Has anyone used "The Packaging Store" to ship?


I'm getting ready to ship a pair of 4ft tall 75 lb. speakers thru a place called "The Packaging Store". I don't have the speaker boxes, & this place packs & ships just about anything--in some cases they actually make custom wooden crates for packaging. It's expensive--about $300 to ship these maybe 500 miles--but that includes packing, & PU & delivery door-to-door. I believe there are a franchised chain of these places (the one I'm dealing with is in Eastern Mass.). Just wondering if anyone has had any experience in using them; or knows of any good alternatives. Thanks!
steveaudio
Stores like this most times charge much higher prices for ups and fedex than when you go through those carriers yourself. I would box them yourself and have either fedex or ups pick them up. You may find it to be 30-50% cheaper
my rule of thumb is to take these people with a grain of salt.......they say they ship fine China, glass, mirrors, etc....but when you tell them it is a speaker, or amp or cd player....they envision Circuit City audio gear...they, like many people have no concept what an amp can be worth, or how fragile a tube amp is, so beware......I had someone ship me a Jadis Defy7 by them and they double boxed it with peanuts. Well, double boxed or not, they used thin (single walled) boxes which in no way can withstand shipping rigors. The amp came to me broken through the inner and outer box, and half hanging out of the outside carton. Yes it was damaged beyond repair.
I would be VERY CAREFUL dealing with this outfit - particularly since you are shipping speakers. They ARE, in
fact, a franchise chain - and as such are only as good as
the people working there.
As has already been pointed out in the above posts, they
may be shipping your speakers by a common carrier such as
FedEx or UPS at considerable markup. So ask questions and
check these people out very carefully. Have they been in business for a few years or have they just recently started
up? If something doesn't feel right go elsewhere.
Also keep in mind that for the price you have been quoted, it may be more cost effective to pack the speakers
yourself (most middle and larger size cities have stores
that sell packaging materials of all types) and ship them by
one of two day FedEx or UPS. Keep in mind that properly
packing your speakers is not "rocket science" - and good
common sense and lots of solid padding will go a long way in
getting your speaker to it destination in good shape.
Though I have never used "The Packaging Store", the ones I have used, always used peanuts, as their padding, inside the box. They would double box, for the cost, of an additional box. They always added a 10-30% markup, over the cost of the carrier. If you need to wooden crate them, may I suggest, you go to any industrial tooling factory. They routinely receive spindles, packed in long wooden crates, which I have found, work great. Just pad the speakers inside, with enough material, so they don't move, and ship them the fastest way. They less time, a carrier, has to handle them, they less chances, they have to damage them.
I agree with Chelillingworth and Fletchj. These types of places always charge 30-50% more than having Ups or Fedex pickup at you home. That is where there profit is. If you trust their crates, have then crated and bring them home and ship from there. I doubt they will permit this. A piano store might have high quality packing material as well.