when you send a mandolin UPS or FedEx,...

[mandojoy]

Do they go unprotected from the cold, or heat, or do they regulate the temps? I sent a mandolin from central Illinois to eastern Tennessee, and it got held up at the UPS hub in Bristol because of the icy cold weather. Just wondering if my mandolin is enduring bitter cold temps?

[sunburst]

It could be in the back of a truck parked in a snowy parking lot. (Probably is, in fact.)

[mandojoy]

Cool. Oh well, it's probably not as cold there as it is here in Illinois.

[sunburst]

Probably not. Looks like it has warmed up to 35 degrees today after being 20 degrees last night. (Weather Channel info... just a click away...)

[Keith Newell]

I always send mine USPS Priority because it is in transit for 2 or 3 days only. Less chance of sitting in a cold warehouse, or train or semi on the road. Never a problem, sometimes they even get there before they promised me.
Keith

[DMatt]

As a new member and new player I didn't think I'd have any expertise to share here but it appears I've gotten lucky. I started working as a truck unloader at UPS and was in a supervisory position when I left.

The answer is probably. If you're shipping local then it will mostly be at some mid point temp. The back of the package cars that come to your neighborhood are unheated but pretty warm in the sunlight.

Long distance shipping is a different animal.
The backs of the tractor/trailers are unheated. They are usually pretty close to ambient temperature most of the time. I've unloaded trucks in the wintertime that had a sheet of ice on the floor. If your package is going from one center to another (more than 60-70 miles on the east coast) then it will likely be in the back of a tractor trailer for some little while and have time to get to ambient temp.

Once it reaches its destination area it will be unloaded from the truck into a semi-heated building. The buildings are heated, but they have bay doors all around the perimeter of the building and it's simply not possible to keep them at a steady temp during loading/unloading operations. When I worked on saturday air I wore a light jacket inside even though there was little traffic in and out of the building.

So there you have it. Mandolin will go from warm, to cool, to cold, to cool, to your door.

[MikeEdgerton]

Actually trailers shipped in the summer are no where near ambient temperatures, generally they are much hotter.

You can assume that if it's on a truck moving or sitting in a cold climate that the contents of the truck are getting cold.

Also, most local trucking companies will load the trucks for delivery at night. Then it's sitting right back outside and subject to the temperature of the region.

[Marty Jacobson]

Has anyone shipped a mandolin with one of these (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Measuring_tools/Digital_Humidity_Gauge.html) in the case? It records highs and lows in both temperature and humidity. Seems like $30 would be well spent on the experiment.

[Keith Newell]

The company I work for ships a very small unit once in a while with some of our products that go world wide. It has an accelerometer, humidity, temp and a bunch of other stuff in it. It records drops, speed, tosses and a ton of stuff you wouldn't believe and the shippers never know it. It communicates with satellite so we can read the info at any time. It is amazing what the readings are and what shippers are on top and the bottom of the list based on history.
Keith

[craig.collas]

That would be a very interesting list.

[Bill Baldridge]

So, is there a best way to ship, and if so, what is it?

[Murphy Slaw]

The company I work for ships a very small unit once in a while with some of our products that go world wide. It has an accelerometer, humidity, temp and a bunch of other stuff in it. It records drops, speed, tosses and a ton of stuff you wouldn't believe and the shippers never know it. It communicates with satellite so we can read the info at any time. It is amazing what the readings are and what shippers are on top and the bottom of the list based on history.
Keith

That's cool.

[Keith Newell]

Proprietary info and don't want to get sued, you know how it is...hot coffee in a cup, no sticker saying "don't put head in here" stuff.
Keith

[JEStanek]

UPS trucks aren't heated or cooled in the back when making deliveries. The main thing is to have your temperature changes gradual rather than sudden. Then it shouldn't be a problem. That's probably why Weber takes the more conservative approach of waiting a day after delivery to open an instrument sent to them and tells you to wait a day before you open one from them.

Jamie

[Eddie Sheehy]

I ship instruments UPS ground. I ship on a Monday and they are usually on the East coast by end of day Friday with no extended warehouse stops. I've had no problems with temperature/humidity damage yet...

[MikeEdgerton]

Back in the 80's we had customers that shipped products with temperature gauges and tip gauges. The units were huge compared to what they probably make now.

