Has anybody shipped an amp overseas?

[milocj]

I've got an old Bassman head for sale on Ebay and have had a lot of people asking me to ship it to Germany, Australia, and Spain (all with good feedback).

They all claim that they haven't had any issues buying large items from over here but the one time I tried shipping something to Canada that needed insurance I never got it out of the country. The post office made me send it with Express Mail to get the amount of insurance I needed, then they sent it back wanting manifests and certificates of origin and my buyer gave up. Needless to say, I'm a bit leery about trying it again.

If you've sent something like a guitar or amp, did you have to jump through any hoops to mail it and to get full insurance? I don't think I can get more than $500 worth with Priority Mail or lower. Is it easiest for a private seller to just not ship out of the country?

Thanks.

[surfoverb]

I shipped a 68 dual showman head to Australia, I didn't get insuance other than the automatic up to $100. It was about $150 USPS. UPS wanted over $400.

It wasn't through Ebay but a forum like this one where I trusted the guy and he trusted me.

[Joe M]

I, too, have had trouble shipping stuff just to Canada. To me, unless you're desperate to sell something, it just isn't worth the trouble to ship outside the States. (Flame suit on for all our members on the other side of the pond(s))

[gitarzan]

Also little or no recourse if the deal goes bad due to fake cashiers check etc.

[tjalla]

Haven't shipped, but have received several amps, both heads and combos from the USA.

The main thing is to get the thing boxed in under 72" length plus girth (that's for Australia, may vary for elsewhere) so it can ship via Post Office. Once it gets into FedEx/DHL/UPS sized the shipping costs double.

I pay with paypal or Postal Money Order and stipulate that the item ships only once funds have cleared to sellers bank account, and I cover all local taxes/duties.

The only difference from shipping domestic, really, is the customs form at the Post Office.

See http://ircalc.usps.gov

Trev

[MMJeronimo]

My dad sent me my Blues Jr. from the states to Canada via USPS. No problems...Except they made me pay $45 bucks in duty to get my own amp!!! It wasn't a sale, I already owned it, it was just being sent to me. I was pretty angry

[Outlaw_Twanga]

I been trying to score a Dr Z for quite awhile Australia does have dealer but they haven't received their first shipment yet... my GAS is making me impatient... looks like i'll be ordering from the US. although i have no idea how i'll go about getting it shipped here :)

[Bill Hullett]

I shipped a Boogie 50/50 to Italy and a guitar to Germany , bought the correct value insurance and there were no glitches....DHL

Bill Hullett

[tjalla]

Originally Posted by Outlaw_Twanga

I been trying to score a Dr Z for quite awhile Australia does have dealer but they haven't received their first shipment yet... my GAS is making me impatient... looks like i'll be ordering from the US. although i have no idea how i'll go about getting it shipped here :)

If you get a head, a good dealer in the US should be able to get it sent via US Post. Express service is quick, and you can insure and track it. Expect ~US$250 due to the weight.

If you are shipping in a combo, it will likely be too big for the Post Office, and you have to go with a courier company, and that will be US$500-600 depending on how big the amp is.

If you're looking for a mini-Z there's one floating about the metro area (not mine).

Trevor

[milocj]

I had thought that DHL was going out of business. I checked the website and they're still up, but I came up with $420 to ship to Australia.

Is it only shipping to Canada where Priority Mail is limited to $675 worth of insurance? I'm still not sure if it's worth the extra trouble, but it was the Global Express that I needed to use for the additional insurance that caused all my problems the last time.

[surfoverb]

Originally Posted by tjalla

Haven't shipped, but have received several amps, both heads and combos from the USA.

The main thing is to get the thing boxed in under 72" length plus girth (that's for Australia, may vary for elsewhere) so it can ship via Post Office. Once it gets into FedEx/DHL/UPS sized the shipping costs double.

I pay with paypal or Postal Money Order and stipulate that the item ships only once funds have cleared to sellers bank account, and I cover all local taxes/duties.

The only difference from shipping domestic, really, is the customs form at the Post Office.

See http://ircalc.usps.gov

Trev

Yeah I didn't know about the 72" rule for Australia...My box was just over the limit but I sweet talked the lady and she let it slide.