Hi All
First post here, so hello to you all. :)
I'm thinking about picking up a vintage kit, Ludwig or Gretsch. I'm in the UK, good chance that any kit I buy could come from the USA. I'm guessing the packing of a kit wouldn't be that different than, say, sending one east coast to west coast in the States? Any tips or experience to share regarding a nice ol' kit making such a journey? Will likely just be the shells (no hardware etc.) if that matters.
Thanks, Q.
Insure heavily and pack it like it were made of glass.
Buy from someone with experience in international sales, with 100% FB. If they have any negative, carefully dissect the negatives for buyers remorse type FB and shipping issues. A good, smart reader can easily detect bad buyers and should be able to read between the lines. I have bought from a few people with some "FB hickeys", however careful reading will make clear the real reasons for these bad marks.
We just recently packed 22 vintage drums! One of them was a 28" bass drum! It was 10 shipping boxes for International shipping.
If the seller is up to the task then you can make sure certain things are done to protect the drums.
Many times you hear the term "Nesting" drums. This requires taking off the heads of the drums and putting drums within other drums. This works well for certain size drums. (Cuts down on boxes as well)
They need to protect the shell interiors and use plenty of packing materials.
I will many times put drums in plastic bags prior to bulb wrap to protect from water damage. This is usually single drums and not complete drum sets which are hard to do and nest drums at the same time.
It is always best to ask the seller how they pack and make sure they include insurance and value the drums correctly for customs.
David
I like to remove 100% of the metal hardware and put it in bags - then nest the drums (as described in the post below - same) and then ship in two boxes- one for the metal hardware and one for the shells. That`s my system that has worked well.
I agree with that Osaka! I had to do that to the 22 drums. We color coded the shells to the hardware. We also bubble wrapped all of the hardware so nothing touched or rubbed in shipping.
I was also told that if customs open the box they look at it as just parts and not complete drums and possibly not charge as much duties and taxes.
I'm guessing most sellers would not go to this level to ship drums.
David
David
Thanks very much for the color coding tip, and the other details as well !
Kev
Only problem with removing parts while nesting..........if you forget any...........the guy/gal on the other end is going to be real upset!
If there is room in the "big box", I put the hardware inside the same box, may make the other box a tad bit heavier, but at least it won't require two complete sets of costs.
