Shipping tube amps

Ben Randolph

Ben Randolph

Power User
Hey all,

I was wondering if any of you guys had advice on shipping tube amps for a reasonable cost that won't hose myself or the buyer.

I have a pair of the older Atomic FRFR 50 watt powered cabs that don't see much use nowadays. I don't play live anymore, so my AxeFX II runs through my studio monitors pretty much exclusively nowadays. I'd like someone else to enjoy these cabs as well as put a little money in my pocket.

They're hefty little cabs, weighing in at nearly 50 lbs. I went to a Fedex location yesterday and inquired about estimated shipping charges. I was fine with paying a bit more to let them professionally pack them as well as insure them. I don't fancy having to refund a buyer for a damaged amp and I'm sure the buyer doesn't want me to have to do that either!

So, if I have to eat a little bit to give myself and the buyer peace of mind, I'm okay with that. I know when I buy gear online, I want to receive it promptly, plug in when I get it and play!

Fedex quoted me $130 per amp CONUS shipping (I live in Dallas and gave them a hypothetical destination of Seattle). Yikes! For amps that would probably sell for around $400, that's a sizable chunk of the sale price eaten up by shipping. I could ask the buyer to pay, but I'm sure most buyers would balk at such high shipping charges.

Any advice you guys could give for those of you who have experience in this matter would be greatly appreciated!
 
When I sold my Johnson JM-150 with J-12 foot controller & Alesis Data Disk a couple years back, I bought a box from the Container Store (I could find no free box large enough or strong enough for shipping). The weight of the package was around 80 lbs as I remember it.

I filled the voids of the box with old rolled up newspaper. Triple taped the box seams with packing tape.

I shipped from NJ to Chicago via FedEx Ground. Everything arrived in one piece.

My cost was around $100 when all was said and done with the insured value of $600.

I always sell as the cost of the item plus shipping. This way if someone has a better deal for shipping, they can handle it.

I hope this info helps.
 
I pull the tubes and bubble wrap them separately from the amp.

Be sure ask the buyer if that's okay first and to clearly indicate what tube goes where. I write letters A-Z on the bubble wrap for each tube with sharpie. And give a simple chart showing where A, B, C etc. go.
 
When I used to ship tube amps depending on the size sometimes I would build a box out of 1/4 ply and pine 2x2, This way it was custom fit to the head. I'm guessing those are the old Atomic reactors? If so I would just find a cardboard box that fits the dimm's of the cab + 2" and pack it really well. I would also look into setting up your own account with Fed Ex or UPS it might save you some coin on shipping.
 
Thank you all for your suggestions. UPS quoted me around $85, which is much more palatable. Tube amps, due to having fragile glass firebottles inside them, and their weight definitely present challenges when selling that aren't present when you're just selling a pedal.

I'll offer a nice fire sale price locally first before posting online. Unfortunately, the local Craigslist market is such that if it isn't Marshall, Mesa or Fender no one knows what it is and things tend to languish for a long time.

Anyway, thanks guys!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom