The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi Everyone,

Has anyone here ever shipped phonographs overseas?

Do to a potential relocation in 2021, I'm wondering if it would be too costly and too much of a headache to ship two uprights (VV-XVI and VV-XI) by sea to Europe.
I realize they would need to be separately and extremely well crated, with at least the turntables and tone arms removed.

Any recommendations/suggestions/thoughts/insights would be appreciated.

Thank you and best regards,

Oliver

I've shipped many phonographs overseas. Right now two things are working against us:

1. The pandemic has slowed things down to the point I haven't seen since the old "allow 4-6 weeks for delivery" days.

2. Shipping from USA is just stupid money expensive today.

There's a way around both, and that is get or borrow a DHL account based in Europe and use that account's shipping label. DHL seems to have lost almost zero efficiency, as opposed to USPS, UPS, and FedEx. They also cause less damage if you pack well, and they will pick up at your residence.
You can also use a company called ICE Global Logistics, which is an Icelandic shipping company that I became familiar with when I sold a Porsche 356B to a buyer in Iceland many years ago. Their USA offices are in Jamaica NY. They are expensive, but if you don't want to deal with packing, etc., they are the way to go- real concierge service.

I am very good at packing/ crating/ shipping phonos but there's a guy on here who is better- VictrolaMonkey. You might PM him and ask him how he builds his rolling citadels for phonographs and exactly what materials to buy and where.

Also be aware that some countries are not accepting international packages, so check before you make the effort to pack and send.

52089 wrote:Also be aware that some countries are not accepting international packages, so check before you make the effort to pack and send.

Also a good point, but that mainly applies to postal services and not surface freight. Your shipper of choice should be up on this.

One other point to consider is that both the machines you mentioned are not exceptionally rare and by the time you tack on the shipping charges to Europe, you are going to be upside down with them... unless that doesn't matter. If you are moving permanently, it might be time to take an interest in European machines... If not, leave them with friends or family until you return... or sell them and re-purchase similar machines.

"I realize they would need to be separately and extremely well crated, with at least the turntables and tone arms removed."
AND the motors to make them less top-heavy...

A could of years ago when I was trying to help get some things moved overseas, I was given good advice from Raphael. He said some countries require crates be made from treated wood with some sort of special stamp indicating they were free from insects. Crates made from wood without the special stamp were subject to possible incineration along with the contents. So just be cautious.

Jerry B.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your replies and for the good insights. Point well taken, I will probably be better off getting rid of all the uprights (5).

There are however 6 horn machines I will want to keep and transport. The way I envision it is all the horns stacked in one crate; cases in smaller individual crates with of course back brackets etc..removed.

Five years (and many flights) ago I met a woman in France. Things have been really good and we want to spend our senior years together. Relocating would be easier for me than for her. There is still time as this is likely to take place in the next 9-12 months, provided travel opens up...No time to lose nonetheless.

I will look into DHL and also contact VictolaMonkey.

Thank you!

That's a lovely thing. I'd like to wish you warmest good luck in following your heart Oliver.

Orchorsol wrote:That's a lovely thing. I'd like to wish you warmest good luck in following your heart Oliver.

Thank you so much for your good wishes and kind words!

Where in France are you moving to? I love France and have a French born cousin who lives in Alsace north of Strasbourg... I have often thought of living there.