One of the things I frequently see are people saying that they cannot ship their floor standing loudspeakers and must have local pickup. That shrinks your potential buyer pool to almost nothing. Your speakers sit for months and years, and when you do sell them, you get pennies on the dollar for what you paid for them.
I recently moved to Hawaii from the mainland and had to pack my custom made loudspeakers, which are fine furniture. I had to separate the top and bottom piece of each loudspeaker, so I did four cartons in all. Here's how I did it and you can too. You're going need the following materials found at Home Depot.
Next you're going to go to a place that sells packing cartons. Many long term storage companies will sell packing materials. Get wardrobe cartons. They are very thick and strong cardboard, and typically about 5 feet tall.
Step 1: Wrap your loudspeaker in the furniture wrap. Go around several times.
Step 2: Wrap your loudspeaker in at least a 2" layer of bubble wrap.
Step 3: Layer the bottom of your wardrobe carton with:
-> 1" layer bubble wrap
-> 1" layer packing popcorn
-> 1" layer bubble wrap
Put your wrapped loudspeaker in the carton and fill with packing popcorn. Fill above that with layers of packing popcorn and bubble wrap.
Assuming that your speaker is not 5 feet tall, using a box cutter, cut the top of the carton to fold over the loudspeaker and seal up.
If you've got a loudspeaker that is worth $4000 or more, than instead of getting only $500 for it like you eventually will, or worse, give it to your kid for his college dorm room, then it's well worth it to pack it up this way.
I recently moved to Hawaii from the mainland and had to pack my custom made loudspeakers, which are fine furniture. I had to separate the top and bottom piece of each loudspeaker, so I did four cartons in all. Here's how I did it and you can too. You're going need the following materials found at Home Depot.
- furniture wrap. It looks like a giant roll of Saran Wrap.
- Bubble wrap. Get the kind with big bubbles.
- Packing popcorn
Next you're going to go to a place that sells packing cartons. Many long term storage companies will sell packing materials. Get wardrobe cartons. They are very thick and strong cardboard, and typically about 5 feet tall.
Step 1: Wrap your loudspeaker in the furniture wrap. Go around several times.
Step 2: Wrap your loudspeaker in at least a 2" layer of bubble wrap.
Step 3: Layer the bottom of your wardrobe carton with:
-> 1" layer bubble wrap
-> 1" layer packing popcorn
-> 1" layer bubble wrap
Put your wrapped loudspeaker in the carton and fill with packing popcorn. Fill above that with layers of packing popcorn and bubble wrap.
Assuming that your speaker is not 5 feet tall, using a box cutter, cut the top of the carton to fold over the loudspeaker and seal up.
If you've got a loudspeaker that is worth $4000 or more, than instead of getting only $500 for it like you eventually will, or worse, give it to your kid for his college dorm room, then it's well worth it to pack it up this way.
Thanks, russbutton, for those packaging tips.
The certainty that such heavy and delicate objects will arrive at their destination unscathed would certainly give the seller confidence.
I've several loudspeakers and amplifiers I'd like to move on, and having confidence in the method of packaging is the only thing holding me back.
The certainty that such heavy and delicate objects will arrive at their destination unscathed would certainly give the seller confidence.
I've several loudspeakers and amplifiers I'd like to move on, and having confidence in the method of packaging is the only thing holding me back.
Looking at the price of those packing materials retail, you'd get killed in a sale by total cost of shipping. To me, the biggest challenge in selling large, heavy objects is packing in a way that makes shipping damage unlikely. Many times what's reasonable just isnt enough; depends on who touches your box while on its way. I think 4ft drop onto any corner; will the bit inside survive? Usually if I let something go out the door that cant, that's just what it gets.
One time I had a large Phillips receiver completely eject from its container on its way, another; the commercially built speakers were so old that the hot melt glue used to construct them broke off the panel edges due to handling forces; another TT was torqued within its packing so hard it shattered the dust cover, which I thought I'd nicely supported with custom cut foam foam pad. Another TT / Receiver / Speaker shipment? No problem.
This inconsistency in handling, the sometimes, sometimes not of it makes shipping expensive for somebody. Either yourself and the buyer at the outset, or yourself when the package fails after getting heaved, chucked, dropped, stepped on.
