Posted by Doug Fowler on November 11, 2003 at 13:52:26:
In Reply to: Shipping a tuba overseas posted by Ian Easton on November 11, 2003 at 07:41:24:
Ian -
While I've never shipped a tuba overseas, I've shipped many scientific/technical items to Romania/UK/Hungary/India/France, etc. I'd recommend that you investigate the customs requirements for the country of destination very carefully, since for many countries, income from customs tariffs is an important part of their cash income, and they will try to gouge rich Americans (i.e. anyone with a US shipping address.) Secondly, pack your tuba in such a way that the customs inspectors can open the package and close it securely, so that it is protected from its trip from the port of entry to the eventual destination. Thirdly, I STRONGLY recommend that you obtain the services of an experienced freight forwarder, who can be responsible for both initial packaging and handling the tuba within the destination country, as well as documentation of the shipment, insurance, etc. Fourthly, I STRONGLY second the recommendations of Matt Walters and Mary Ann in the UPS thread(s) below -- that is, pack the tuba as though it WILL fall six or more feet, or down a couple of flights of stairs. Bear in mind the attitude of the guys who will have to handle this large, heavy/awkward package during its transhipment, and that in many foreign countries, they do not have carts/dollies with wheels for movement of large packages, but must pick up and carry the package from place to place.
Generally speaking, packaging should be in layers, such as: put the tuba in its case and use carefully cut styrofoam padding within the case to prevent ANY movement; put the cased tuba into a solid (e.g. specially built wooden) case with screwed joints, so that this case can be stored flat for eventual return to the US. This outer case should be AT LEAST four inches greater in internal dimensions than the cased tuba, and I STRONGLY recommend that you use solid styrofoam blocks cut to fit carefully around the cased tuba and within the wooden case, once again to prevent ANY movement of the cased tuba within the wooden case. Once again, when you are either building or having built the wooden case, think about the poor guys who will have to move it, and put reasonable handles on the outside, for ease of carrying.
Be sure to get appropriate insurance, and to ship the appropriate documents with the tuba. This can be a big deal!!! In some foreign countries, the tuba may be held for several days/weeks for customs inspection, and it may be essential to have a local contact who can keep track of the shipment, and determine if a little bribe may help to move it along its intended trail. Unless you are fluent in the local language and practices, don't try to do this yourself!!!
The cost for careful shipping of large, delicate, costly items (e.g. tubas) to many countries may be quite high (several hundred dollars), and the time scale of shipment may be several weeks. If you are planning to be in the foreign country for only a few weeks, it may be worthwhile to use your local contacts to determine if you can rent/borrow a tuba while in country, rather than shipping your own.
Doug Fowler