Shipping an Amp.....Help Needed

[James C]

I have a prospective buyer for my JVM410, however the guy is in Sweden and I have no flightcase, so i was wondering whether any of you guys have any suggestions as to the best way to ship said amp.

I can get a courier like TNT to drive to sweden for £50ish+V.A.T, but have no idea as to the best way to protect the amp as the last item i shipped was a hardcased V which made its way up to York.

[Twinfan]

Double boxed and loads of packing is about the best you can do...

[fbloke]

If you can find a big enough cardboard box and fill it with those foam nuggets that would help - a guitar shop that regularly ships in amps could help you there. This is easier than it sounds though, I couldn't find a cardboard box for love nor money last time I couriered a guitar.   I think it's probably a good idea to remove the valves and wrap them seperately.

If you're using TNT you might get away with simply buying a good amount of bubble wrap and triple-coating the amp in this, secured by really good tape.  I've shipped two expensive Gibson guitars that I sold on Ebay this way and they turned up without even a scratch on the case.  Maybe some extra padding on the bottom corners of the amp wouldn't hurt either - they're the most likely areas to take an impact if the amp is dropped.

[Oli]

I've shipped an amp to eastern Europe, and it was bubble wrapped about 3 layers, then i got banana boxes from my local supermarket (free!), and cut those up to make a cage around the amp, with 2 layers at each corner... the amp and cab arrived safely, no probs at all.

[James C]

Cheers for the advice guys - bubblewrap/cardboard frenzy it is!

[Denim n Leather]

I do LOTS of shipping of amps for work.

LARGE Bubble wrap and hard foam, not soft. And NOT packing peanuts -- they cannot withstand the type of impacts that are surely to befall the amplifier.

Float the inner box within the outer with hard foam. Leave a good 4" between the inner and outer box; that should be able to withstand most forklift blades.

If you don't have the original shipping carton, make sure you use one that is RATED FOR THE WEIGHT YOU ARE SHIPPING, or you will have NO CLAIM should something happen to the amp.

Wrap the amp with shrink wrap.

[ailean]

You could try a local music shop to see if they have any amp boxes they can do without?

[Dreichlift]

you could get some 2inch polystyrene insulation panels from a diy store to cut to size and line the box.