How To Pack a Keyboard for Shipment...

[happyrat1]

Just doing some random surfing this afternoon and I stumbled on this little gem of an article.

Sooner or later, most of us will end up having to face this bleak prospect either because our boards have broken down and have to go for authorized service, OR we've traded up to a better model and have sold the old one on Fleabay...

How to Ship a Digital Piano | Keyboard Shipping Box | Piano Keyboard Reviews

Everyone knows that a good piano keyboard can be a fair bit expensive (although there are definitely some good inexpensive ones). You don’t want to…

piano-keyboard-reviews.com

How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Piano Keyboard?​

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What is the Cheapest Way to Ship a Piano Keyboard?​

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What is the Best Way to Pack a Piano Keyboard for Shipping?​

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Video Tutorials on Packing Your Piano​

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Hope you enjoyed the read and found this useful...

Gary

 

[Biggles]

I would add that if you are selling a keyboard do factor in the cost of the packaging materials and the cardboard box.

A roll of bubble wrap here costs £15 (just bought a roll to pack stuff due to us moving house)

A cardboard box for a guitar costs £12, yet bought one recently.

Also factor in cost, large and heavy costs.

if you have seen the DHL add of Gibson sending a Les Paul Guitar to Bryan Adams then there in lies a potential problem, here they do not want to transport a musical instrument, and the size and weight is also to much for them.

I priced up posting my Les Paul and including packaging material and insurance it would cost me £120.

The Korg Pa and Kross 2 that I sold took about three hours to pack and about three rolls of Duct Tape to cobble together enough cardboard to make a pair of boxes myself.

Not for the feint hearted.

 

[happyrat1]

Sadly Biggles, the article is directed at people shipping in the Americas, not so much the Eurozone or Africa, India, etc...

Feel free to add to the Article though. This might even make a good sticky for the forum if Ian approves.

It's a topic we really don't discuss much here. All the time we are telling people, "Ship it back for repairs," but rarely have we discussed the dynamics of such an operation.

We might even get input from every corner of the world, sharing horror stories and success stories alike.

It all adds to the omnibus of information which this forum has become over the years.

Gary

 

[delaware dave]

i keep all boxes in an area in my basement. if i have to ship a keyboard, an amp, a mixer, whatever, i have the original box it was shipped in.

 

[happyrat1]

I try to hang on to a lot of boxes, but there's a limit to how many cubic feet I can devote to dead storage.

The article says that all the big courier services will sell you precisely the packing materials to ship a keyboard safely.

I'd rather spend the $30-$40 for packaging when I need it, than stuff 30 empty boxes in my closets.

Also did you notice the special packing considerations for weighted, and hammer action keyboards? I never gave it a thought until I read that article.

Gary

 

[ChrisNabil]

I ship things for a living as I have my own antique consignment business we do all our shipping in-house. Unfortunately, doing the best you can to pack something well is only half of the problem. Most shipping companies are rather heavy-handed these days and I have tried them all!

Shipping an 88 Key stage piano is something that I won't do anymore. One thing I will say is if you buy a new board MAKE SURE YOU KEEP ALL THE ORIGINAL PACKING MATERIALS!!. I have been down the road of having a stage piano and not having a box. Most people say you can go to your local music store and they will have some that you might be able to have. Most large stores get rid of their boxes on a weekly basis so it's very hard to just pop in and get one and if you want a custom box made... well I have been given an estimate of about $160... yes! a few years ago I rang a local cardboard box company and was told to custom make one it would be around $160.

If you are shipping a 61 key Synth or even a 76 I think you will be ok. I would always recommend double-boxing and don't use packing peanuts. You don't want small pieces going into your electronics.

PLENTY of good quality bubble wrap, Polystyrene end pieces, double-walled thick cardboard boxes, and double-boxed.

Hope that helps!

Chris

 

[happyrat1]

You know, it almost makes sense that if you are shipping $4000 workstation, then it's worthwhile to buy an airworthy road case and sell the pair off as a package deal.

For my bigger babies, I don't travel much but I invested in a Gator TSA Case and a well structured Gig Bag as insurance against my next move. My point is, once I own a custom case or bag for a piece of gear, I no longer hang on to the original packaging.

This of course has resulted in a plethora of smaller boxes jammed under beds or lining the corners of my apartment, but for most of the smaller stuff I'm covered.

Truth be told though, that the local market is so hot for used gear in Toronto that while I have sold off plenty of gear, I've never had to ship one off in my life.

So as I said, if it comes down to shipping my stuff cross country, I probably spring for one of those Cube Storage companies and pack and unpack myself.

If I had to ship something for warranty repair, there's a 95% chance it will be in the greater Toronto area and I could drive it there myself.

Gary