Cheap/cheaper/most reasonably priced shipping?

[electra225]

I have saved too much stuff for my storage space and circumstances. I didn't know how much room and would have, and THOUGHT I only saved the absolutely essential items. WRONG!!

I saved all the audio and radio tubes. I should have sold all but about a half dozen of each type, then put the rest in the auction. I have more than I'll use in ten lifetimes. I don't plan on getting more radios. The only item I would consider adding to the hoard is a little Imperial. I have the market cornered on Buick car radios, 1951 to 1956. I have a 1940 model and a 1959 model, but the rest are in that range. I want to convert one to run on household current, but what am I going to do with the rest? I have two big boxes of industrial tubes, numbered 117 to 9004. Those need to go. I have enough speakers for several lifetimes, both new and used. Lloyd and I bought out the speaker stock of a Radio Shack store that was divesting itself of speakers. I have some chassis of various descriptions I need to sell rather than toss. Hence my question....

Shipping is the killer. I have thought about starting an account with Fed Ex so I can save on shipping. Ideas on how to find the most reasonable shipping might be a good topic. Input anybody?

[hermitcrab]

I am in the same boat ... lots of stuff that will never get used ...too bad you were not close... My little imperial is collecting dust in the basement... I paid 35 bucks for it... but as you say shipping would make it untenable ... as a former trucker I would say shipping would be 500 bucks cross country ... not including the fuel surcharge all companies tack on ...preventing damage is another issue , you will have to build a super strong crate to ship it in as regular LTL companies will handle it at every hub increasing the chance of damage ... I have seen drivers stack a 1000 lb skid on top of lesser weight item even if it says do not stack on...... they don't care it ain't their stuff they know the company will pay the pennies to the dollar claim .... I found the best and cheaper alternative was using greyhound buses for shipping , a floor model radio is double boxed and they get loaded in at the origin in the luggage compartment , and don't get handled again until destination ... but a console would be a little too big for that i'm afraid ...

[electra225]

Elton, you and I may have a more serious conversation about your little Imperial if you want to sell it.

I don't know how these guys who sell small parts for old radios get such cheap shipping. Some include shipping for free. UPS wants $15 to ship a small speaker that isn't worth $15 itself. I'm too cheap to pay prices like that. There has to be a better way.

Since trucks are involved in shipping, perhaps this comment won't be too far off topic. Elton, did you drive in the "good old days" or more recently? As much as I loved my Macks, I will go to my grave with the belief that THE BEST all-around performance they ever got from a diesel engine in a road tractor was the NTC-335 Cummins. Powerful, efficient, capable of lots more than stock horsepower. You could drive it like you stole it, and it wasn't crabby about high exhaust temps like a Mack was. It took a good big cam 400 to run with slightly "tuned" 335. The fastest truck I ever drove had a 335 and a 13-speed Roadranger in it. The thing would pull like a bull to 78 mph. The only truck I ever drove that would actually pull in 13th gear.

[hermitcrab]

everything is for sale Greg when Bill was here he pretty much confirmed it was a imperial... I don't know them well enough to know the difference... this is the one that has the distortion on MPX, but the caps have never been changed on the MPX unit which I am told could be the issue...my company had the old R model macks that would pull a house off their foundations and not miss a beat, we also had cabover city delivery macks that were JUNK... most horrible thing I had to drive... vacuum windshield wipers that would stop working at the worst time ... like in a torrential downpour... a 5 speed tranny with a high/low rear axle lever along side the shifter ... if you were tall you drove it hunched over , because every bump would smack your head into the headliner ...I used to get out and kiss the ground after driving those... fastest truck I ever drove was a Autocar with a 13 speed it had a cummins but I didn't know which it was ... don't know how I never got a ticket with it.... double nickel? ha... move out of the way ... we also had fords with cat engines in them... we blew them up regularly... usually the fuel pump would let go and the motor would runaway and implode unless you could flip the hood open and lay on the intake to kill the motor fast enough...ah... the good ole days...

[electra225]

I was referring to the 1975 Autocar I had. The guy who took care of my trucks was "Go-fast Nichols", Jim Nichols. He could soup up a vacuum cleaner, I think. If he couldn't make something "run" you probably needed to call the junk man. He put a 400 cooler, injectors, pump, turbo, and #9 button off a 400 on that old worn-out 335 in the Autocar. The thing had so much power, it was scary. I drove a 237 Maxidyne over a million miles with a five-speed in it. Just a tad faster than a 238 Detroit with a ten-speed, but was the most dependable, steady truck I ever know of. I had a V-8 Superliner I dearly loved, but that is a story for another topic.

[Firedome]

As far as shipping goes the only good deal nowadays is USPS Media Mail but it's only good for books, brochures, audio tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc. Canada doesn't even have that. My theory is that all the big guys like Amazon or others with free shipping get volume discounts that have jacked up rates for everyone else, and now Amazon is gradually developing their own shipping/trucks/planes so they'll eventually drop UPS, FedEx, which will jack up the latter's rates even higher. I'm no longer selling on eBay &c, only on local FB, CL etc where no shipping will be involved, and no ridiculous fees charged, however it really limits the potential buyer pool.

For other items there just is no good reasonable shipping for big items, although I know a guy who uses Greyhound for stuff like car doors. The best alternative is use UShip or one of the other brokers where you'll get bids, but you take a chance as you don't know who or what you'll get or how careful they'll be despite all their claims of being bonded, insured, &c &c.
The only reason you can still sometimes get a good price buying a console is that they can't be shipped at a reasonable cost,, so at least there is that one small silver lining.

[electra225]

I'm thinking that a lot of the larger things I need to divest myself of will get donated to the veteran's thrift store. The smaller items, like speakers and tubes should be able to be shipped. I'll sell what I can locally, but I'm not expecting a lot of success doing that. I'd like to sell on this forum and on ARF. Shipping is going to be the fly in the ointment.

Elton, if you were to post a picture of your little Imperial (hint, hint! ) we would be happy to eliminate any doubt you may have.....

[hermitcrab]

Here you go Greg

[electra225]

If it is a model 1ST662, then it is a little Imperial. That is the model that is in a similar cabinet as a Symphony. The 1ST665 is the one they stole the cabinet from to create the 300 series Stereo Theaters. Does yours have the MPX installed? A little Imperial is basically a souped-up Symphony. Have you done anything to yours in the way of restoration?

[hermitcrab]

Yes it says 1ST66209.... This is the one I had to rebuild the volume pot on... trace for one channel was completely crumbled away and gone like it burned up, the MPX either needs adjustment or that 4uf cap need replaced as it sounds off frequency while it is on ...I did recap the amp....