Advice for preparing a VCR for shipping?

[jwillis84]

I just received my AG-5710 VCR.

Its a monster and screams professional.

I plugged it in and put a tape in and everything "seems" fine. But I know I am not qualified to inspect the VCR or detect any needs for maintenance.

So my first inclination is to ship it off to a shop for routine maintenance and evaluation by a professional.

The box it arrived in seemed barely adequate and was bashed in a full 5 inches on one corner. Thankfully the shipper had wrapped it two fold in large bubble wrap on all sides and it appears to have survived. No cords were included so the power supply socket and connectors were not at risk.

My question is for advice in how to best wrap it and secure it for a cross country trip. I know it will probably be costly, and I am leaning towards FedEx rather than UPS.

I'm thinking of securing the tape deck door in some manner, maybe foam in the mouth, or masking tape? and I wonder about what type of box I should get to ship it in.

The people here seem to have vast experience, unfortunately mostly bad.. with shipping a VCR.. and I sincerely would like anyone's take on how to prepare this for shipment.

I am not in a hurry.

This is a long term project with no firm end date.

I want to treat the equipment right.

If that means ordering a special box or using a special shipper, well then.. okay.

Thank you!

[jwillis84]

Attached the photos that were originally inserted in the original post.

It seems I can no longer edit the original post, so including this as a followup post.

I'm still learning things, like how to attach images instead of inserting them.

[sanlyn]

Fedex and UPS alike have packing services, but beware that many of their shops just fill a box with plastic peanuts (definitely not what you want!). Packers who know what they're doing cut up custom slabs of convoluted and solid foam and fill extra space with crumpled heavy-duty paper from brown-paper rolls. The foam materials used are similar to the stuff shown in this link at Uline: https://www.uline.com/BL_863/Convoluted-Foam-Sets. The only thing that pro packers use plastic bubble wrap for is an initial wraparound of the VCR, not for filling spaces or bracing corners.

The UPS and Fedex websites advertise their shipping services. Google "shipping services" for either company for a big blurb on their offerings. Meanwhile Staples, U-Haul, and HomeDepot, etc., are a waste of time.

Years ago I shipped a big JVC VCR (which eventually got ditched later anyway, and good riddance) using the intended repair shop's guidelines: use crumpled paper to fill a box that holds the VCR, then place that box inside a bigger box packed with tightly crumpled paper. It took forever and cost a good bit for the two boxes and the roll of thick brown mailing paper, not to mention some plastic bubble wrap that encased the VCR itself. I think that requirement is a little extreme and is probably overkill. I remember it cost a fortune to make and then ship that complicated package.

[JoRodd]

I recently shipped a Beta and a Panasonic without issue. I found that using a box within another box works well.

You pack the VCR in the smaller box with all the fixin's (bubble wrap, etc.) and then place in a larger box for additional protection. You also place styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, paper, etc. in the larger box. Try to pack so that the VCR does not move inside the box.

FedEx will pack for you but charge you as well. You can do it yourself.

Edit: Piggybacked sanlyn's post

[jwillis84]

I wanted to say thank you to sanlyn and jorodd.

I looked at Uline (minimum of 10 and 15 box bundles) and the costs of a shipper vs doing it myself.

And also read this thread (mrbetamax had a pdf on double boxing):

http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...air-shops.html

After speaking with the shop that will be accepting my AG-5710p for service and repair, I came around to the idea of a single box.

Here is where I finally sourced the materials:

U-Haul had the supplies I needed (in small quantities):

20 x 20 x 12 cardboard box........ $5.30
30 yards box tape (single roll)..... $2.79
1 antistatic computer bag kit...... $4.95
12 cu.ft biodegradable peanuts... $4.95

total after tax was about $20

I do have some stiff foam I plan to use as stablizers in the corners, and 1 inch bubble wrap if it looks appropriate.

I gather the goal is to prevent motion, without transmitting shock forces and allowing for crushable zones about the VCR. Somewhat subjective I assume depending on the eye of the packer.

mrbetamax recommended (not) using masking tape, but blue painters tape for securing the carriage door and any moveable flip down control panels.