Best way to ship Festool equipment

[Mark]

What is the best way to ship Festools? I'm moving back to Hawaii and am going to attempt to fix my folks old house as well as build some furniture.
- UPS?
- Freight?
- Sell it and buy new in Hawaii?
The Woodcraft here in Honolulu is pretty awesome. They also sell to the contractor market so you see some pretty serious stuff  in their showroom. They were also one of the first if not pre-stocking dealers in the country due to their location. The downside is that they have to tack on freight to get the stuff here in the middle of the ocean (like everything else) so prices are higher.

Anybody have to move their Festool shop long distance?

Mahalo!

 

[ejantny]

I'd try to pack it as good as when you recieved it.

As for shipping do it by air rather than ground, salt air is quite destructive unless you can pack it where all the cartons will be sealed.

I've seen Festool stuff on ebay going near the price it was originally sold for.

 

[Ned]

Hi Mark,

I've shipped Systainers from Germany via DHL.

Apparently in Germany Festools in their Systainers are accepted for shipment by the German Post Office.  Festool mentions this in their catalog.  I can only say that German handlers must be much more careful than we're used to in North America.

A shipping carton containing Systainers should have two layers of big-bubble bubble wrap surrounding the contents.  Pay special attention to the corners of the Systainer.

Ned

 

[Michael Kellough]

I took a Systainer loaded with tools (much denser than usual because I removed the black plastic tray so more hand tools would fit) on a flight as checked baggage. One of the hollow corners posts was crushed somewhere along the route. Next time I'll put a tapered softwood filler into the cavity to reinforce the ABS plastic.

 

[Ted Miller]

UPS would be best since you can track it, just pack for breakage. Remember the loaders throw 1 pkg per second on the belts, this is why they work 4 hour shifts only...

 

[Daviddubya]

Shipments that I have received here in the USA from Festool-USA have been generally in good shape.  I did have one systainer lid that was broken and replaced.  A couple of the internal molded plastic pieces were slightly damaged by heavier tools shifting inside the Systainer during shipment.  Based on my experience, I would pack the tools tightly inside the Systainers with bubble wrap and peanuts, and then pack the Systainers inside another container with more bubble wrap and peanuts.

 

[James Metcalf]

You have been given some good advice about bubble wrap and double boxing.          Whom ever you decide to ship by ,I would take pictures of the containers in good condition before shipment Also declare your value on the bill of lading you ship the tools on.                                                                                                              Then if you receive them with cartons. crushed or torn. Ask for a notation on the bill of lading saying:" When received, cartons. open, torn,crushed,contents exposed or whatever".Then have the person who delivered the shipment sign the notation and date it by his name. Then call the freight company for an inspection.                                When you ship the tools they sign a contract saying it is in good order. With notation you have a valid claim. Been there done that. Sometimes you have to be Mickey Mouse, but then we are talking Festole here.

 

[bigbadpig]

Hi Mark,

I'm basically in the same boat as you (so to speak  ;D ). I have just moved to Hawaii myself, and my belongings will follow me once my house on the mainland sells. 

I plan to container ship all my belongings to Hawaii (along with table saw, jointer, band saw etc....). I know it can be expensive, but I figure it probably cheaper than the money I would lose if I sold everything I had on the mainland and buy it new in Hawaii.

When considering buying Festools in Hawaii, do keep in mind that Woodcraft in Honolulu does mark up their festools above retail, so you should keep that in mind.  (I believe it is around 15% ABOVE retail (maybe they call it the paradise tax    ) plus about 4% sales tax. 

You are right about Woodcraft Hawaii's selection... not only do they have the most complete Festool line in stock I've seen anywhere, they have everything in the WoodCraft catalog plus at least as much commercial and professional type equipment.

David

 

[Joe Jensen]

How many tools will you ship?  I think this shipping would easily cost more than selling your used ones and buying new when there...joe

 

[Mark]

Thanks for all the advice. For big items like the MFT1080 I might just sell that and ship the rest. The paradise tax did shock me at first but I did get to talk to the owner of the Woodcraft in Honolulu and he really knows his stuff. Supporting your local ISA is important to me despite their higher prices. I also picked their brain and deserve some of my business for their time. Call me old fashioned.

 

[Ron Pegram]

Hey folks,

This is an interesting topic and one near and dear to my own heart.

My criticism of bubble wrap (and we use it from time to time depending upon the circumstance) is that you need to use a decent amount to really protect a package from any shock or trauma. Basically, two inches should be used around the entire product for bubble wrap to be at its most effective. Most people don't use nearly that much and I know why. It has nothing to do with being cheap. It's just tough to wrap two inches of bubble wrap around something and have fit in a lot of boxes AND it's tough to make sure your packing guys are doing that each and every time. We all know how people react to stress and a LOT of outgoing packages can persuade someone to cut back on the bubble wrap just a bit rendering it much less useful.

What we've tried to use at McFeely's are styrofoam blocks that prevent movement of the items inside the package. If used properly, they basically immobilize a stacked set of systainers (we place one on each corner of a systainer stack). By enforcing distance between the contents of the box and the outer box wall, you can avoid a lot of sudden shock trauma from a box being T-boned on an UPS conveyor (and they're high-speed) or dropped from a decent amount of distance.

Just my $0.02 on an interesting topic. As a stocking agent, we have a vested interest in getting the product there safely. Sure, you can file a claim with UPS and the various carriers, but it's much easier to have things delivered in good condition.

 

[lym]

try checking out "ship to hawaii" as their rates are usually pretty reasonable.  welcome back home.

 

[LaserGecko]

Bubblewrap will never be as good as foam in place packaging. Check eBay for an easy way to get some of the InstaPak Quick RT (for Room Temperature) bags. You can also use the ones that require heating if you mess around with a heating pad, but I'd just get the RT versions.

There might be a shipping store in your area that has a FIP machine, too.

 

[Tom Wales]

Hi,
I live in Alaska and shipping is a killer. The good news for me is that I can ship stuff up as freight with the company I work for. My domino will cost less than $20. It would be $250. if Uncle Bob had it shipped straight to me. When I bought LR 32_sys locally (150 miles to the only stocking Festool dealer in AK, that I know of) It was $36 more than catalog price. Depending on how much stuff you have a 20' container might do the trick and get every thing over there.
Tom in Soldotna, AK

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Epanded Styrene [Styrofoam] blocks are probably the best impact protection.  That is why it is the favored material for lining of crash helmets.  But it has to be shaped properly to conform to your tools and the box.

 

[Barry]

here is a crazy idea.  Buy a couple cans of great stuff and some cheap plastic bags.  Find some boxes close to the size of systainers you want to ship, spray some great stuff in all four corners and before it completely hardens place bagged systainer into still expanding foam.  After foams hardens do the top and sides.  Trim the top if necessary then close box.