shipping a bow

[RM81]

I know a lot of guys use this method to ship bows and I've received a few shipped this way.  I had my first "OH NO" moment when getting a bow shipped to me.  Make sure if you tape two boxes together that it's secured and won't come apart during shipping.  This is exactly how it was delivered to my door.

 

Luckily (and by the grace of God), the bow didn't appear to have any damage.  Just a heads up to those who tape the free USPS priority tubes together.

I prefer carpet tubes and have never had any complaints when shipping out a bow.  They're pretty strong and you can usually get them for free from Home Depot, Lowes, or any other carpet store.

[Whip]

I've received a bunch of bows shipped that way and every time I see one come I cringe.  Almost without exception, the tube has been at least partially crushed, dented, or bent.  Those triangular tubes are simply not a good way to ship a bow.

[tuscarawasbowman]

Working for a company doing shipping I concur. If you think it's packed well enough then pack it some more.

[Night Wing]

I'm not a fan of having a bow shipped to me via those triangle packages from the Post Office.

When I buy a bow from a custom bowyer, I always inquire how he ships his bows. If he says he only uses the triangle package shown in the photo, I don't buy a bow from him.

[JamesV]

Lucky for you that the guy that opened the package already had a bow like that.

[Bjorn]

LOL!      

[RM81]

Ha, Ha.  For Sure.  I knew it was bad when I talked to the lady at the post office and she said, the package is damaged and we know it's a bow.

[Stumpkiller]

I received a $110 bow through the classifieds and the seller had put pieces of garden hose over the tips, foam pipe insulation on the limbs and then everything wrapped in six turns of poly/foam packing sheet.  All in a corrugated box, and held centered with wadded newspaper on each end.  For an added $8.60 to ship the bow.

Gotta love that amount of care - I think it would have survived a 100 ft drop - and the bow looked like it had been in that same kind of gentle care up to then.    

[Rob DiStefano]

pvc or heavy wall carpet tubing.  ONLY use usps and insure ONLY if you have the bow's receipt from the BOWYER.  even so, bad things can still happen, it's always a gamble of sorts shipping anything ...


   

   

   

   

[wingnut]

Yep years ago I shipped in schedule 40 tubes.  I had UPS break one going to AZ.

Mike

[David Yukon]

Man Rob that is a bad one!! They must have driven over with the fork lift... You wonder sometime what are people doing. Anought is maybe not anought....

[Keefer]

 
I was very Blessed it came out of this box un scratched and I prayed before I opened it ...  

[ronp]

Wow Rob, that's horrible!  I purchased a bow a few years ago and it was shipped in 2 triangle USPS boxes like the one above.  I was shocked when I saw it, but it was in perfect shape.  No wrinkles or anything.  It was sure handled with care.

[ronp]

Oh, by the way.  Our little local Post Office gets deliveries of large items (like bows) from UPS and FedEx.  So if I get something in the mail in bad shape, I don't know who's fault it is LOL!

[Keefer]

They need to call those Box's "The devils Triangle Delivery Box"!  :eek:

[PEARL DRUMS]

I use SUPER heavy carpet tubes. Stronger than PVC I think. The walls are about 5/8" thick. The bad part is they weigh about 8-9#'s empty. I can jump up and down as hard as I want and not move it. I weigh ABOUT 210#.

[wv lungbuster]

I had two bows damaged using the triangular boxes. They got threw around so hard the limb tips blew threw a bow sock, padding, then the box end. The over lays and tips were destroyed.

[Rob DiStefano]

i don't see a need to heavier than pvc drain pipe.  it can take some serious throwing around.  what it and schedule 40 can't survive are fork lifts, crashing 100# tail gates and conveyor belt gearing snafus.  going to bomb proof packaging is paying for "shipping mafia protection" and i won't give them my money.  

that means having adequate insurance and using a shipper that will *eventually* pay you back.  

in my experience, the usps is best as long as you have a valid manufacturer's bill of sale clearly stating the item and its purchase value- without that, DO NOT even bother with insurance.  i'm serious.  this is true for both ups and fedex as well, but ime usps pays promptly (one month) whereas even if you follow all the rules those other shippers might not pay - happened to me with ups.

ALSO, your packaging counts big time - ship a bow in a cardboard box that gets destroyed and the shipper WILL tell you that YOU did not use the proper protection and therefore YOU are negligent and not them.  

so, for shipping one piece bows, i recommend using usps priority/insured, use a decent pvc or reasonable carpet tube, cap the tube ends *securely* (i typically screw in 1/2" ply discs), be able to produce a proper bill for the bow yer shipping, and hope for the best.  use or do anything less than this and you will need divine intervention!   :D

[Craig]

Talking about who damages the packages or how slow the USPS is. We are delivering UPS and Fedex packages for them. Your bow could start out UPS and then the USPS delivers it to your house and the USPS gets the bad wrap that it took so long. That UPS truck was filled with packages for us to deliver. They stop by every day. I also would never use those triangle boxes to ship bows.
 

[Rob DiStefano]

another big tip about shipping, particularly with usps - stay under 84 dimensional inches.  that means the package width and height x 2 + the package length.  with a tube, measure around the outside and add that to the length.  if you go over that 84" threshold, the shipping fee can easily double.

i'll add - with a 3" pvc tube, going above a 68" longbow can be tricky if not impossible without losing some measure of end cap protection.