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Alembic Club » Alembic Basses & Guitars » Archive: 2007 » Archive through November 26, 2007 » 2nd Day Air vs. Ground shipping? « Previous Next »

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mele_aloha
Advanced Member
Username: mele_aloha

Post Number: 278
Registered: 1-2007
Posted on Sunday, October 07, 2007 - 6:07 pm:   Edit Post

Hi Friends,

Does anybody know the cutoff weight limit that is allowed in air freight before it becomes manditory ground shipping? Or in my case by boat?

I'm just wondering if with my larger bass and the case and the plywood outer shell case if I be cracking tilting the scales.

Do any of you have any knowledge in this area? Please?

Thank you, Pablo
s_wood
Advanced Member
Username: s_wood

Post Number: 255
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Monday, October 08, 2007 - 5:44 pm:   Edit Post

It's all a question of how much one is willing to pay. Mica's theory, to which I wholeheartedly subscribe, is that it's always best to choose the shipping method that has the bass in the shipper's hands for the shortest possible time, as that means they have less of an opportunity to do something wrong!
mele_aloha
Advanced Member
Username: mele_aloha

Post Number: 279
Registered: 1-2007
Posted on Monday, October 08, 2007 - 9:27 pm:   Edit Post

Thanks s wood but I need to word it another way,

I am out in the ocean first of all so if I can't get it by air then it has to be by boat. But my original point is that UPS and FedEx has a weight handling limit, or I should say do these carriers have a weight or size limit in which an item can go by air?

I am not concerned about price I just want to avoid "ground" or boat in my case as the boat will take up to 6 weeks if they have a size or weight limit by air.

Thanks again, Paul
keith_h
Senior Member
Username: keith_h

Post Number: 866
Registered: 2-2005
Posted on Tuesday, October 09, 2007 - 4:47 am:   Edit Post

Paul,
I think your best bet is to call Fedex and UPS to see what they say. They both offer a wide range of shipping options but they all have a cost. You could also try their websites. You should be able to get the shipping weight and dimensions from Alembic.

Keith
cozmik_cowboy
Advanced Member
Username: cozmik_cowboy

Post Number: 207
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Tuesday, October 09, 2007 - 8:05 am:   Edit Post

Check DHL as well - my wife used to work for them, and one day brought home a promotional thing showing how they moved a live Bengal tiger air freight. I'm thinking if they could do that, they would handle something the size of a bass.

Peter
tbrannon
Senior Member
Username: tbrannon

Post Number: 551
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Tuesday, October 09, 2007 - 10:35 am:   Edit Post

Paul,

When I bought my bass from club member Charles (Crgaston)we used FedEx to get it to NZ.

The bass + cardboard box was over the size limit for USPS. FedEx and UPS didn't seem to have any problems with it size wise for international shipping- I doubt it would be any different for a trip to the Islands. That may all go out the window if you are getting the big wooden crate however. I'd be surprised if they didn't post their shipping weight/size restrictions on their websites somewhere.

EDIT: come to think of it- you could probably email Charles (email is in his profile) and ask him who brought his and if it was air or ground- he's pretty quick replying to email.

(Message edited by tbrannon on October 09, 2007)
crgaston
Senior Member
Username: crgaston

Post Number: 448
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Wednesday, October 10, 2007 - 1:04 pm:   Edit Post

Hi guys,

The Dragonfly came by UPS next-day air. It took around 17 hours to get from Santa Rosa to Roberta, GA. It was in the Big Wooden Crate...there's a picture of it in the "It's Here" thread from a few months ago. I figured after the expense of a custom Series II, it was a little silly to try to save bucks on shipping.

My guess is that they won't have a problem shipping it to you by air.

Happy Waiting,

Charles
jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 1414
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Thursday, October 11, 2007 - 4:12 am:   Edit Post

My most recent MK deluxe came to scotland by UPS. Took 2 days from the mothership to my door, mostly by air.
The only hold up came when the delivery guy wouldn't take it off the van until I'd confirmed I was expecting to pay over £600 customs duty.

Graeme.
longhorncat
Advanced Member
Username: longhorncat

Post Number: 220
Registered: 8-2005
Posted on Monday, October 15, 2007 - 5:34 pm:   Edit Post

Size will be your biggest concern, not weight. Go to the shipper's web site and look at their size restrictions for each class of service. USPS just revised these for international shipping.
flaxattack
Senior Member
Username: flaxattack

Post Number: 1698
Registered: 4-2004
Posted on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - 5:54 am:   Edit Post

one thing i can tell you about ups,. once they see insurance of say 10,000, they dont want it sitting around in their system. its marked internally,
when i shipped direwolf back to the factory, it was there is 12 hrs from ct.
i think i had bought 2 day service.

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