[Unclewai]

Like Speakers or Receivers.

I want to sell my receiver and a pair of speakers, but I don't have the original packaging. How should I go about packaging them securely without the original packaging material?

 

[stuartr]

Sometimes you can call or email the manufacturer and get replacement packaging -- bad news is that they usually charge you for it. I know Conrad Johnson will send you their packaging....

 

[Edwood]

There is that weird expanding "Fill a Box with Foam." There are custom packing places that will do it for you. A bag is placed underneath, filled with foam, then sealed; you put the item on top of that, then another bag, fill with foam, seal. Done.

Not the prettiest, but very effective and cheap.

Or, buy sheets of white styrene foam at a builder's store like Home Depot and cut it into shapes needed and line a box with it.
Glue a few pieces here and there for a better fit for odd shaped items.

-Ed

 

[chadbang]

I think any decent packing job will be okay. Recievers and speakers a pretty durable. Shipping something like a turntable is a whole other story. The reciever should be fine if you use any of the above described shipping methods. My one tip is how you should pack the speakers. Because of the weight of the magnets on the driver cones (especially the woofer) you don't want the weight of the magnet's iron pulling on the drivers. So never transport or ship a speaker with the drivers facing upward (skywards) or downwards (where the magnet would be pushing down on the cones). The correct way would be to ship the speakers in a standing up position or laying sideways with the drivers either facing each other (with packing in-between) or away from each other.

 

[daycart1]

I think the 'ol double-box routine works well. Have the inner box completely surrounded and immobilized with packing material.

 

[ipodstudio]

Unclewai, one of my passions is photography and as such I've bought a fair bit of photographic gear (enlargers and the likes) and also sold some. I always buy those polystyrene "peanuts" that many electrical items come shipped in. They're pretty cheap and provide some great protection during shipping. Very re-usable too, so I always save them when I receive stuff packed that way.

 

[drewski]

Receivers are pretty easy- just bubble wrap and double box if you can. Be sure that the nobs aren't too tight against the walls of the box and be sure to tighten the speaker binding posts so they don't get bent. They usually make the trip.

Speakers are a different story, especially if they are large speakers. I'd follow Stuart's advice and see if you can buy packing from the manufacturer. They usually charge $50 to $100, but it's well worth it. If you do plan on packing yourself, then I'd recommend reinforcing the tops and the bottoms with extra cardboard and removing the grills and packing those seperately if they can't be inserted snugly into the box.

But before I'd even do that, I hate shipping speakers that I don't have packing for, so I'd rather lose a few hundred bucks and sell locally rather than having to file a claim with the carrier.

Just my $0.02.

Drewski

 

[MichaelFranks]

Double boxing is always best, you should make sure there is a sufficiently thick layer of padding all around the equipment.

Corners are easily damaged with speakers, it might be wise to reinforce them somehow.

 

[archosman]

I've bought quite a few things here. I've only had one so-so experience when the seller sent me the item in the original box. Imagine if you went to Best Buy... bought something... slapped a address sticker on it and mailed it.

I wasn't too pleased since one look at the box would tell you exacty what it was. Since it arrived ok and worked fine I saw no reason to complain.

Now on the other side of the coin...

Virtually everything else I've bought from this site was packed a 1000 times better than it originally came from the factory! There are some very good shippers here! Fractus2, Bundee 1, TGS, and Dave-the-Rave... I practically spent 15 minutes having to cut through all the bubble rap and tape to get to my new toys. That's the way to do it.

 

[pedxing]

Some companies don't package their products too well.

My friends sell and buy their audio equipment in the local area only. They like to physically inspect everything and make their customers inspect and or audition it too. The shipping and handling problem is already solved too.