COST TO SHIP A BASS DRUM?

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st.inc

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anyone know average cost to ship a 22" bass drum across the country? i tried looking at shipping costs on ebay but i saw a few that wanted 98 bucks wich i think is freakin crazy. im thinkin 35-45 bucks but i never shipped a box quite this bulky. i have shipped complete bicycles and i know that didnt cost 98 bucks.
 
Depends on the weight, size of box, where it's coming from and where it is going . . . go to UPS.com and in the left column there is a link for "Calculate Time and Cost" . . . fill in the blanks and it will give you a ROUGH cost . . . if you want a more accurate cost create an account and you can add the size of the box . . . that will get it much closer . . . it ain't cheap . . . I am guessing about $60, but again it depends on the weight, size of box, where it's coming from and where it is going . . . I shipped a drum kit (shell pack) from Ohio to Washington (state) and it cost me $110 . . . yeah, a kit weighs more than just a bass, but I had only figured $75 . . . after the shipping and eBay/PayPal fees I lost money on that deal :sad: . . . NAD
 
I ship plenty of them and #35-45 is about right for postage. Add another $10 for your box and tape. Distance does factor in so another $10 for west coast would be appropriate.
 
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You can go to USPS.com or the Fedex or UPS site and
use their calculator to figure cost.


USPS Parcel Post
NY to LA
20x20x28 package
Weight: 25 lbs
$30.75

USPS will be less expensive than FedEx; UPS is the most costly.

I recently had a 3 pc Ludwig set (22/13/16 in hard cases - three seperate
packages) shipped USPS from Washington State to central Ohio - cost was $160
including insurance.

Hope this helps.

MW
 
Problem is that a 25x25x20 box ships as 100lbs regardless of actual weight.... unless actual weight is over 100lbs.

-Ryan
 
Once again, I recommend Greyhound Bus--not Greyhound truck freight. Check it out. They are fast and efficient. I received a complete drum set shipped from Boston to Dallas. It took two and a half days, and cost $65. The drums arrived in perfect condition. The only difference with shipping this way is that the person sending the drum will have to drop it off at the closest place to him for passengers to board or get off of a bus. And, the recipient will also need to pick it up at the greyhound stop he prefers. I had the "inconvenience" of driving five miles to pick up the drums. But, the pick up time was any time I wanted to get the drums.
 
RyanR said:
Problem is that a 25x25x20 box ships as 100lbs regardless of actual weight.... unless actual weight is over 100lbs.

-Ryan
Click to expand...

Yeah the box size is what causes the cost to go up. So even if they want $100 for shipping the box that may not be too much over actual cost. Beware of USPS parcel post, they have no tracking and takes a long time to get there. Fedex is cheaper than UPS usually if it is under a certain size. $50 would be a fair price for shipping nowadays. Basically I try to shy away from arguing about shipping costs and simply figure that into the price; if the total is too high--NEXT!
 
Recently had a set shipped to me. UPS added the usual large box/weight fee, but then tacked on anther fee for the Oversize Box Handling fee of $45. Watch the size. And unless you specify the actual sizes on the websites, you could be in for a surprise when you drop it off.

And the USPS Parcel Post 20x20x28 box doesn't leave much room for protective padding, or account for spur mounts not pocking thru the box itself.
 
RyanR said:
Problem is that a 25x25x20 box ships as 100lbs regardless of actual weight.... unless actual weight is over 100lbs.

-Ryan
Click to expand...

This is correct. A box 24x24x18 (the minimum you're going to need) goes by 'dimensional weight', and is upcharged to 100 lbs. To ship that box cross-country via FedEx or UPS is going to be at least $75-100.
 
W&A Player said:
Once again, I recommend Greyhound Bus--not Greyhound truck freight. Check it out. They are fast and efficient. I received a complete drum set shipped from Boston to Dallas. It took two and a half days, and cost $65. The drums arrived in perfect condition. The only difference with shipping this way is that the person sending the drum will have to drop it off at the closest place to him for passengers to board or get off of a bus. And, the recipient will also need to pick it up at the greyhound stop he prefers. I had the "inconvenience" of driving five miles to pick up the drums. But, the pick up time was any time I wanted to get the drums.
Click to expand...

I'll second that. The only down side is that you have to go to the greyhound station to pick it up. The drum will receive much gentler handing and the cost is a lot lower.
 
