How not to ship a slot machine

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How not to ship a slot machine

Postby sam2002 » Tue Apr 02, 2019 9:03 am

Just had a machine shipped to California from the east coast and have to say it’s a wonder it arrived in unbroken condition .
Loosley fitted inside a uhaul wardrobe box with little packing material so as the machine just flopped around in a box . A couple of small pieces styrofoam and an empty 12 pack box of blue moon beer don’t cut it !
You want the machine to arrive alive .
If you pack and ship a machine like this don’t have the nerve to blame the shipping company for any damages incurred!

Take a little effort and pack it properly. I
I have a few suggestions for shipping a machine . I have shipped at least 15 machines and fortunatley to date not one has been damaged during shipping .

1.) Empty all the coins from the machine . If they are to ship with the machine wrap them securely and put them in the cash box tightly so they cant move .
2.) Put the machine in an extra large plastic bag or wrap it in plastic film . This keeps any debris out of the machine and also keeps any screws nuts or parts from escaping where they may be hoplessly lost .
3.) Find and use a good shipping container . ( I have used boxes from Home Depot . They carry extra large box size in heavy and extra heavy duty . I put one inside the other and make my own cardboard top . In order to put 2 boxes inside each other I put the lighter box in the heavier box by gently rounding the bottom 4 corners of the lighter box with a small hammer , then you can proceed to gently push this box inside the extra heavy duty box .
4.) Packing material . My favorite is the insulating foam board comes in sheets about 1 1/2” thick it can be cut to size to line the “6” sides of the box . A few extra layers between the machine and the cardboard box is insurance that will lessen the chance if something jabbing into or out of the box .
5.) Now its time for the filler “PACKING PEANUTS” put enough peanuts in that box so your cherished machine won’t move a hundredth of an inch !
6.) At this point I find my box just a bit small at the top so I top it off with peanuts add a layer of the foam board then a good heavy duty piece of cardboard is fitted to the top before I bend the top flaps to fit at which point upholsterers glue is sprayed to hold the cardboard flaps to a custom fit top .
7.) Packing tape lots of it ! All the way around the box in several locations . Seal every joint and seam with it . Run it across the entire top . Tape it and tape it again !
8.) Shake the crap out of your sealed up box , if you hear or feel any movement of the machine open the box and pack it tighter !

This might sound like alot of work and there are probably other good methods that you might share and please do !

Your machine is worth the time and effort .
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Last edited by sam2002 on Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How not to ship a slot machine

Postby Shane » Tue Apr 02, 2019 9:27 am

I recently purchased a machine from Georgia that shipped to my home in Oregon. On the advice of members from this forum I had the buyer take to FedEx and let them pack it. They did a great job and charged $65 for the material and service. Because they packed it they also insure its safe delivery.

The shipping charge was $350 which seemed high. Other forum members mentioned paying closer to $200. I think the box they used may have pushed me into a new price range by an inch or two so I would recommend checking sizes and rates to get the best mix.

Letting the experts do the packing was most efficient and effective and worth the $65. Especially if you are purchasing and don't know the commitment level of the seller to securely pack your machine.

Best,

Shane
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Re: How not to ship a slot machine

Postby MONTI » Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:51 am

Shane wrote:I recently purchased a machine from Georgia that shipped to my home in Oregon. On the advice of members from this forum I had the buyer take to FedEx and let them pack it. They did a great job and charged $65 for the material and service. Because they packed it they also insure its safe delivery.

The shipping charge was $350 which seemed high. Other forum members mentioned paying closer to $200. I think the box they used may have pushed me into a new price range by an inch or two so I would recommend checking sizes and rates to get the best mix.

Letting the experts do the packing was most efficient and effective and worth the $65. Especially if you are purchasing and don't know the commitment level of the seller to securely pack your machine.

Best,

Shane


Shane!
I agree with you as FedEx has always done great by me and having the account with them as well if an issue does occur, which it never has, it gives me even more protection in the event an issue takes place!
Fee has never been over $200.00 stipulating that they use a cut down wardrobe box to my configurations in size affording the $200.00 or less in total cost!
And best of all I just roll it in to them and they do all the packaging!
I believe they use an expandable foam packing which is very secure!
FedEx is number one in my book!
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Re: How not to ship a slot machine

Postby Shane » Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:28 am

Yes, my machine was packed with expandable foam material which creates a custom cradle for the contents.

Shane
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Re: How not to ship a slot machine

Postby MONTI » Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:47 am

Shane wrote:Yes, my machine was packed with expandable foam material which creates a custom cradle for the contents.

Shane


Yes,
the same kind of stuff plumbers and electricians us in new home construction to seal around wires and pipes in the base plates so rodents don't get into the walls from underneath the dwelling, sprays in the opening and expands and seals very tightly!
But on a lot larger scale at FedEx!
Great stuff, they let me watch one time when they packed one of my slots for delivery!
Beats the heck out of peanuts which can settle bouncing along in delivery!
I used to use rigid foam insulation panels that I had to cut specifically for shipping each slot which was very time consuming before I started using FedEx but my time is worth more than the $65.00 they charge, considerably more!
MONTI
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Over 50 years experience in slot restoration

Serving Northern California, Nevada & Beyond
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Re: How not to ship a slot machine

Postby sam2002 » Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:01 am

Shane wrote:I recently purchased a machine from Georgia that shipped to my home in Oregon. On the advice of members from this forum I had the buyer take to FedEx and let them pack it. They did a great job and charged $65 for the material and service. Because they packed it they also insure its safe delivery.

The shipping charge was $350 which seemed high. Other forum members mentioned paying closer to $200. I think the box they used may have pushed me into a new price range by an inch or two so I would recommend checking sizes and rates to get the best mix.

Letting the experts do the packing was most efficient and effective and worth the $65. Especially if you are purchasing and don't know the commitment level of the seller to securely pack your machine.

Best,

Shane



Sounds like a terrific idea . $65 for fed ex packing .
It generally runs $150 - $175 shipping via fedex with an account .


Last word pack it tight before you ship it !
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Re: How not to ship a slot machine

Postby Amazed99 » Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:43 pm

If you setup a FedEx account on line you can save a few bucks on the shipping costs. I doesn't cost anything to setup an account. I don't know if they give a discount on packaging costs.
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