Replies

1. 
   mapleman | Oct 23, 2008 08:23pm | #1

   BOB,

   Absolutely, positively, without a doubt, stay away from:

   Estes-Express

   Saia Motor freight

   In my former job I was managing a print shop production facilities, including shipping/receiving. These 2 were by far the worst in damage and hardest to receive a claim from.

    

   Some recommendations:

   heavily insure the item. Don't insure for more than you can prove the item is worth. Keep copies of the cancelled check (if you recieved payment for the item or if you paid for the item). If damaged, you will have to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what you paid and what it is worth. etc, etc.

   Take TONS of photos before the item is packaged up.

   Pack the thing like it's your baby sister's virginity. Don't assume that the freight company won't put the forklift forks through the bottom of the pallet, don't assume they won't put anything on top, etc. In fact I would extremely over-pad the item before crating. I'm assuming you are crating?? If not you are asking for trouble. Besides, crating qualifies you for a cheaper rate because it lessens the freight companies risk and puts you in a different (lower) freight class.

    

   Best of luck,

   Lee

   
   

   ---

   Edited 10/23/2008 1:24 pm by mapleman

1. 
   BOBABEUI | Oct 23, 2008 08:59pm | #2

   Lee,Thanks for the tips. I think I have the picture tip covered..The furniture will definitely be crated, a few companies have stated they would only insure the item if they crated the item..

2. 
   BG | Oct 23, 2008 09:06pm | #3

   Bobabeui,
   You might want to contact Rob Mallard if he does not see your post here. He has commented about specific companies and experiences with the shipment of his antique reproductions.

1. 
   BOBABEUI | Oct 23, 2008 09:21pm | #4

   Thanks, will do..

3. 
   PCM | Oct 24, 2008 12:32am | #5

   Good info from the others. In my years in the US Navy and later years with an unfinished furniture shop I have seen (not heard about, seen!) unbelievable damage done to crated/packed boxes.

   There is no accountability because there are several different people handling the shipment at different points. They all can say "it was them" (like politicians).

   Contact the Society of American Period Furniture, http://www.sapfm.org. They do shows of very valuable pieces at various places (go if you ever get a chance), and may be able to give some insight. My brother sells and ships plants for a wholesale nursery in Boulder, and they have gone to the extreme of running their own trucks. Costs more initially, but much less loss.

   700 miles each way-if this a valuable piece, I would drive it myself, even if I had to rent a truck.

   Good luck!

   Pete 

1. 
   BOBABEUI | Oct 24, 2008 01:02am | #6

   Pete,Boss lady says 'no way are we renting a truck to deliver the desk, find someone who can deliver it'. It's an awful long to drive by myself, ten hours in a car, who knows how long in a rented truck.. and who wants to be in the dog house with the boss lady... I will check with SAPFM

1. 
   PCM | Oct 24, 2008 03:33pm | #8

   I agree the 700 drive is a long one.

   The idea of a POD (next msg) is a good one, I have talked to people who have used them, no complaints. Probably worth the money, still cheaper than driving.

   Pete

2. 
   dkellernc | Oct 25, 2008 08:30pm | #13

   "

   Boss lady says 'no way are we renting a truck to deliver the desk, find someone who can deliver it'.

   It's an awful long to drive by myself, ten hours in a car, who knows how long in a rented truck.. and who wants to be in the dog house with the boss lady... "

   So what you might want to (tactfully) ask the boss lady is how much it will cost the company if the secretary gets damaged - not necessarily in actual losses on the piece, but the cost to your company's reputation.  The customer is probably not going to differentiate between you and the shipping company, all they know is something they paid a lot for and waited a long time to get in bad economic times didn't turn out well.

   Personally, I'd drive it myself.

1. 
   BOBABEUI | Oct 26, 2008 08:18pm | #14

   Trust me I really don't want to see anything bad happen to the desk, on the other hand I don't want to be in the dog house with the wife for the next six months..Thankfully the only reputation that will be besmirched will that as an Uncle, if I attempted to build furniture as a pro, well I would be starving..

4. 
   dherzig | Oct 24, 2008 01:20am | #7

   I have used ABF Freight. (They have a website). You can rent a pod that has multiple tie-down places inside and it is yours exclusively for that trip. You can then lock it with your own lock.  While they will pick up and deliver, I took the stuff to their yard and loaded the pod there, I then went to the yard when it was delivered and opened the pod myself. You could arrange for the receiver to do it. The stuff was actually shipped from NYC to Cincinnati overnight. I was quite pleased with the experience and the people at ABF.

1. 
   BOBABEUI | Oct 24, 2008 05:18pm | #11

   Thanks for the suggestion, checking on it right now..

5. 
   Jfrostjr | Oct 24, 2008 03:50pm | #9

   In the past I have shipped smaller items by UPS - but had bad luck this time.

   There was no sign of damage on the box when it was received but both the male and female portions of the leg-to-column dovetails were destroyed. Insurance coverage; $100.

   Frosty

   "I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922

   
1. 
   BOBABEUI | Oct 24, 2008 05:16pm | #10

   Frosty,Wow that sucks, that is exactly what I am worried about. The size of the item that I have to ship definately rules out UPS.

6. 
   BStev | Oct 24, 2008 09:55pm | #12

   I have used PlyCon with good results for blanket wrap shipping of furniture.  They pick it up at your shop, wrap it then crate it if necessary or requested at their warehouse.  Insurance is not overly expensive.  I would not crate it yourself because if it arrives damaged it will most likely be your fault for poor packaging.

   I have found that most damage from UPS shipping is caused by poor packaging on the senders part.  If you package as though they are going to try to break it then most things arrive undamaged.  Woodshop News had a great article on packaging furniture in 2004 that covers lots of important details.

   Bob

7. 
   joinerswork | Oct 27, 2008 04:18pm | #15

   Bob,

   As far as crating, here's a few suggestions. 

   Pad all exterior surfaces well. Doesn't hurt to wrap in plastic as well, to exclude water/chemical spills.

   Make the crate enough oversize that you can suspend the item(s) inside.  You want to have several inches between the inside of the crate and the outside of the item.  Suspend by attaching (2x4) cribbing across the inside of the container (off the bottom, so that shocks are not transmitted directly to the piece), and placing the item on the cribbing.  Then attach other crosspieces to keep the item from sliding side to side, and back and forth.  Finally put more crosspieces on top of the (padded) item, before attaching the crate's top (marked "this side up" and "open this end").

   Plywood panels (3/8") with 1 x 4 pine or similar attached all round their edges make for a strong container that is both impact and water resistant.

   Be sure to attach 4 x4 or similar skids to the bottom for forklift access. If the crate is small enough to be moved around by hand, think about attaching 2 x2's to the outside as lift points. (No holes for hand holds).

   It has been a while since I've shipped furniture, but used to be, if you partially dis-assembled the item, it was shipped as "KD" (knocked-down) which was a lower rate than assembled furniture. 

   Ray