Shipping microscopes

[Dale]

I am going to have to ship an American Optical Phase Star, and a B&L Stereoscope soon. I have heard
one should not just immerse the scope in a ton of peanuts, but beyond that what are good methods
to assure safe delivery. I am going to ask high shipping fees, and if a buyer doesn't want to pay them,
well then no sale. I have read so many horrible stories of damaged scopes, and even experienced one.
I see shipping fees for these scopes on ebay from $18 $40. Help
Dale

[billbillt]

Hi Dale,

I have packed a few for shipment and found that taping styrofoam blocks around them seemed to provide adequate protection... I don't see much else to do except build a custom fitted container for them... You are correct: The post office WILL break a badly packed microscope!!..

The Best,
BillT

[lorez]

Pack your scopes the way they were packed when shipped to you. You know that was a professional job.

If you want to avoid the problem you experienced, pack them in concrete.

lorez

[Dale]

I still have photos of that packaging. Is $50 dollars excessive?
Dale

[Charles]

I disassemble all the major components, head, condenser, objectives, bertrand lens and wrap them first in individual plastic bags and then a generous amount of bubble wrap around each piece including the microscope stand. Then start filling the box with styrofoam peanuts then the microscope stand, more peanuts, then the individually wrapped components spread throughout the box and more peanuts between everything Ensure the box is overflowing with peanuts and then compress them down so you can tape the box down with good packing tape. When you shake the box, nothing should move inside.

[zzffnn]

I suggest removing most optics, such as eyepieces, objectives and condenser. Then put them in hard shell boxes, with padding. That is assuming buyer is OK with that and can put them.back easily.

You can also get bubble sheets from shipping stores like FedEx or UPS. Just wrap your scope around with those bubble sheets many times and tape them. Then add more big/solid styrofoam around. Peanuts get shifted too easily and some shipping carrier, like USPS, may be very rough on packages. Maybe add an insurance (USPS paid me for their damage generously once, when they damaged my computer's case).

You can also weight everything , before packing them together, to determine shipping cost. All major carriers have online tools for that. USPS may be the cheapest.

[lorez]

If $50 includes the cost of the packaging and the cost of shipping it's a break even deal. If the buyer finds it acceptable it is.

lorez

[KurtM]

Good stuff, guys. I was busy writing my own little diatribe when Charles and Fan posted, and after thinking about it a bit, decided they covered it perfectly well. I have bought more used microscopes than I care to admit, and in my time have received deliveries of everything from complete stands very simply wrapped in bubble wrap and tossed into a box with eyepieces falling out in transit, etc., to masterpieces of loving care in packing, and everything in between.

Let me tell you, it's a real joy to receive a microscope that has been packed with competence and care! I prefer ten tons of wadded up newsprint to peanuts, is the only difference I could possibly come up with. I hate those darn things.

PS: I don't even want to talk about USPS. They used to be superb, but for the past year have been terribly prone to weeks-late deliveries. Anyone else experiencing this?

[Crater Eddie]

Not long ago I received a complete microscope direct from Russia. The seller had disassembled it as far as it would go, wrapped each piece individually, then packed everything very well with styrofoam blocks. It traveled for two months via Russian Post then USPS, when it arrived the box was fairly beat up, but inside not a single piece was damaged.
CE

[Dale]

Took me an hour to unpack my first one because it was done by a pro, and ruined by the
usps. I've been saving foam blocks just for this. I wanted to bring my next scope home in
A first class seat, but the airline said no freight
Dale

[apochronaut]

I have received many microscopes and 99% of them have come from a foreign country. The one thing that has caused the most damage has been loose packing. Bubble wrapping all the optics, and the head is good, and ideally putting them also into a small separate box, something like a U.S.P.S. medium flat rate box is better. MIcroscope bodies are heavy and a box with small packing elements, like styrofoam peanuts, can sit and vibrate during transit for hours,even days, with the heavy microscope slowly descending to the bottom of the box as if in quicksand. Any sharp edges , then start to work their way through 3/16" of cardboard. I received a microscope once with both eyepiece tubes sticking through the box, that had been filled with styro peanuts.