I've probably packed between 1 and 2k worth of items since I joined ebay, 20+ years ago. I've had a handful of times when something got destroyed on the way and I was forced to lose the sale entirely. The odds are only "likely" everything is going to be OK. I have a pair of JBL HLS 615s I'd like to sell. I have a box they'd both fit in.
I hesitate, as it's a lot of work to engineer reasonable internal packing support and that effort could fail anyway. I'd get maybe $150 for them with additional shipping being a substantial proportion to the total sale value. It really puts the onus on the seller to get the packing right; good enough for the random scenario the box will see in its travels.
I have a sub-woofer that's in the same boat - I try to create a reasonably sized package for it and I know there's just NO WAY it'll make it in one piece even with 8 corners of cushioning. It has to do with the untenable weight-dimension of the resulting box. Large, 40-50 lb boxes simply get abused more often than small, light ones do.
One time I had a large Phillips receiver completely eject from its container on its way, another; the commercially built speakers were so old that the hot melt glue used to construct them broke off the panel edges due to handling forces; another TT was torqued within its packing so hard it shattered the dust cover, which I thought I'd nicely supported with custom cut foam foam pad. Another TT / Receiver / Speaker shipment? No problem.
This inconsistency in handling, the sometimes, sometimes not of it makes shipping expensive for somebody. Either yourself and the buyer at the outset, or yourself when the package fails after getting heaved, chucked, dropped, stepped on.
I've probably packed between 1 and 2k worth of items since I joined ebay, 20+ years ago. I've had a handful of times when something got destroyed on the way and I was forced to lose the sale entirely. The odds are only "likely" everything is going to be OK. I have a pair of JBL HLS 615s I'd like to sell. I have a box they'd both fit in.
I hesitate, as it's a lot of work to engineer reasonable internal packing support and that effort could fail anyway. I'd get maybe $150 for them with additional shipping being a substantial proportion to the total sale value. It really puts the onus on the seller to get the packing right; good enough for the random scenario the box will see in its travels.
I have a sub-woofer that's in the same boat - I try to create a reasonably sized package for it and I know there's just NO WAY it'll make it in one piece even with 8 corners of cushioning. It has to do with the untenable weight-dimension of the resulting box. Large, 40-50 lb boxes simply get abused more often than small, light ones do.
Cushioning is not always enough. It seems that the heavier the product the worse it gets treated. I have gone to the extent of cutting Masonite panels or even thicker material to provide armor for the ride. It is to reinforce the outer box. The inner box would be where the product inside is cushioned.
Tomorrow I am shipping two slabs of 1 1/2" wood to Denver. In that case, all I can do is use that fiberboard made for protecting corners to hold the slabs together. Some gluing will be involved and heavy duty tape every which way to hold it all together.
I am also shipping a DBX5 unit to NY. In that case double boxing is a must. Cushioning and support still play a major role though.
Speakers would be a challenge for anyone. I have done it with varying results. Bullet proof is the functional word here.
Tomorrow I am shipping two slabs of 1 1/2" wood to Denver. In that case, all I can do is use that fiberboard made for protecting corners to hold the slabs together. Some gluing will be involved and heavy duty tape every which way to hold it all together.
I am also shipping a DBX5 unit to NY. In that case double boxing is a must. Cushioning and support still play a major role though.
Speakers would be a challenge for anyone. I have done it with varying results. Bullet proof is the functional word here.
My loudspeakers were shipped with my household goods when we moved. So everything got packed into a container. That's different than handing packages over to UPS or FedEx. Large floor standing loudspeakers need to be thought of as furniture and should be handled as such. Forbes Magazine suggests that long distance furniture shipping can cost between $400 - $850. I'd think that 10% extra is a reasonable amount to pay for shipping.
When I pack a piece of electronics, I know that UPS and FedEx both throw things. If it can't survive a 6 foot drop to a concrete floor, it isn't packed well enough. One time I shipped an active crossover and it took the buyer nearly a half hour to get it unwrapped. I had it double boxed with loads of bubble wrap.
When I pack a piece of electronics, I know that UPS and FedEx both throw things. If it can't survive a 6 foot drop to a concrete floor, it isn't packed well enough. One time I shipped an active crossover and it took the buyer nearly a half hour to get it unwrapped. I had it double boxed with loads of bubble wrap.