TubaForum.net

One of the Alex tubas is still boxed up and waiting to be received by the new owner, and I have run into a blockade.
Old Dominion refuses to insure or ship it because it is personal property, which apparently is a new policy.
Pak Mail will not insure it unless they themselves get the bare tuba and pack it, which I am totally unwilling to trust them to do without damaging it.
UPS does not need to be discussed.
Suggestions?

Someone mentioned navis pack and ship, they apparently specialize in delicate shipping.

R&L delivered my Cerveny (but in the hard case in side of a SKB sousaphone case box.). No complaints on their service.

I'm shocked by Old Dominion, they did a great job with my Mirafone.

Did you get your cello?

You might try ABF Freight. A quick glance at their web site makes me think they would handle your shipment.

https://arcb.com/shippers/solutions/les ... bf-freight

prodigal wrote: Wed Sep 10, 2025 4:09 pm Did you get your cello?

No, now I'm going to miss two things I have scheduled for tomorrow because it will be delivered "by 7PM" which means only that I have to stay home all day, because I cannot pick it up at the terminal nor can I pre-sign and have it delivered to the back porch. (No porch pirates here ever, yet, and I would be confident in that option, but the seller specified how I get it.)

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MiBrassFS wrote: Wed Sep 10, 2025 5:28 pm ODFL is telling you this because you want them to pick it up and deliver it. If you were to take it to them, it would be accepted as a Class 150 LTL (less than truckload) single item. If they come to you it falls under their household service. For that your own insurance has to be in play, you pack it, you load it into the trailer, and you pay for the space your item(s) occupies in the trailer. They don’t care what’s in the box (except they will confirm that it isn’t firearms, flammable, etc.). The driver won’t touch your stuff. They only look at it to confirm the space you’re taking up.

Apparently the rules have changed and it does not matter that it is being delivered to them. They refuse to ship it, period. Nothing was said about picking it up.

This is what the place that was putting it in a crate sent me, after their attempts to deal with OD themselves:
What they say OD said:

Here is the exact wording....

"We are not able to ship a Tuba, this is a personal effect and a prohibited commodity for ODFL. If they have been shipped before it must have gone under the radar and can definitely not be covered with additional cargo liability. I’m sorry"

Which I find terribly confusing because it was not that long ago that I received and sent back a tuba from Lee Stofer, via OD. If you have information from OD that is contrary to this, please let me know and I'll try again, because it was a third party communication.

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No one listens to me.

I am Cassandra.

Most likely, they recently destroyed a tuba and were appalled at how much one of those things costs to replace. Consequently, their insurance will no longer cover tubas. Telling you that in straight language would involve them admitting to having destroyed something, which their insurance carrier also would probably not allow, for legal reasons.

This situation is only going to get worse over time.

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The buyer and I decided that perhaps some wires got crossed in three way communication, and he is going to try from his end, pretending to know nothing, to have my local ODFL accept it. Where I think wires may have gotten crossed is in the 3rd party's concentrating on getting insurance, and it got into a snarl there including shipping. I think it's a good idea for the buyer to give it his try, and we'll manage to insure it probably with Clarion. Easier for me because I've insured with them for decades, but first I would have to get a dated appraisal from a vendor, because the value is above $5k.
For all the astrologers out there, I think not only is Mercury probably in retrograde, combined with the full moon of some weird type, but I think the entire solar system is in retrograde, based on the last few days of mayhem. (That probably sounded nuts to those who actually are into astrology, which I'm not.)

Nope, ODFL headquarters said no problem but then headquarters called local and they said no.
Trying to find other options.
I'm pretty sure I could go in there with a bill of lading filled out, say nothing or it's a set of tall shelves, and get away with it. But I need Clarion insurance and they won't do it without an appraisal from a business, for anything valued above $4999. And no local business will do that, because I have tried in the past.

Doesn't need to be a local business for an appraisal. I get mine for insurance from Dillon Music and I live in VA

I know you're in Arizona, but where are you shipping it TO?

Birmingham, Alabama.

Mary Ann wrote: Fri Sep 12, 2025 9:07 am Birmingham, Alabama.

I'm in Birmingham. I wish I could help in some way, but it doesn't look like it.

I'm assuming you don't want to drive to Tucson with a tuba.

I’ve shipped and received MANY tuba with XPO Logistics. It’ll have to be palletized, but they’ll do it for a charge.

Aaron Tindall had suggested uship.com

Chris Olka wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 12:40 pm I’ve shipped and received MANY tuba with XPO Logistics. It’ll have to be palletized, but they’ll do it for a charge.

And thank you Chris. I have a student looking to buy a BBb tuba and have had a couple options pop up that have had issues of distance. I let them know about this. For a tuba in a box, about what cost did you find the palletization fee?