet onto a hard surface - you simply can't defy the laws of physics. Even proper foam shipping corners often aren't enough - bent transformer mountings and chassis are common, and sometimes do other damage as well, eg cracking PCB joints - or occasionally the PCB. If it's a combo (I assume it is at this weight) then the speakers can also damage themselves purely by the inertia of their own magnets.

Legionreturns said:

Pay me to do it...I'm currently in Carlisle, and heading down through Brum on Saturday on my way to the Leicester Jam  

Do this .

bbill335

Legionreturns said:

Pay me to do it...I'm currently in Carlisle, and heading down through Brum on Saturday on my way to the Leicester Jam  

Thank you, that's really generous. If I hear back from the guy soon, expect a PM! 

Legionreturns

bbill335 said:

Legionreturns said:

Pay me to do it...I'm currently in Carlisle, and heading down through Brum on Saturday on my way to the Leicester Jam  

Thank you, that's really generous. If I hear back from the guy soon, expect a PM! 

I'm leaving to head down to Huddersfield at about 5 unless you tell me otherwise. Happy to hang on if needs be. 

bbill335

Alright, he's coming to the Midlands in a week and a bit so we'll arrange to meet then.