Safely shipping large CRT monitors?

[cr4zymanz0r]

A couple of months ago a generous online friend sent me a PVM 2530 just for the cost of shipping. He talked to Fedex and had them pack it, but when I received it the plastic shell was busted and cracked in various places, and even some PCBs inside were cracked (I had a separate topic about this). Basically it was in a large cardboard box with TONS of bubble wrap and paper brown paper packing. It seemed packed well enough to prevent damage for normal handling, but I'm pretty sure this was dropped at least once.
(side note: online friend refunded me the money and filed an insurance claim with Fedex)

Anyway, the main point of this post is how can I keep this from happening again? I might be able to get a NEC XM29 shipped to me, but I really don't want it to get broke in transit and hoping I don't have to do something crazy like pay $500 to some freight service to make sure it arrives intact. Is UPS any better, or is it just luck of the draw if the employees are professional enough to ensure they don't drop packages like these? Is there any special way to pack these to make sure they'll survive the trip across the US?

[Fudoh]

no, forget about UPS, Fedex and these.

You need to use a conveyance* service. Monitors don't even need to get packed in boxes, they just need to be put on a wooden pallet and secured with some bubblewrap. Will be cheap compared to Fedex as well. Once you pack something into a box and ship it this way, it will get thrown around, put on conveyor belts and run through sorting facilities. If you put in a pallet instead, it will be moved using a forklift. There isn't much that can go wrong this way. You'll also be dealing with smaller companies, have somebody to talk to instead of being lost in a corporate shipping catastrophe like Fedex.

(* I'm always at a loss for the proper english word. Over here we say "Spedition". Maybe somebody can clear up once and for all, how they're called in english language countries...)

[zakk]

here (US) you'd be looking for 'freight' shipping services.

It's also not necessarily cheaper to use freight services here. You can get quotes at places like 'uship.com'; the real expense is if you want it picked up and delivered to a residence. Since it's unlikely your house has a loading dock and a forklift, you get to pay for lift gate service on both ends. Just messing around with quotes on that site shows that, the residence->residence price for 100lbs is like $500, but if you go commercial->commercial (with loading docks) it's closer to $100 shipping.

[cr4zymanz0r]

here (US) you'd be looking for 'freight' shipping services.

I am extremely ignorant of freight shipping services other than the fact they will ship large items safely. A XM29 CRT is about 120 lbs. Is there a good place to get freight quotes? I'm really hoping it wouldn't cost more than $200 to ship.

[kamiboy]

I guess I was lucky when I had UPS/FedEX ship me both an XM29 and 2530 to Canada from across the border without a scratch.

[tacoguy64]

I talked to one of these freight shipping services and got this quote

1 Pallets (48"x40") of new commercial goods freight class: 200 dimensions: 48 x 40 x 49 in. total weight: 140 lbs. hazardous: no
for $215 with insurance. Not sure how good they are with taking care of their packages but i imagine they have to be better than ups or fed ex.

[zakk]

Did that quote include lift gate service on one or both ends?

[cr4zymanz0r]

I guess I was lucky when I had UPS/FedEX ship me both an XM29 and 2530 to Canada from across the border without a scratch.

Was there anything particularly special about the way they were packed?

[STG]

For something large and heavy like a CRT or an arcade/pinball machine that you want intact when it reaches you, personally I'd spend the extra money and ship it via truck.

Freight companies will handle the shipping of large items pretty well. They typically all offer insurance so you declare what your item is worth on the BOL, make sure you indicate that they can't stack it, package the monitor very well, shrink wrap it to a pallet (as most companies won't handle loose freight) and you're good to go. Worst case you're looking at is if they spear it with a fork lift truck while it's being moved around in their terminal(s) on route to your destination, or another product improperly packed will fall on your pallet while in transit. Or the truck get's into an accident... Had that happen to me semi-recently. But those are rare occurrences as opposed to using regular UPS and to a much lesser extent FedEx, although just so you know, both these companies have freight lines/services but these are more intended for business use.

Like others have said, delivery or pick-up to a residential address might be the only small difficultly you encounter, and will cost you more. You might also have to be responsible for getting it off the truck (if it doesn't have a lift) and removing it from the pallet. They also won't take the pallet either. If you can ship it to your place of work and have a dock the truck can back into, it'll certainly makes things super easy and gives you a wider range of carriers you can use!

The small pack carriers you're going to be really throwing the dice (especially with a CRT): UPS is notorious for throwing around goods in their terminals (they're all about speed) and destroying stuff regardless of how well you package the item. For shipping something expensive and/or delicate, avoid. FedEx I feel is way better and I use them whenever I can at the office, but they don't have the reach in some territories like UPS does. In the end, I also wouldn't use FedEx to ship a CRT. Go with a freight carrier.

