Hi all,

I've been looking at getting a television from a fellow member in Victoria, and am trying to find out how much a courier would cost.

Does anyone know any cheap courier services that could transport a 30Kg 18" television from Victoria to eastern NSW?

Also, how would you go about packing the set? The dimensions are 630 W x 420 H and 490 deep. Would you use a pallet, crate or something else?

Cheers,

Chris

I have used Pack & Send Couriers a number of times to get stuff from sellers in the bush to me in Sydney. In both cases I initiated the booking after the seller had packed and weighed the cartons and could give me their dimensions.

This arrangement worked well for me.

How large is the TV? It would need to be pretty well packed to avoid damage in transit.

Hi GTC,

The set in question is the one here:
http://vintage-radio.com.au/default.asp?f=3&th=501.

It is an 18" colour set, with a weight of 30kg and cabinet dimensions of 630 W x 420 H and 490 deep.

Chris

If Vinylted can pack it inside a strong carton using polystyrene peanuts as filler, and tape the carton very well, then I think you could use a courier.

I always tell sellers to expect that the package will receive rough treatment in transit and to pack accordingly. Marking packages as "fragile" means nothing.

One reason I use Pack & Send is that you don't need to have an account with them.

You can get a rough quote here, but you'll need the actual package dimensions eventually:

http://www.packsend.com.au/get-a-quote.

I have had success double-box packing radios ie well packed inside a strong (double layer corrugated cardboard) box, and then packing that inside another box with about 50mm clearance all round, and taping it all up thoroughly.

Might be worthwhile fitting a piece of three ply to protect the front of the TV from penetration of the boxes.

It may also be worthwhile removing as much weight as possible from the end of the tube neck to minimise inertial loading from impacts. A loose yoke could perhaps be taped down somehow.

In the case of radios, remove the dial glass and valves and put them in their own packing inside the case.For a bakelite case probably best to ship case and chassis separately, as inertial loading from the heavy chassis could break the case if there is impact, double boxed or not.

Thank you GTC and STC830.

I've sent a quote to Pack & Send, so will hopefully get an estimate soon.

STC, how high would the chance be that the tube could get damaged by the weight of the yoke? Would it be something that you could anchor to several points in the set, using utility cord or wire?

Chris

I got a price estimate from Pack & Send, quoting approximately $78 delivered door-to-door from Victoria to NSW. I'm pretty happy with that, as I was expecting the price to be in the hundreds. Now, the next step - convincing my parents to let me get it. I've just gotten rid of a heap of other stuff, so I should be able to get it now.

Chris

"how high would the chance be that the tube could get damaged by the weight of the yoke? "

Not really sure if this is a problem or not - just trying to think of possible issues with TVs, an item which I have never had to ship.

delivered door-to-door from Victoria

Regarding door to door, wherever possible I try to collect the item myself from the courier's local depot, for two reasons:

* I don't have to wait around for a courier to come, and

* It's one less handling step of the item by the couriers.

When you ship long distance the following steps are usually involved:

Small van collects and takes to local depot where it is offloaded. (If a remote area there may be another loading/unloading step to deliver to main depot.)

Loaded onto a semi for interstate carrying and unloaded at main depot in receiving city.

Loaded onto a small van for local delivery.

Labelling the box as fragile is seen as a challenge to see how well it performs as a football. Get seller to package well as suggested is about all you can do.

Not a bad quote for transport considering. I had Pack & Send quote on sending a 20kg piece of equipment about half the size of the 18in TV and they wanted over $100.

The CRT is surprisingly strong around the area of the yoke. I doubt any special precautions will be needed. In fact any attempts to brace the yoke may result in breaking it.

The biggest danger is something fallen against the back of the TV hard enough to push the back of the TV against the CRT. As the rear of the TV is a plastic moulding it is fairly rugged. The front of the TV has protruding knobs that don't take kindly to knocks.

As long as the set is well packed in a strong cardboard box with sponge foam sheet at least 30mm thick on all sides that should protect the set from the worst of the knocks. The cushioning is important as it reduces the G forces on the set if it gets dropped from a small height.

Polystyrene Peanuts can be used providing there is enough of them to prevent settling of the peanuts. If that happens the TV will be able to rest against the edges of the carton and be exposed to shock damage. The weight of the TV may also force them out of place due to vibration in transit.

Remember that the TV had to survive shipping from the factory to the warehouse, then shipping to some regional distributor, and then to the local TV shop. So issues about the yoke on the CRT, parts on the chassis and such were taken care of when the set was made.