NOTICE 8/11/16 - Until further notice, we cannot accept radio shipments.  This is due to a rash of radios being damaged by the shipper (UPS) even though double boxing was used along with significant bubble wrap and Styrofoam padding.  Should you decide to ship anyway, be advised that YOU will be responsible for any damage to your radio in either direction.  Managing damage claims with shippers is time consuming and does not recover the cost of damage done to the radios.  We apologize for taking this position but feel it is in the best interest of the client.   Local drop-offs are still accepted.

Our best advice on packing your radio for shipment to us is - use a professional packing service. By that we mean use the UPS store or FEDEX store to pack and ship your radio to us. Click links on the right to find a store near you.

NOTE: Over 30% of the owner packed radios sent to us, arrive damaged. UPS/FEDEX packed radios have a damage rate of less than 2%.

The safest way to pack a radio is to double box. That is a box within a box, with padding between the two boxes. That provides maximum impact and vibration security for your radio. It also means you do not have to be an Olympic packing wizard in order to pack your radio. It does mean that you will pay a little more in weight and size charges for the oversized box. BUT, that extra money is better spent on double boxing than paying for insurance.

If you use one of the two services above to pack, the insurance is not much because they pack to a standard.

One extra caution. Any radio that has glass tubes (or even metal tubes), is subject to problems when the carrier uses your package for drop kicks. (Just kidding). The tubes can come loose and bounce around inside the radio, or worse, break. We recommend that you take the extra step of pulling all of the tubes, wrapping them in bubble wrap, and taping them securely inside the radio. That way, we will not receive a bunch of glass on our end. There are other ways of "stuffing" the radio enclosure with bubble wrap and/or newspaper, but that would be difficult to explain here.

PEANUTS or POPCORN

We prefer you do not utilize those popcorn or peanuts that are used to fill a box when shipping. Not only are they a pain to "restrain" when un-packing, but they tend to get into the radios components. That can take a lot of time to remove, and in some cases, have actually caused the radio to fail.

KNOBS

Do not send the knobs. They are easily lost when unpacking.

ABOUT SPEAKERS...

Your speaker is an integral part of your radio. After all, without a speaker - why have a radio. Well, this also applies to repairing a radio. To adequately test a radio and the work we have performed on it, we need to HEAR the result. In the past I have grudgingly said "ok" to someone that wants to send me a radio without the attached speaker. (It does make it easier to de-install, pack, and ship in some cases.). But I have had a large number of cases where the speaker also included some other element ( such as a transformer, or the speaker is electrodynamic, i.e. powered by the radio power supply instead of a permanent magnet) and made testing almost impossible.

So, unless your radio was specifically made for a detachable external speaker, such as some models of Hallicrafters, Hammarlund, etc., I must request that any radio shipped to me for repair also include the companion speaker.

RETURN SHIPPING...

As the saying goes - "Sometimes you have to learn the hard way". I had for many months used an independent packer/shipper for returning radios and tried to keep costs down. All went well until they hired the teenager from hell. Needless to say, several of my customers got cracked and broken radios that caused a lot of misery for my customers and me. Well, I now use UPS store because they are professionally trained and run. They also cost quite a bit more. A  large 45lb radio packed and shipped via UPS ground costs about $85.00 - $115.00. That is not chicken feed, BUT You and I do not have to worry about a bucket of bolts being delivered to you. Most smaller radios (table) come in around $16.00 - $30.00. I am in the business of fixing radios not shipping, so I have to rely on the UPS store. Also see Return Shipping.

Radios with repair bills in excess of $500.00 will be insured for $300.00 and shipped within 2 business days of receipt of payment.

Radios with repair bills less than $500.00 will be insured for $100.00 and shipped the Saturday following receipt of payment.

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