[kamiboy]

I guess I was lucky when I had UPS/FedEX ship me both an XM29 and 2530 to Canada from across the border without a scratch.

Was there anything particularly special about the way they were packed?

Lots of padding, I guess it is all just up to lady luck. I have to say, though, both those monitors are built like a tank, I wonder what kind of abuse got them as broken as has been recounted.

[mvsfan]

Well, I finally got my HV probe and i have the boards out of my monitor.

I now know EXACTLY why its not working and the vertical is collapsed.

It has a large crack running underneath the main IC on the A board.

its about 40 or 50 traces that are broken.

With that said, this monitor is clean and appears to be low use. Id like to keep it but this is a bit more than i want to repair.

Is there anyone who could fix this for a decent price? I dont think it needs any other parts, the monitor was working before it was shipped.

Ive highlighted the crack in red.

right where this crack is there is a support underneath the board. basically looks like the plastic support was pushed up through the board.

I guess this is what happens when they use ups to ship it even if it does come in a big box with lots of packing. But LTL is expensive. I just did a quote at fedex freight - and this monitor would have cost $500 to ship. Its worth the gamble Not to use them at that price.

[tacoguy64]

I have to say for anybody out here in the states, the company called freight quote did a really good job of shipping my large NEC monitor. I paid them $270 to ship my 270lbs behemoth Though it was picked up from a resisdence and package by another company called craters and freighters. They not only came to this guys house to pick up the tv for me but they put it on a pallet and wrapped it quite nicely. That service in itself cost me $170.

I know i sounds super expensive, but it turned out to be way cheaper and convenient doing it like this instead of me driving the 5,000 miles round trip to do it myself. I highly recommend both companies.

[cr4zymanz0r]

Ok, I've got a bit of an update with more detailed information in hopes of figuring out what option to take.

An online friend has tested a NEC XM29 and is willing to ship it to me, but we're still trying to figure out the shipping situation. As discussed previously, UPS/Fedex is a big gamble and everyone seems to be suggesting freight shipping.

This will be shipped from Oregon to Arkansas. If it will help the price (and I assume it will), my friend is willing to haul the XM29 to the shipping company (assuming it's nearby).
It will also probably need to be packed/loaded on a pallet/whatever by the shipping service or whoever since me nor my friend are knowledgeable of how to do this properly with a large CRT.
When it arrives in Arkansas it would be nice if it could be delivered to my house, but I'm also willing to pick it up somewhere local if that helps the price.

Now I know freight shipping won't be cheap, but I know so little about it that I have no idea what a reasonable price would be given the scenario described above. I'm hoping this wouldn't cost more than $200 to $300, but I have no idea if that's a reasonable or horrible expectation.

Does anyone know of a specific company or have a recommendation that would fall in line with my situation (and also what I might expect to pay)? Other than what I've seen in this thread I'm pretty ignorant about freight shipping, so the more information the better. We're just two normal guys that don't have a forklift/dock to load/unload it off a truck ourselves

[tacoguy64]

It's definitely cheaper if you are able to palletize and package the TV yourself. And if you could get it to a loading dock it will save even more money. Shipping should be in the $150-$200 range, since the tv and the pallet and all the other stuff will add some weight in it. Pallets are really cheap and easy to make and are very plentiful. Same with all the other shipping material like tape, or wrap. It's just a matter of know how. You could also have another company take care of that for you as well. I used craters and freighters and they charged me $176 to pick up my tv from this guys house, take it to their place, put it on a pallet, and got package it nice and securely.

And for shipping I used a company called freight quote. They have a web site and people you can talk with so you can try to look for the best deal you can find. Again the cheapest option is to have them drop it off at the nearest loading dock to where you live. The XM29 is at least small enough that you can fit it in the back seat of your car.

[cr4zymanz0r]

It's definitely cheaper if you are able to palletize and package the TV yourself. And if you could get it to a loading dock it will save even more money. Shipping should be in the $150-$200 range, since the tv and the pallet and all the other stuff will add some weight in it. Pallets are really cheap and easy to make and are very plentiful. Same with all the other shipping material like tape, or wrap. It's just a matter of know how. You could also have another company take care of that for you as well. I used craters and freighters and they charged me $176 to pick up my tv from this guys house, take it to their place, put it on a pallet, and got package it nice and securely.

And for shipping I used a company called freight quote. They have a web site and people you can talk with so you can try to look for the best deal you can find. Again the cheapest option is to have them drop it off at the nearest loading dock to where you live. The XM29 is at least small enough that you can fit it in the back seat of your car.

