Hi,
I've just joined this board to buy some amp posted in classifieds...
but, unfortunately, it's collection only.
I'm watching ebay offers from whole Europe and it seems that most collection only offers are from UK.
I've been always curious, question might be silly, but since I'm on UK forum now, could somebody explain it to me?
Is it related to taxes (cash in person), no trust to couriers or is it just "UK" thing (too time consuming or something).
For example:
Used Mesa Boogie 4x12 in my country costs >600GBP, on UK ebay - 400GBP ... and my salary is probably 2-3 times less than in UK. Even with shipping (50-100GBP) it would be cheaper.
But that's the special case, I've sold some cabs and heavy amps and I know that shipping can be a pain. Still, I think for some reason sellers from UK are less eager to ship items (I don't want to offend you, it's just my observation)
Comments
I've posted at least 3 amps in the last 6 years, and I've had at least 3 amps delivered to me as well. All of them survived the journey without problems.
The only time I had a problem was when I sold a Laney VH100R to a friend up in Scotland, and when it arrived one of the corners of the headcase had separated. The amp itself was perfectly fine, but the shell case had come apart. He fixed it himself rather than shipping it back to me.
But you're exactly right. As a general rule, Brits don't like to post high-value items which might break in transit. Because our postal insurance regulations are not up to snuff, and a lot of people have been stiffed even when they did pay for extra insurance.
The best way to ship an amp - take out all of the tubes. Label them from which sockets they came. Double wrap in bubble wrap. Put back into the shell casing. Fill cavity with bubble wrap. Put the rear plate back onto the amp. Get some of those polystyrene corner holders, like this:
http://www.labelmaster.com/images/products/400x400/kfc900.jpg
Thicker the better. Put two on the bottom, put amp in. Put two on the top. Amp should be fairly sure at this point. Now fill the box with as much bubble wrap as possible, and double tape it all around the box so the bottom doesn't break.
Very shippable and very safe.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I've never had any problems, just once - USPS lost my guitar in USA, fortunately it was insuranced and they didn't do any problems with money return.
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Our couriers aren't very good either.
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