How to Ship a PC

johnross2007 · November 5th, 2009, 11:47 AM

Hey guys, I plan on selling a pc on ebay and I was wondering what the best to ship said pc would be. Is there a way to make sure no parts get knocked loose in handling? Is UPS ok? How should I pack it?

**GroundZero3** · November 5th, 2009, 11:50 AM

Ship it with insurance and a tracking number. Good sturdy box with foam covering the corner.

I recommend not shipping overseas if you are in America.

johnross2007 · November 5th, 2009, 11:53 AM

Is this foam built into the box? Or do I buy it separately? Should I go to Office Depot?

Also I have heard bad things about UPS. What do you think?

**GroundZero3** · November 5th, 2009, 11:57 AM

I think you need to go to UPS to see what kind of boxes they have. As for shipping with them, cant really say as everyone experience is different.

Steve R Jones · November 5th, 2009, 12:09 PM

The little Fed-X store will pack n ship it..

But just let you imagination run wild....The box and the contents need to be sturdy enough that the box can be tossed a few feet.

Aaron_8015 · November 5th, 2009, 12:36 PM

I would recomend you remove the video card and cpu cooler and wrap those up seperately and put in the box.... Make sure the PSU is screwed in tight...

johnross2007 · November 5th, 2009, 01:47 PM

I don't think my customer would appreciate a PC that is not fully assembled. Especially the CPU cooler. It will have an aftermarket cooler that is screwed in, not that crappy OEM push-design.

Is there some way to secure those components on the inside without removing them? Ibuypower.com advertised some crazy thing that they put inside the PCs for $20 to protect the components. I couldn't make sense of what it actually was though.

The PC has to be shipped in a way where someone lacking in tech knowledge could get it going with ease.

Steve R Jones · November 5th, 2009, 02:15 PM

John - bubba - use your imagination....

Dell for example...They ship MILLIONS of pcs 24/7/365 and very seldom have an issue. Ya stick in a box so it doesn't bounce around and ya put an address and some postage and you ship it.....

When in doubt pay one of the little shipping stores like Fed X or DHL they have all over every city with more then 100 people living in it.

KarmaKiller · November 5th, 2009, 03:27 PM

I just gotta say, in my personal experience, I would never trust UPS or USPS with shipping a PC. Engracio just had 2 PC's destroyed in shipping with USPS.
And I've had the same thing happen to me using UPS. At least UPS never put up a fight, and I got the insurance money out of it. (after 2 months)
But still to this day I refuse to use them.

If I had to ship another PC with UPS, I would the tower in box 1 with all the packaging you can fit in it, then put all that in a second protected box. I've had the UPS store flat out tell me to pack it so it can take a 6' fall.

zepper · November 5th, 2009, 03:40 PM

Of course Dell never uses Heat sinks that are separate from the case structure and the mounting screws for it are supported by case metal. Mostly not comparable to custom units. I'd also recommend shipping LARGE heat sinks and video cards separately. I also don't like to ship hard drives or even optical drives mounted in a case. In any case, the box the system case shipped in is generally not adequate for shipping a completed system. An overbox with another two inches of polyurethane foam all around is it. Acer used to sell system shipping boxes.

.bh.