Amp Couriers

thomasross20

Just curious who you've used in the past when shipping an amp? 
I understand a lot of couriers don't insure a lot of musical equipment (or only up to a certain value)? 

I'm thinking about putting my Blackstar on eBay - possibly also the Suhr. 

I usually use interparcel and choose UPS or parcelforce - I'll need to check what they'll insure, though..

Cheers!
Thomas

RiftAmps

From experience, most couriers only insure guitar amps up to £50, even if you stump up for extra protection/insurance/cover etc - just not worth it. I've learned the hard way...

I now use UPS as they've been the least worst for damage/reliability and I now just take the hit if something gets damaged. 

thomasross20

Crikey.
I think I'm just going to list it on eBay as collection only and see how it fares. 
Are guitars insured up to max value?

martinw

If you use a broker, the insurance is provided by the brokerage, not the courier service. I'm not aware of any that won't cover amps. Certainly the 2 brokers I use cover amps and cabs to whatever value you pay for cover for.

I use Parcelbroker as a preference, and have also use Interparcel. The guy who owns Parcelbroker is a guitar player and bought a cab off me. I also made the only ever claim I've needed to make from them (in nearly 10 years now) and got paid out without any problems. (Amp went missing in transit, years back, it was one of those DHL Express jobs).

I always use UPS or DPD of the services available, they seem the most professional. Preventing damage is down to packing well, that's up to you. Never had any problems.

(Cue ICBM with doom-laden 'don't do it' post. All I can say is that I have actually shipped a lot of amps in the last 9 years, and barring the one incident mentioned above, had no problems).

thomasross20

Hmm, thanks for the info!

What I've done just now is put it on eBay for collection only. I think I might let it run - even if it sells for less it's worth it for lack of hassle regarding postage etc. 

I just checked both Interparcel and Parcelbroker... both quote approx £10 + VAT for the amp I'm sending. I never checked anything regarding insurance of the item - I'm assuming that's in there for now. I'd have to find a box big enough to ship it in with the appropriate packing for the inside. 

Oh man, what a hassle!

Corvus

UPS via Interparcel for me, though only done it three times, but it's easy enough. I've taken out valves & padded them up. Thin piece of scrap ply over the grille area against something poking it in. Handles showing through the packing so they can be carried easily and more likely to stay right way up, at least for part of the trip.

ICBM

martinw said:

(Cue ICBM with doom-laden 'don't do it' post. All I can say is that I have actually shipped a lot of amps in the last 9 years, and barring the one incident mentioned above, had no problems).

I'd probably be happier shipping a Blackstar ID than most other amps - the internal components are less likely to do as much damage since they're fairly light.

I've also seen a fair few amps damaged in shipping… even when well-packed. I think you just have the luck of the draw more than anything .