Need to find a good shipping freight company to ship speakers

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pglbook
pglbook Posts: 2,173
in The Clubhouse
I am looking for advice from any Polkies who have used a shipping freight company to ship speakers.

I am contemplating having speakers shipped to me and need to find a good shipping freight company to call and get a quote to see if shipping would be logistically and financially feasible for me.

Any shipping freight company contact information would be most appreciated, as well as an overview of your experience with the company.

Thanks.
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  • xschop
    xschop Posts: 4,698
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    UPS, heavily packaged or USPS, heavily insured....

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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,030
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    how big are they?

    If you want to pay a company to go to a location, pack, palletize and ship a set of speakers be prepared to open your wallet my friend.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,132
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    It cost me $660 to have 2-130lb amps (260 total), picked up in Baltimore, placed into a truck, then palletized and shipped by Craters&Frieghters, lots of communication and delivered to Houston
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,372
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    I've used Craters & Freighters before but that was quite a long time ago. They did an excellent job.
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  • pglbook
    pglbook Posts: 2,173
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    VR3 wrote: »
    how big are they?

    If you want to pay a company to go to a location, pack, palletize and ship a set of speakers be prepared to open your wallet my friend.

    SDA 2.3 TLs. Yes, I assumed it would be prohibitively expensive to ship such big and heavy speakers but I am trying my best to get the pair of speakers listed in the Flea Market from MO to upstate NY.
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  • pglbook
    pglbook Posts: 2,173
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    Emlyn wrote: »
    I've used Craters & Freighters before but that was quite a long time ago. They did an excellent job.

    Thanks
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,030
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    To put in perspective, when I crated the 1.2tl, the MATERIAL to build the crates was around 650.

    This also makes each speaker substantially larger and heavier.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • pglbook
    pglbook Posts: 2,173
    edited December 2022
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    VR3 wrote: »
    To put in perspective, when I crated the 1.2tl, the MATERIAL to build the crates was around 650.

    This also makes each speaker substantially larger and heavier.

    Thanks. I figured shipping 2.3 TLs would be too expensive but I wanted to exhaust all possibilities as these are my dream speakers. I will still try and get a shipping quote but realize that shipping will be prohibitively expensive as you say, I did not realize that each speaker weighs 152lbs. What happened to the old Polkie Express? I need to find a few Polkies that can transport the speakers from MO...to Chicago...to Cleveland...to Buffalo. I could pick them up in Buffalo, or even Cleveland. ha. Thanks again.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,043
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    pglbook wrote: »
    ...What happened to the old Polkie Express? I need to find a few Polkies that can transport the speakers from MO...to Chicago...to Cleveland...to Buffalo. I could pick them up in Buffalo, or even Cleveland. ha. Thanks again.

    Why not Missouri?
    You want 'em, yes?
    :#


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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,372
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    If using Craters and Freighters they most likely still box up large speakers with sheets of foam around them then strap them together on a pallet. They wouldn't need to build crates for them unless asked to.
    Shipping would then be by truck freight with it being more expensive to have them delivered to a residential address than they would be if picked up at a freight terminal.

    Not inexpensive but they safely transport everything from megabucks computer equipment to antique furniture all the time so they're really good at what they do.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,801
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    I used ABF Freight to ship 2.3TL's coast to coast, but they were in the original boxes, strapped to a pallet, picked up from a company loading dock and delivered to an ABF terminal where they had to be picked up. The cost was dirt cheap.

    Since your circumstances are different you might try this, https://www.uship.com/shipper/ltl-freight/?r=2304&cmp=Google-US-Search-LTL-Exact-CPA&ag=freight_shipping_companies&kw=freight shipping companies_e___deviceis_m_networkis_g_&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4aacBhCUARIsAI55maFmQVBPONDdvq8RSamK0p-ZxyV8yjjKZDv5hjSM8UAVu-565AdCO2oaAsEvEALw_wcB
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  • Dabutcher
    Dabutcher Posts: 2,591
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    I would not even attempt it. That’s just me. Listen to Jesse. Sounds like he has a legit plan. Good luck. Keep us posted. Thanks. D
    MIT Magnum MH-750, Monster HTS 5100MKII, Sony 77" Class - A80CJ Series - 4K UHD OLED,PS4, Def Tech 15” sub,LSIM 706c, Sunfire Signature Grand 425 x 4,Parasound hca 120, LSiM 702 x 4, Oppo 103D, SDA SRS 1.2, Pioneer Elite SC63 , Pioneer Elite BDP-05 “Why did you get married if you wanted big speakers?”
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  • maxward
    maxward Posts: 1,517
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    I shipped my Magnepans in October. The company recommended Old Dominion Freight Line, on a pallet. I ended up going with UPS since it was easier. They arrived with no visible damage to the box, but one of the ribbon tweeters was kaput. The buyer was happy regardless and bought a new tweeter. He thought that he may have done the damage while unboxing. My Magnepan dealer also sells Magico, which uses a more “white glove” company which I can’t remember now, but I’d be happy to check on.
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  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,434
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    I used to use ABF (Arkansas Best Freight) as well like F1 mentioned. It's a PITA, but if you build a palletized crate and ship terminal to terminal it's pretty cheap.
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  • SeleniumFalcon
    SeleniumFalcon Posts: 3,503
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    We always asked companies to use Preston Trucking for speaker deliveries.
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  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,066
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    Man wish I could find a picture of the 1Cs that toolfan sold to a fellow polkie he packaged palatized them brought them to the company I worked for who then shipped them from Colorado to Minneapolis, they went American freight with my discount for $97.00. To say that Larry did a awesome job preparing these for shipment is a understatement, wish I could find the pictures I think they were on his for sale thread, that's how all speakers should be prepared for shipment.
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,472
    edited December 2022
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    I used ABF on a pair of Monitor 11's from Tennessee to terminal in Portland/Westbrook Me (40 min drive) I think it was 130.00. (pic on CP somewhere of pallet in my truck)No issues & seller wrapped everything nicely.... Also my RTA15's came from Denver Colo via UPS & it was a good experience. Don't know what price was exactlyl. Seller didn't want to ship at first & I payed for UPS to pick them up at Ryan's house (I bought them off Craigslist-posted here on CP thank you again) I paid out 300.00 including beer tip.
    .
    .EDIT I ment to add these were shipped over 5 years ago & only posted for the experienced of shipment
    Post edited by boston1450 on
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    ..
    ..
    Randy/Maine
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  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,002
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    Those are some great prices on shipping speakers.

    Just had the three letter shipping outfit quote me $123 to ship my Phase Linear preamp three states away.
    Shipping's getting nuts!
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,043
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    SeleniumFalcon wrote: »
    We always asked companies to use Preston Trucking for speaker deliveries.

    "The 151 Line" :)
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,520
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    Rockports, Magicos, my dual audio research quadruple boxed reference 10 - all done by adcom.

    I wouldn’t trust anyone else from my experience.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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