[R-390] Shipping Receivers Across the Pond

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

I'd like to tap into the vast experience of some of the members here who
have shipped R-390As and other sets to our cousins across the Atlantic.
It's been many years since I shipped anything bigger than tubes, and the
choices have changed considerably.

At this point I am halfway through a trade with a listmember here. Last
year he shipped me a beautiful Murphy B40D receiver with accessories, in a
nice fiberglass container approximately 34" square with small casters. I
have here for him the R-390's predecessor, a very nice R-388 receiver,
matching speaker and a few other bits like connectors. The desire is to use
the same container to ship it all back. How to pack it is not the issue.
How to ship it is. I keep hitting dead ends which means I'm not doing
something right.

It appears that I can send the receiver double boxed for somewhere in the
$200-$300 range, but adding in the container really skews things due to the
overall size plus weight formula. Fully packed the container will only be
somewhere around 75-80 lbs I'd guess. Certainly not more than 100 and
likely much less.

Since everything goes by air freight now, FedWrex wants somewhere are $1200
last time I checked and UPS isn't much better. It seems like this mini
container should go for under $500.

I've got a major airport nearby with several carriers and a Customs office.
Being an individual and not a business makes it far more than just a maze -
it makes it downright difficult to figure out.

Anyone here have recent experience with overseas air freight?  Since the
baby arrived in November I've been 'distracted' a bit for lack of a better
word but I'd like to get Pete's radio to him before it turns to dust. And I
know he'd love to have it!

TNX  -

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ/4

BTW, this is a deal a long time in the making. We originally started back
in the 90s after a discussion on this list about the B40 and SP-600
receivers. But that's another story....