This thread has me curious now. I have to ship a 22"BD from PA to Maryland, so which would be my best option between UPS USPS or Fedex? Thanks in advance.
 
Drumbelly said:
This thread has me curious now. I have to ship a 22"BD from PA to Maryland, so which would be my best option between UPS USPS or Fedex? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Over the years, I've used all three and currently like USPS the best.

1.) To my knowledge, USPS has no 100 lb minimum charge on oversize packages.

2.) You can insure packages for TOTAL value - not the $100 limit that FedEx/UPS has.
Most think that UPS/FedEx will pay the declared value if a package is lost/damaged.
My understanding is that the limit is $100 per package (never had a claim).

The set I recently had shipped USPS from Washington state to central Ohio took 6 days total
and cost $160 total. FedEx or UPS may have taken a little less time but cost a good bit more.
This was a 22/13/16 in hard cases inside cardboard boxes.

I've never used Greyhound (bus) shipping but I've been told that it's cheap and fast.

Hope this helps.

MW
 
MichaelWray said:
Drumbelly said:
This thread has me curious now. I have to ship a 22"BD from PA to Maryland, so which would be my best option between UPS USPS or Fedex? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Over the years, I've used all three and currently like USPS the best.

1.) To my knowledge, USPS has no 100 lb minimum charge on oversize packages.

2.) You can insure packages for TOTAL value - not the $100 limit that FedEx/UPS has.
Most think that UPS/FedEx will pay the declared value if a package is lost/damaged.
My understanding is that the limit is $100 per package (never had a claim).

The set I recently had shipped USPS from Washington state to central Ohio took 6 days total
and cost $160 total. FedEx or UPS may have taken a little less time but cost a good bit more.
Click to expand...

I have a Fed Ex account which is FREE and saves quite a bit of money. There IS NO $100 limit on package/contents value. They do, however, cover the first $100 of value with the cost of the shipping. Nice because it doesn't cost extra to insure a whole lot of things. Insurance above $100 is extra and costs very little. I cannot imagine USPS costing less to ship nor do I trust them to take care of anything I ship anywhere. Ever.

Agreed I would expect to spend about $75-ish to ship a 22" BD. I ended up selling my Vistas locally and took $100 less than i hoped for gladly to avoid the hassle shipping a 24" BD to say nothing of what could have happened to that fragile vintage drum crossing the country.....
 
<<I cannot imagine USPS costing less to ship nor do I trust them to take care of anything I ship anywhere. Ever. >>

It doesn't require imagination: go to the respective websites of UPS, FedEx and USPS and compare pricing for
a package to a location.

As far as 'trusting' a shipper, I recall those Youtube videos last December and January of commercial shippers
delivering packages:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=zWMVpjxYJggMy link

(There are a million of these on Youtube - it doesn't appear that any one shipper is more trustworthy than another).

The original poster was looking for the least expensive way to ship a bass drum; I suggested USPS and others suggested Greyhound.

Cheers.

MW
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have compared rates and usually fed ex comes out better than usps priority on larger packages. They have tracking that works well (i've tracked usps pakcages that did not keep up), though i have had problems with them and had to dispute, but got my $1000 insured value back. A lot of people have read ups the riot act here so i avoid them, although have never had problems either way.
 
tillerva said:
I have compared rates and usually fed ex comes out better than usps priority on larger packages. They have tracking that works well (i've tracked usps pakcages that did not keep up), though i have had problems with them and had to dispute, but got my $1000 insured value back. A lot of people have read ups the riot act here so i avoid them, although have never had problems either way.
Click to expand...


It's true that USPS Priority Mail is comparable in price to UPS and FedEx. In my earlier post, I specified
USPS Parcel Post for the prices I quoted - shipping generally takes 5-6 days as opposed to 3-4 for FedEx.

The initial poster was looking for a more economical method to ship a bass drum - I suggested USPS
Parcel Post - I didn't assume he'd be interested in Priority Mail.

The last kit I had shipped, the savings by using USPS Parcel Post was substantial compared to FedEx & USPS.

In shipping single drums or cymbals, I've been satisfied with any of the above.

The next time I ship a kit or have one shipped, though, I'll look in to Greyhound.

Disclaimer: I don't work for USPS nor am I a big fan; just telling you what works for me.

MW
 
thank guys i dont think i will even bother. shipping would be more than the drum is worth. probably the only time it would be worth shipping is if it was a high end expensive drum.
 
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