So say we end up using Freight Quote, after the details get worked out with them do they just inform us of the nearest loading docks they use then we schedule a drop off?

If so, can the XM29 itself just be taken there and have them pack and/or put it on a pallet (maybe for a smaller fee since it'd be taken the loading dock vs having another company picking up)?

If not, do you have detailed information on where a proper pallet could be obtained, how to securely....secure(?) it to the pallet, and any other pertinent information?

[tacoguy64]

Yes, just ask tell them your zip code and they will give you all available options you have when it comes to where the nearest loading dock is located. Freight quote only deals with shipping and they will not offer any kind of packaging services.

You might have better luck with taking it to craters and freighters and have them package everything for you. I would imagine it shouldn't be more than $50-60 dollars for that. I mean the process in packaging it is so easy, i would give them a call and ask for a quote. When I did mine, I had to have them pick it up from the guys house and pack it as well. It was $176 for that but I imagine the bulk of that came from the pick up and not the packing. This will probably be the best option for you. They did a superb job on that packing. They also provide you with a shipping service, but I had a cheaper deal with Fright quote so i went with them.

If you decide to do it yourselves, then you can find pallets just about anywhere *check any warehouse or even home depot*. The proper pallet will be bigger than the tv, just make sure it's functional and that it wont break on you. You will also need foam, bubble wrap, stretch film, scissors, tape, and a box that will completely fit over your tv. Once you have all your materials you first put the tv in the middle of the pallet. Then you wrap the tv with lots of foam, use tape to hold the foam. Then you use your bubble wrap and wrap the tv, use lots of bubble and use tape to hold. Then use that stretch film and start wrapping the pallet to your tv. This will make the tv not move much. And finally put the box over the tv for the added protection.

[Skips]

Freight shipping is ungodly expensive in most parts of the country. If a shipping company has to take a larger truck that has a lift gate to a residential neighborhood they are going to charge out the ass for it.

For anything 20 inches and under shipping via the box and standard shipping is fine if you do a few things, which unfortunately most people don't do. For these monitors you need to ship them in a oversize box and pack them tightly with a substance that both prevents movement yet has enough give that it can absorb shocks and rattles during shipment. For this you want foam that is not too firm yet not too soft and you need to pack it tightly on the bottom, sides, and top of the monitor. Paper, peanuts, hard packed Styrofoam, and bubble wrap (used on its own) are not acceptable methods of shipping a monitor. Now you do want to wrap the monitor in bubble wrap but you still want to use a foam as the actual packing for shock absorption.

You also NEVER should ship a CRT via standard UPS services if using the boxed way of shipping, always use FedEx over UPS standard services. Now Fedex will still have its problems and risks (especially if you pack it poorly) however UPS has a MUCH greater risk. The lines in the main shipping hubs have a 5-6 foot drop somewhere in their shipping line. Even if packed by the gods this still has a high chance of damaging the monitor. Although it could get by without case or circuit board damage, large falls like this can cause damage to the aperture grille or shadow mask (depending on which your monitor has). It can also knock the convergence/purity rings loose and good luck fixing that shit if you are not a CRT pro.

I've had about 42 monitors shipped to my door since 2013, 12 UPS and 30 Fedex. All 12 CRT's that came via UPS came smashed beyond repair with either case/circuit board damage or damage to the aperture grille/shadow mask (most common problem). Out of the Fedex Monitors I have now had 4 get to my door damaged, the rest were perfectly fine. All four damaged monitors were because the shipper either sent them loose in a box or with only a thin layer of paper/bubblewrap. I have yet to lose a properly packaged monitor via Fedex. UPS also IGNORES fragile stickers so dont fucking bother with them. I called and asked them to stick stickers on a monitor about 6 months ago (seller shipped it UPS when I paid for Fedex) and asked them to stick fragile stickers on it. Those fuckers told me they don't have any fragile stickers and that they handle all the packages the same. You might as well just tell them to roll the monitor to your door because this is pretty much what they do on their lines and handlers.

Now for monitors over 20 inches, you should just man up and pay the freight charges. 25+ inch tubes start to cross into that heavy as shit range (especially commercial grade monitors). They become heavy enough that the box needed to ship them safely AND fill with foam becomes nearly as expensive to ship as freight once you factor in cost of packing materials. The weight also makes it harder to pack tightly since it will compress the foam its sitting on a good deal more. All in all, just use freight if shipping something over 100lbs. CRT's are not some tank people like to make them out to be, they are actually quite fragile and very sensitive to shocks and vibrations.

[mvsfan]

I can vouch for this. I had a 20" pvm that arrived with an A board smashed real good. Shipped via...... UPS!

I also had a 14" pvm shipped in a box that arrived perfectly fine - Via Fedex.