Anyone have a scale or shipped a mark III?

[guitarzan1143]

What does a mark III combo weigh? How much did it cost to ship it, and how did you/would you recommend doing it? I figured id charge 150 since i would basically have to build a crate, but i don't have a scale and i have no idea how much this combo weighs, i just know its heavy!

 

[DaveP]

A combo Mark III with a 20lbs EVM12L weighs about 70lbs. You don't need a crate just a box with 2inches of padding around it.
Shipping costs will average between 75-80 dollars.
Remove the power tubes and wrap them separate and make sue the pedals and tubes arn't bouncing around inside the shell.
Put a piece of cardboard protection on the speaker/grill. Wrap the combo shell in a few layers of bubble wrap put it in the box with
packing peanuts on the bottom sides and top. make sure it doesn't move around in the box after your done and it will ship fine.
You could also use the 1-2 inch thick stryo foam on the bottom top and edges cut to size. That is the best way.

Note: A fully loaded Hardwood Mark series with EVM and Road case weight about 110 pounds.

 

[guitarzan1143]

I was going to put a small 1/8'' thick piece of plywood on the bottom of the box strictly because i am worried about the box caving on the bottom and just screwed tiny screws from the outside into the plywood. that might be overdoing it, but i really want it to be safe and secure. Ebay is charging me 45 dollars if my amp sells, i think ebay is getting ridiculous.

 

[DaveP]

As long as the box is the isn't to small as to not allow sufficient padding you will be alright.
The important thing to remember is when shipping a heavy item and you use packing peanuts the peanuts turn to
dust and you have a heavy amp floating around in the box by the time it's reaches it destination.
Adding wood will only make it heavier and possibly cause more damage if dropped on the corner.
Just make sure it's secure in the box so it doesn't move around and put extra layers of cardboard on the bottom sides and top.
I have shipped a lot of heavy amps and they all made it fine. I have also received a lot of amp that were trashed because they took shortcuts and didn't pack it tight or didn't allow for padding.
Wrap it in a big ball of bubble wrap. It will be fine.

 

[MrMarkIII]

If, after boxing up the amp, you are perfectly comfortable with tossing it like a medicine ball, then you did a good job. The package has to withstand a four foot drop.
Don't use packing peanuts. They will end up at the top of the carton with what's left of the amp on the bottom.
You may find suitable boxes at local music stores.
It's actually better to ship a combo chassis side down, to lower the center of gravity.

 

[kartoffel]

Ebay and paypal are both outrageous I agree. I got charged 20 from Ebay and 17 from paypal to accept the buyers credit card. this was the fee on a 550 dollar amp.

I took out the tubes packed them separate I work at a hardware store and had a shitload of foam and industrial saran wrap. I made huge balls of saran wrap to pad then foam around the whole amp to protect from scratches and ect. thick cardboard box and a F-load of tape. Got their fine but the buyer said some of the lights didn't work. It was a spider valve line 6 with a lot of lighted functions. Would not provide proof they did not work and I knew they did. Ebay decided in his favor while paypal holds the funds. No proof ever provided and they basically told me to settle with a 100 dollar partial refund. Till this day I don't even know if they where really broke or not. But any way F ebay F their fees and F paypal holding money. Im sure they guy knew that I would pay a partial refund for my money rather than having ebay take months to sort the matter out. He threatened me with the time it would take Ebay to sort things out and that I could have part of my money now. So the moral of the story is dont use Ebay and Protect the **** out of your gear. I suggest making a video of every function working and light etc... EVERYTHING and then videotape putting it in the box so their is no "not as described" funny business. I got screwed so learn from my mistake.