(AUS) Anyone used Pack and Send?

[austfox]

I am looking at buying a large vintage electronic item located in Melbourne. Whilst I am considering spending 2 days to drive from Sydney and back and pick up in person, another thought is to have the seller drop it off at a Pack and Send store and let them handle the packaging and delivery.

Has anyone used them before, and if so, how well did they protect the item, and how was the experience? Also, can the seller simply drop it off and leave it to me to arrange payment for the packaging and freight costs?

The seller doesn't usually deal in vintage equipment, so I would rolling the dice on whether they would be able to pack it well enough to survive the trip.

[BradC]

I used them to send a HP3457a from Perth to Keysight and had no complaints. Dropped it off and the agent took one look and said "We know how to pack that" and I trusted them to do so.

[Psi]

It's probably less about how well they package it and more about if it suffers a unusually severe drop while in transit, which is more of a roll of the dice.

[coromonadalix]

Personally i would go and pick them up myself

you really know or need to know how to pack things well

the most solid and protective i've seen so far is the inflating foam ...  when it carefully mold itself around the part   

normally you need to survive 1 meter drop

i receive so many things form japan, china, vietnam, and man the box are almost opened up, tear. recycled cardboard who's easy to rip   etc ... and a cheap 1/2 inch protection inside ... made so many complaints
   

[5U4GB]

They're pretty good, and since they're professionals who do this every day they'll likely have the know-how and experience to do a vastly better job of packing something than you can.  When I've used them to ship stuff I've had no complaints about the quality of the packing.  One thing I would do though is tell them that it's an antique item and may need special handling, typically they'll give you a range of options and prices that you can pick from for the packing and shipping.

Even in terms of shipping costs if you pack it yourself, it may end up costing you more because they deal directly with the freight companies and can get pretty good prices through that.

[austfox]

Thanks to the responses from BradG and 5U4GB I have decided to use Pack and Send. I'll be back here to praise their service if all goes well... 

[5U4GB]

Thanks to the responses from BradG and 5U4GB I have decided to use Pack and Send. I'll be back here to praise their service if all goes well... 

If it goes badly then it wasn't me, someone hacked my account :-).

[austfox]

Well it is good news... the Casio FX-9000P arrived safely!

I had been searching for this elusive machine for at least 8 years and I finally own one. Running on a Z80 processor with 16K memory, this one is in great cosmetic condition. It also includes the rare E-4K and E-RFK ROM cartridges.

As suggested by 5U4GB, I did advise them that it was a delicate 40 year old vintage computer with in-built CRT, and that the cosmetic condition was important to me, and be sure to use plenty of bubble-wrap, packing peanuts, and heavy-duty box. I was given a couple of options (I opted for the one with the larger box). Plenty of emails back and forth which wasn't a bother to them. It was indeed a lot more expensive using Pack & Send than Aust Post. However, after you factor in the packaging & labour costs, as well as freight costs which have probably risen sharply over the last few years, it is worth the extra piece of mind that your item is packaged well.

Maybe I got a good store (Burwood Village VIC) or maybe the other stores are all just as good, but I would definitely use them again for sensitive or rare freight.

[BradC]

It is a thing of beauty, and in great condition too. Win!

[Whales]

Wow, that's a lot of nice packing just for those four modules. 

When you throw away the packing can I have it?

[austfox]

Wow, that's a lot of nice packing just for those four modules. 
When you throw away the packing can I have it?

Ha, I like your thinking. They sold me 4 RAM modules with a computer around it! 

(Seinfeld reference... Elaine: You sold me a hair with a cake around it!)