# Cost to ship a head + cab in Canada?



## temporary_saint (Jan 22, 2013)

Found an old Marshall head + cab that I'm interested in on Kijiji - seller agreed to ship but now we're trying to figure out how much this will cost to see if it is worth it.

Does anyone have experience shipping amps across Canada? Any estimate on rough cost or the best service to use (Greyhound vs. UPS vs. FedEx vs. Canada Post)?

Also, any advice for packaging and insuring?

Amp is in Montreal, I am in London. He is willing to split the set and sell the head alone if I want - which might be the most reasonable and cost-effective bet (though if it was only a couple bucks extra I'd take the 4x12 cab too).

Thanks for your advice.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

If the cab isn't vintage or otherwise a special model, skip it and just buy the head.

If you have to ship the cab, I'm guessing greyhound would be cheapest, they might not even require it be packaged up as long as it's properly labelled. Canada Post has a weight limit that a cab exceeds, and a head can get close or go over...I shipped an Engl head that was 0.5kg below the limit....I know the girls at my local post office and they were wagging their fingers at me very unhappily over the heavy package lol. I took it into the back for them. UPS and Fedex and DHL and any other private courier is gonna be werrrry expensive. A freight trucking company is a better bet, probably cheap if you can pick it up at their depot instead of having to your door delivery.


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## warplanegrey (Jan 3, 2007)

I've always dealt with purolator to ship heads and cabs. Reasonably priced, fast service.


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## bryguy9 (Jul 13, 2007)

Hi:

Purolator or UPS have shipped heads and cabs for me (2x12 mind you). I have had very bad experiences (issues and $$$) with Fedex.

B


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## temporary_saint (Jan 22, 2013)

Thanks for the heads up. Would Canada Post be a reasonable option for the head? Pricing seams reasonable but not sure how much care they will take


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

I've shipped lots of stuff with CP, from pedals to guitars and amps, no issues so far. I like to ship Xpress or Xpedited to make sure it's not in their hands very long though.



temporary_saint said:


> Thanks for the heads up. Would Canada Post be a reasonable option for the head? Pricing seams reasonable but not sure how much care they will take


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

London to Montreal to fetch a Amp/Cabinet set sounds like a good excuse for a Random Road trip.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I've had a couple of heads shipped to me through CP, no issues.
It just has to be packed very well. Tubes up, preferably.

The cab might get pricey to ship, especially loaded.
It might just be worth your while to go get it, just to have piece of mind, especially something vintage.


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## temporary_saint (Jan 22, 2013)

djmarcelca said:


> London to Montreal to fetch a Amp/Cabinet set sounds like a good excuse for a Random Road trip.


Don't think I didn't Google Maps it!!! Only 7 1/2 hours from here... not too bad if I had a free weekend to do so. 


Thanks for the advice everyone - very much appreciated. 

I also came across this thread which seems to cover alot of the packing basics: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=288817

Based on price Canada Post comes up the winner and I'm glad to hear that others have had good experiences. FedEx also seems reasonable but I'll stay clear based on @bryguy9 recommendation.


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## bcmatt (Aug 25, 2007)

That thread on packing an amp is great. I wish I read that before I shipped my amp down to a friend in California. I was stupid enough to think that keeping the tubes installed was a safe place. 10 seconds of thinking about it after I already shipped it made me realize what an idiot I was. It arrived with a wrecked power tube. Basically anything that would be wrecked would not be covered by the insurance, so that's a waste.


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## temporary_saint (Jan 22, 2013)

Ouch - that hurts... live and learn I guess  So you'd suggest skipping the insurance and packing the hell out of it? Would the insurance still cover if the head went missing altogether? (stranger things have happened!)


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