Ship 'em home via UPS?

The UPS booth is at the lobby of the Blue and Silver Halls.  Right outside the registration area.  Never used it at YORK, but know its there.

Carl:

I looked one time as I wanted to understand what they do.  I think UPS folks are conditioned to wrap well.  they load directly onto a UPS truck.  Since you will buy insurance (you need to), they will pack well as they do not want to have a claim.  Also, I am pretty sure they sell the wrapping materials, so they are going to want you to use sufficient quantities (within reason) as they will provide the wrapping/packing materials at a cost.  I do not believe they are gouging folks, just making it available and frankly I would pay whatever to ensure something I am shipping is not damaged.

Ensure that the item is secured with it own factory box(es) because if it is rattling around in Styrofoam, that could break something.  Damage could be from internal (shaking within the Styrofoam insert) vs. an external blow to the box.

Folks can direct you to the blue/silver hall.

If you buy something and need help getting it to the blue/silver hall on FRIDAY, I can help.  Contact me offline via my email in my profile and we can swap phone numbers;  that way you can call me while I am there and I can carry your stuff to blue hall with you.

I live in CA, so shipping is expensive. My 1st York I bought a brass engine and carried it in the box with me through the air ports and on the plane. Won't do that again!

Getting good deals on cars or engines is somewhat lost for me if I have to turn around and ship the stuff home. My 2nd York I bought a couple caboose(s) that were hard to find, and carried those on the plane. I bought a ton of detail parts, figures, and other small items that went into my luggage.

For the most part, it has to be a really, really great deal for me to buy at York and ship home. Most of the stuff I can find online once I return home, or I just have to live with out. I do a lot of recon there, like checking out all the stuff at the Scenic Express booth to see what the stuff actually looks like, and make a list. Even that is better for me to come home and buy it, so I don't have to worry about shipping while in York. 

Now if I lived within driving distance of York....., my wallet would be in serious trouble. Good thing I don't...kinda.   

I am reminded of a trip I took with my wife to Florida last year. One of our stops was a large antique show/flea market called Renningers. There were a number of items I would have purchased if we were traveling home by car. Since we flew, I didn't buy anything. I knew that the additional cost of shipping would make the prices of the items I liked too high.
My wife did buy a set of old coffee mugs as a gift. After the show, we went to Walmart, and got packing materials. We sent them on their way to the recipient the next day. The shipping was almost the same as the purchase price.

UPS packs everything the same way. Wrap it in bubble wrap and throw it into a box and fill the box with peanuts. That works with things that are in their original "shipped from China" - boxes, like a RailKing caboose.

But have something heavy, like a locomotive with no box, or a kit bashed brass loco with no box and...

The bubble wrapped loco is heavy and slippery and it sinks to the bottom of the box as the peanuts flow around it. Then it bounces on the bottom of the box for the whole trip from York to California. Also, when the box gets dropped on a corner, its internal size increases, so the peanuts are even looser in the box. When it comes, it is beat to death.

Surrounding the loco with something that does not flow and does not allow the heavy loco to sink would be better. Sheet Styrofoam, sheet bubble wrap, tightly wadded up packing paper - anything that holds the loco securely would be better. The insides of the box must remain tight/secure/unmovable.

But UPS only does it one way - the UPS way.

Good reminders about the cost of shipping.  GREAT comments about the "UPS way" of packing items. I can see several forumites have had some issues in the past, so thank you for pointing this out.  I'll make my choices judiciously.

I have used this UPS vendor many times as in the past, I flew into Harrisburg and was limited as to what I could carry-on. Never had any issues with them.

First thing I would do is goto there site and get a estiment to ship the items you are looking  as to there weight from York to where you are. then figure at least $15 for material to pack it and up as they have charge for boxes, charge for bubble wrap charges for peanuts and if you have them do it charge for them to do it. ( ie best thing if you can find a box that it will fit in pack it your self) and then give to them and insure what it is worth. if it's new in shipping box just tape it up and ship it that way (lionel,mth etc shipped it that way so it's the best way) 

Another thing to think of it probably is a UPS store which are franchises so they can add charges to everything especially packing material UPS as a whole owns very few outlets them selves mainly if they do its a hub somewhere. 

If you buy anything that's in a large box, or smaller items for that matter, most vendors/table holders will hold your purchase at their table/booth for pick up later on in the day.  That way you don't have to wait at the UPS station for every purchase you make.

Your Main suite case should be a big hard sided one. In it you put your personal items, a duffle bag, and as much packing material as possible. On the way home, the hard sided suite case is for the trains, and the duffle bag is for your clothes.

Sunset 3rd Rail locomotives are wrapped in foam about 1/8 inch thick and are then heavily taped to a board that is the length of the box. The board, being the length of the box, essentially assures non movement of the locomotive within the shipping box when the carriers decide to toss the box on its end.

The boards are usually 1/8 inch thick and don't add much to the shipping weight while really helping stabilize the product being shipped.

Virtually all the shipping damage seen by the repair guys in CA is due to customers not taping the product to a board.

I used to think none of my vignettes would ever be able to be shipped, via anybody.

Then, a few years ago, a new customer from UTAH bought a very delicate piece (part of which is pictured here) from me in the Orange Hall and asked that we package it as best we could for him, so he could take it to UPS @ York. I encouraged him not to buy the piece as I anticipated it would never make it to his home, so far away, in anything but a million pieces. He insisted he was willing to take the chance, so I relented. We used various sizes of bubble-wrap and double-boxed it (approx. 27"x17") and had it ready for him when he departed on that Friday.

Subsequently, he called to say the whole package arrived without any damage. That experience taught me I could send my work via UPS and have sent that same customer many pieces since then, all via UPS; all arriving completely safe-n-sound.

That's been my experience.

FrankM.

Layout Refinements

Usually not much of a line at the UPS booth.  Walk right up.

Stu

Same here, I have used the UPS folks at York and no problems....a little expensive, but I now fly there from Missouri and if you find something you cannot live without...well you use the nice folks at UPS. No problems.

Just don't send anything UPS, that you don't want left on your porch, they don't even feel obligated to ring the doorbell or knock any more, forget about the driver waiting for you to open the door and hand you the package. They don't have time for that.

 The last package that I had shipped by UPS, was EXACTLY that, THE LAST package that I will ever have UPS handle for me.

 My Wife was home, Lights on, Car in the driveway, NO knock or ring, jus set the package down and leave, by the time somebody did go to the door, the package was GONE, but to Brown it was delivered, NOT THIER problem, nor will it ever be again.

Doug