Any box should be strengthened by cutting sheets of cardboard to put in the interior of all 6 surfaces. That doubling of the walls could be very important. Plug the eyepiece tubes or use those little plastic lids from water bottles as caps ,bubble wrap the microscope body after the optics have been removed and pack it in the centre of a box , that isn't that much bigger, than the scope. The larger the box, the more it is likely to move around.
Large balls of crumpled newspaper are the best packing. 6 -8" tightly packed on the bottom, after installing the bottom cardboard panel. Center the microscope, 6-8" tightly packed all around , with 4 more cardboard panels on the 4 sides. put a cardboard sheet on top of the arm and place the optics box on that, then continue with tight packing up to the top, then another fitted cardboard sheet ,before closing it temporarily. Roll it around and see if the contents are moving, at all. If so , open the top and tighten the packing.

[rnabholz]

Ok this one will sound crazy, but it works.

I recently had to ship a scope, and about that time my wife decided to replace the foam pads on our kids twin beds. These are those egg carton simple open cell foam pads. A light went on.

After removing the optics and wrapping them separately, I placed the stand on its side on one end of the pad and simply rolled it up. When I reached the end of the roll, I wrapped a couple of rounds of packing tape around the tube to prevent unrolling. I then folded the top and bottom over and secured that with packing tape circling the entire bundle with three or four loops.

By putting some tension on the tape, the size was reduced slightly. When I was finished the scope was completely surrounded with a cocoon of foam. I slipped it and the optics into a box and sent it on its way.

You can buy these pads at Walmart for $15 to $20, pretty cheap insurance. Nothing was going to harm this scope in transit. The boxes integrity was boosted by the firmness of the foam pressing on the box, and I would say that there was at least 4 inches of foam all around.

For what it is worth.

Rod

[Dale]

Was worth a lot, Rob, thanks to everyone. The trauma of receiving my first scope with a broken
base because the p.o. stabbed the boxes with a samuri sword has left me a little rattled.
But I now feel prepared, and should probably start selling them!
Dale

[zzffnn]

And for heavy items like microscope, I usually use wide tape all around the shipping box to make it stronger.

Also, as mentioned by Phil previously, big pill vials can be used to store/transport objectives and eyepieces.

[charlie]

Many good ideas above but a box in a box and bracing so nothing, especially sharp or pointy things can move is best.

I shipped a lot of hand formed glass with virtually no losses with the box in a box.

[KurtM]

Box in a box is good.

Here's the box my Zeiss WL DIC scope came in last week, ouch! But good ol' Paul had carefully packed the microscope in three boxes, then packed those boxes in the big outer one you see here, with a ton of peanuts compacted in to suspend them. As I unpacked, you can bet I paid particular attention to what came out in the vicinity of the gash. Not a mark on any of the contents (although a few peanuts took some hits). The actual wares came out in perfect condition right down to the last piece.

Made for a tense few moments, but all's well that ends well. Hooray for hyper careful microscope packing!

[Dale]

Oh, what bad memories your pix revive. Glad your stuff survived.

[Charles]

Oh, what bad memories your pix revive. Glad your stuff survived.

Hi Dale! How are you doing? Hope all is well.

[Microworld Steve]

I always save the box it was shipped to me in, just in case I need it for shipping it. I haven't needed to ship one yet, but I have the box for just in case.

[microb]

I disassemble all the major components, head, condenser, objectives, bertrand lens and wrap them first in individual plastic bags and then a generous amount of bubble wrap around each piece including the microscope stand. Then start filling the box with styrofoam peanuts then the microscope stand, more peanuts, then the individually wrapped components spread throughout the box and more peanuts between everything Ensure the box is overflowing with peanuts and then compress them down so you can tape the box down with good packing tape. When you shake the box, nothing should move inside.

This sounds like a good summary. Get stretchy plastic on a roll, and go over the optic path ways or get blue masking tape like painters use and tape over those areas. There should be an inch of foam separating the box of a packed part of the microscope and in between them. Do not leave the epi's on or the lamps attached. I've seen too many people send me that and they just snap off.