How to Ship a Drum Kit
Do you need to ship some drums? Believe it or not, there are plenty of situations that require you to do this. Maybe you’re an online music retailer and someone just bought a kit; maybe your band is on tour and your first date is on the other side of the country. Whatever the case, don’t bang your head like a floor tom to think about how to send all those drums because we have your back. This guide explains how to ship your drum kit, how to protect your kit, and how to save money on installation. Let’s rock!
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Drum kits are one of the most expensive things you can ship
We won’t whitewash it for you: Drum sets are expensive to ship. Very expensive. Not only are they huge items compared to the everyday D2c cargo that major carriers are used to shipping, but the drum set consists of several individual drums and cymbals. For starters, a basic drum kit has the following characteristics:
- The kick drum and its associated pedal
- a trap
- At least two toms (rack and floor)
- One or two cymbals (such as crashes and rides)
- Hi-hat
- one seat throne
Since each of these parts has such a unique shape, you’ll need to send them out individually when shipping the entire kit…which brings us to the next point.
Each drum and cymbal is individually packaged in a hard case and shipped separately
As any drummer knows, getting your drums dented or banging your cymbals is a nightmare. So before you buy labels and stick them on the side of your drums, we recommend that you first buy some hard-shell cases for your drums and cymbals (if you don’t already have one). When you pack your drums in a hard case, you protect them from external pressure and damage from drops or sudden movement during transport. It might sound like a hassle and cost a lot of money, but ask any drummer.they will tell you the hard case is absolutely It is necessary to transport drums regardless of the distance.
If you’re looking for some hard shells for your drums, here are some options you can choose from:
Treat each of your drums as a separate shipment
Once you have your drums in their case, you need to treat each of them as a separate shipment. This means you need to measure the size and weight of each piece, then buy a shipping label for each piece. That’s why shipping drums is so expensive! You don’t ship just one large package; in some cases, you ship more than a dozen separate shipments, each with a different size and weight.
UPS is the best carrier to ship a complete drum kit (though you’ll still incur a surcharge)
In addition to sending lots of individual packages, buckets are also bulky in their boxes. This can cause problems when they need to be shipped. For example, most kick drums are too large for the USPS and do not fit within the maximum size limit allowed by the USPS. Therefore, you need to use a carrier that specializes in larger, heavier packages. under these circumstances, UPS is the best choice (FedEx can too, but their rates are much higher than UPS).
UPS allows for higher size and weight limits. However, you may still incur some pretty hefty surcharges, like the pesky “extra handling” surcharge. But no matter which carrier you choose to ship with, you’re going to get these hits…so when it comes to shipping large packages like drum kits, you’re stuck in the dilemma of choosing the lesser of two evils.
Schedule a UPS pickup to save you the trip to drop the drum
Because the buckets are heavy and bulky, it is very inconvenient to drag them all to your local UPS store or drop off point. Instead, schedule a UPS pickup for your package! That way, UPS will come straight to you and load your drums onto their trucks…and you’ll save yourself a lot of back pain.
Save the most money on your separate packages with shipping software
Since it costs a leg and a leg to ship all of these packages at the same time, you must save as much postage as possible! This is where online shipping software comes into play. Plain and simple, you don’t want to take your package to your local UPS store to buy labels. Instead, use shipping software to buy discounted UPS postage online.
When you use shipping software, you get special discounts that carriers typically reserve for large shippers who send tens of thousands of packages each year. These discounts from UPS are called Digital Access Programs.In some cases, these discounts can Save you up to 76% off The fee for shipping the same package with UPS Daily Rates. So when you’re sending a lot of packages at once (such as when shipping a drum kit), the savings can end up keeping hundreds of dollars in your pocket!
Protect every package of your drum kit with shipping insurance (optional)
Your drums and cymbals probably won’t suffer any damage when housed in a hard case.These cases are built Suitable for strict tourism and transportation environments. So the chance of any wooden drum shell or metal cymbal breaking in it is very low. However, that doesn’t mean one or more packages won’t get lost in transit (hey, it does happen) – that’s where buying shipping insurance can protect you.
Shipping insurance isn’t just about making sure you receive compensation for damage when your shipment arrives; you’ll also be fully covered and your package will disappear at any point during your journey. Since the individual drum sets and their associated cases are quite expensive, we thought it would be worthwhile to buy a little extra shipping insurance on top of the cost of the label. This may seem like a hassle at first, but if any packages are lost, it will be well worth it if you need to replace any part of the kit!
