Delivery options?

[cebrooker]

Hello All,
Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for couriers who will not smash glass to pieces and climb all over them? I have three football jerseys to send to someone and they have specified that they want glass and not "plastic rubbish"! I am a bit nervous about getting them delivered!
Thanks,
Charles

[Graysalchemy]

I think it is pad for the course that they will get thrown around. None will insure glass and some won't even carry it.

Your best bet is to package it well using plenty of bubble wrap and pieces of 9mm mdf frot and back. I actually make mdf crates to put artwork with glass in but even one carrier managed to smash that.

You may well be lucky but it could end up costing you having to re frame them or worse pay for a shirt which gets damaged with shards of glass.

And finally if you intend using a spacer between the glass and the shirt then this will make the glass even more vulnerable.

Personally I would tell the customer outright that you won't send it by courier unless it has acrylic in it. Then I would use decent 3 or 4mm cast acrylic.

[prospero]

There is a courier who specialise in fine art transport -http://www.aardvarkartservices.com/. Used them a few times and they are first-rate. Air-con'd vans. I don't think their prices are OTT, but dearer than a general courier. It may or may not pay you to use them, but you can be sure your stuff is going to be handled with respect.

[Framemaker Richard]

I have not used them, but they were highly recommended to me by someone in the trade:

http://www.fragilistics.co.uk/

They specialise in mirror delivery so maybe they have also done sports shirt frames?

A couple of galleries I work for have used Aardvark for years.

[Chris_h]

I don't send loads of frames in the post, usually around 10 a week and so far in two years I have not had one breakage. I use lots of bubble wrap, scrap bits of mdf or mountboard over the bubble wrap where the glass is and then two bits of 2mm mdf round the whole thing with plenty of mdf hanging over. I then tape the whole thing really well. I use yodel, citylink or parcelforce for couriers.

[Graysalchemy]

I agree thats what I do Chris. Also used rolled up corrigated card round the edges and loads of tape.

[easypopsgcf]

Aardvark, then you can relax, no worrying about any breakages etc, plus you don't have to wrap them differently than you normally would.....(as long as you do wrap them )

[Graysalchemy]

I have just emailed fagilistics for a quote for some mirrors I am quoting for.

Cheers for that.

[cebrooker]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I shall look into them. In my experience, if Yodel are used, it is not only broken but also late! I also love watching them jump around on other people's packages when they are trying to find your one!

[Graysalchemy]

Just had a quote from fragilistics and for a 1700mm x 800mm mirror it was £39.99 +VAT for the first item and 9.99 for a second item in the same drop. Which I didn't think was bad at all considering they will look after it and not stand on it.

I think I will certainkly give them a go next time round.

[John Ranes II, CPF, GCF]

For whatever is paid in protective packaging, insurance and transport, could you not load these in your own vehicle, charge the customer this same fee and delivery them yourself? Depending upon what you are charging and the distance, this might also be an option.

John

[Graysalchemy]

Mine were needed to be driven to central London. If I spend a day out of the workshop that is lost production time and an empty workshop not making anything but still needing bills to be paid.

So realistically if I wanted to deliver to a customer down to London I would have to charge about £100 just to cover the cost of the workshop, £150 for the hire of a van and fuel, and a £150 for loss of profit.

So that would be 10 x what a specialist courier would charge for doing the same Job.

In the end the Interior designer who passed the work over to me took them down to London.

[John Ranes II, CPF, GCF]

...In the end the Interior designer who passed the work over to me took them down to London.

Perfect solution. YES - your time is valuable but finding a personalized delivery option is always a good solution. The OP might find someone they trust that has more time than money to do the job.

John

[Abacus]

I used fragilistic last week and they were great. 1m x 1m £40 +vat.