[brunello97]

Nice timing for the thread. I bought a curious old Italian mandolin on ebay last week and of course it being sent during the deep freeze we are having up north this week. Plus the seller required a 'signature on receipt' without telling me in advance. So UPS has been here twice without dropping it off despite leaving a signed card, leave with neighbor instructions, etc. Ugh. Probably has been in a truck at 5 degrees F for a week. I'm going to pick it up Monday at the UPS center so hopefully they have had it back indoors for a couple days.

My brother sent me some of his home brews from Austin this week and I had to put them in the fridge to warm up after they arrived....

Mick

[Bill Baldridge]

What I am wanting to know is, cost set aside, would overnight be better than ground? I assume that the instrument would still be sitting in extreme heat or cold, but for hours rather days. Would there be any advantage to that or not? Here in the center of the USA, it is not likely that it could be put on a train and arrive overnight. I realize that once it got on the truck it would be treated like any other package. I am not asking for proprietary info. Sorry if it is a stupid question. I go there sometimes.;)

[Folkmusician.com]

Instruments are surprisingly resilient to cold temperatures as long as the changes come on gradually. A mandolin in a case and then in a box is fairly insulated from sudden changes.

Practically all instruments are shipped to local dealers via ground service. The busiest season for dealers is winter. Most all imported instruments spend weeks at sea. Even though it is not ideal, it is extremely rare for there to be damage. I wouldn't worry too much. :)

[DMatt]

As for the insides of the trucks being much hotter in summer than ambient that can be true. I also recall notable differences in package temps within a single trailer. Cardboard is a good insulator and the ones near center tended to be cooler in the summer. That being said ambient temps change and your package may be in a trailer for up to several days and the trailer exteriors cool pretty quick at night.

Once loaded package cars may or may not be parked outside. I worked at several facilities, the first being a regional hub. There all package cars were parked inside during and after loading (Well over 100 little brown trucks). They were only outside during delivery periods. At some of the smaller centers the package cars were parked outside at all times and loaded through bay doors.

To answer Bills question my main concern when ordering or shipping is how many times it will be handled and how well packed it will be. I ordered a mandolin from Folk Musicians rhis week and did not specify rush delivery of any type. I knew that my mandolin would travel from Nevada to Virginia through Illinois. That's a pretty healthy variation in temps and humidity and a lot of time in trucks and on rail cars. My mandolin will be inside a case which will be inside a box, so instrument temps will change pretty slowly. If you're shipping I'd tell the recipient to not open the box until it felt room temp to the touch, then not open the case until it felt room temp to the touch.

[yankees1]

Do they go unprotected from the cold, or heat, or do they regulate the temps? I sent a mandolin from central Illinois to eastern Tennessee, and it got held up at the UPS hub in Bristol because of the icy cold weather. Just wondering if my mandolin is enduring bitter cold temps? Where at in central Illinois ?

[DMatt]

So, is there a best way to ship, and if so, what is it?

Bill, it's been some time since I worked in that field so take my advice as being worth what you're paying for it.

If I were shipping an instrument I would ship it in a case, inside a box that does not touch the case at any point, well padded with packing peanuts. I would give my recipient good instructions to slowly warm or cool the instrument to the ambient temperature. Beyond that I would be less concerned with temp than I would be about accidental drops or the package getting caught in the machinery that moves packages about inside of the buildings.

[mandojoy]

I live next to the E Peoria hub.

[allenhopkins]

Cold in itself won't hurt most instruments. Sudden extreme cooling will, as will sudden warming. Most common effect is what's called "finish checking"; the instrument's wood body expands/contracts at a different rate than the finish layer, and the finish cracks in an "alligator" pattern. (Age can produce the same effect, as the chemical components of the finish contract and lose uniform contact with the wood.)

Heat's a different story. Heat above 100ºF can increase the pliability of mahogany, so that string tension pulls the neck and warps it. Heat can also soften certain glues and compromise glue joints, and can soften finishes as well.

Heat also drives moisture from the wood, and dryness can induce wood shrinkage and splitting along grain lines, as well as (I understand) other types of glue failure.

I'd guess that the temperature changes experienced in shipping an adequately packed and cased instrument, would generally be gradual enough to avoid damage. A mandolin can sit in below-freezing environment, and as long as it hasn't been abruptly cooled, and won't be abruptly warmed back up, it should skate through OK. The cautions about pulling an icy instrument out of its case and into a warm room, are well-based -- though I do think that leaving the package unopened for more than a day, is over-cautious.

[MikeEdgerton]

What I am wanting to know is, cost set aside, would overnight be better than ground?

Yes. The less time it spends in transit the better. There is less time rattling around in the back of a truck and less exposure to extreme temperatures. You should still allow it to reach room temperature when it arrives.

[mandroid]

So, is there a best way to ship, and if so, what is it?

hand carried by a Courier, a person.. in a regularly scheduled airline, cabin.

other than that the, Mandolin, well padded, in a Hard case within a box,
and that box in a sea of insulating Foam Popcorm..
the Styro popcorn is a shgock absorber and would also be
slowing down temperature changes ..

then serve the same function back in the heated room..
left 48 hours to come back Up before opening the outer carton,
and maybe another day before opening the case..

[Dangerous Dave]

Going through this myself right now. Total newb, however ordered my Collings MT from Ben at Fiddler's Green, Austin. My MT is traveling from Austin to Santa Fe (I live at 7,200 feet) this week. Ben suggested the same advise voiced here earlier. Keep the instrument in the cardboard box for about a day to acclimatize. After opening the box, let the mandolin sit in the case for several hours to acclimatize. Now, how to deal with the lack of humidity. Actually, have read many posts on this subject.

Thanks Mandolin Cafe for this great and informative site!

Dangerous Dave
(starting music with a mandolin at 54 years of age)

[Jim Roberts]

I've used both UPS and FedEx many times and by far the cheapest way to ship a mandolin in my experience is via the United States Postal Service. Their overnight delivery is lots cheaper than the other two couriers. Also, if you need insurance, it is ridiculously inexpensive comparatively speaking.

[Hendrik Ahrend]

I just sent a Gibson DMM over from Germany to Canada. It took DHL 2 1/2 weeks, but the mandolin arrived in perfect condition. (Well DMMs have lacquer checking anyway.)

[DMatt]

Just as a follow up.
My mandolin arrived on Tuesday. It was 74 degrees here when it arrived. It had been in the back of a trailer over the weekend traveling from Illinois to Richmond during the cold snap. Box was cool to the touch and I warmed it slowly. There was no checking or damage of any type.

Now all I have to do is go from making mandolin sounding noises to actual music.

[mandojoy]

My mandolin got to Audey Ratliff's last Monday via UPS. They were holding it over the weekend because of the weather. I haven't talked to Audey but I assume it's ok.

[JeffD]

Has anyone shipped a mandolin with one of these (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Measuring_tools/Digital_Humidity_Gauge.html) in the case? It records highs and lows in both temperature and humidity. Seems like $30 would be well spent on the experiment.

What for. It would only confirm that the instrument was sent by truck. :)

[JeffD]

I have heard that styrofoam peanuts are not recommended, because they shift and settle and can allow the case to "wander" into touching the inside of the box. Something like those inflato-pillows, loosely crunched paper, or something that cannot shift might be better.

But there are experts among us who can correct me.

[allenhopkins]

Has anyone shipped a mandolin with one of these (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Measuring_tools/Digital_Humidity_Gauge.html) in the case? It records highs and lows in both temperature and humidity. Seems like $30 would be well spent on the experiment.

Unless you can crawl inside the case and monitor the numbers during the shipment, all this will tell you is what the temp/humidity is when the case is finally opened.

What you'd like is one that records the temperature/humidity continuously and keeps a record of it during the entire journey, or at least records the high and low of each and shows it to you when you unpack it. Then you can say to the shipper, "My damage claim is based on the fact that in-case temperature reached 125ºF, and 09% humidity, as your truck crossed Death Valley," or some such.

However, such an instrument would probably be somewhat more bulky than the one advertised.

[Bob DeVellis]

I have heard that styrofoam peanuts are not recommended, because they shift and settle and can allow the case to "wander" into touching the inside of the box. Something like those inflato-pillows, loosely crunched paper, or something that cannot shift might be better.

But there are experts among us who can correct me.


What I've found works well is to put some cardboard baffles in with the peanuts. That way, separate sections filled with peanuts are sort of walled off and the case can't shift so that it ends up touching the inside of the case. Also, I often make triangular tubes of cardboard that I can fit between the case and the inside of the box to keep the case centered. I have to admit that I kind of enjoy engineering the package so as to prevent bad things from happening.

[epicentre]

Help Mother Nature and your instrument, and slack the strings, put the bridge in an envelope marked "bridge"..

No problems yet with Canada Post and USPS. I've only been on the receiving end of UPS and FEDEX, and can't recommend them.

[Elb2000]

I just shipped a mandolin via UPS since Fedex refused to insure an instrument for over $1000. The agent said Fedex was having to many claims, which is probably not a good sign.