What's the best way to ship a 42" plasma TV?

September 23, 2007 2:38 PM

How do I ship a 42 inch flat panel TV for repair without getting hosed on shipping rates or service?

(Asking for a friend.) My 42 inch flat panel TV ( pdp4210ea viore) that I won in a drawing at a trade show has been great up until recently where everything took on a greenish tint, a not so subtle hint that something required repair. Need to ship it a few states away and would like to pay someone to pack, ship and insure it but don’t want to get totally screwed on shipping and service rates. Note that the original box is unavailable.

Option 1: find a box, pack it myself and find someplace to ship it for me (but where?)
Option 2: find a reputable place to do it all.

Anyone have any experience with this?

posted by The Deej to grab bag (6 comments total)

For starters, you don't need a box, you need a crate. Made of wood, with braces and metal corners. That kind of thing.
posted by StickyCarpet at 2:49 PM on September 23, 2007

If you're going to be on the hook for both the shipping and service costs, I think I might advise rethinking your plan. You can buy a new top-quality 42" 1080p LCD for under $1400; I suspect that once you deal with the packing, shipping, insurance, and service costs you might be looking at around $4-500.

Have you considered having someone local come out to take a look at it? It may be slightly more expensive to get them out to your house but that'll be offset by the shipping costs and attendant hassle.
posted by ikkyu2 at 2:52 PM on September 23, 2007

As I look more closely into it on the web, you can replace your unit today with an exact duplicate (refurb) for $800. I think that's worth taking into account when you think about the costs of servicing it.

The specs on your unit say that it weighs 80 lbs, it weighs 95 lbs in the original packing, and that box has a 46" dimension. I recently shipped something similar that weighs about 60 lbs and insured it for $750 (and I used the original box and packing). The cost of that one-way ground shipment, NY -> SF, was $250 and the box and packaging really took a heck of a beating.
posted by ikkyu2 at 4:48 PM on September 23, 2007

Wow, thanks for your work on this ikkyu2. My friend will be very thankful.

I think the unit is under warranty, so the shipping is the big concern.

Too bad they don't cover shipping both ways, like many manufacturers.
posted by The Deej at 5:09 PM on September 23, 2007

Did you check the warranty that comes with your tv? Panasonic will send someone to your home the first year (no, really) so it might be the same for you.
posted by furtive at 8:50 PM on September 23, 2007

Turns out I misspoke. My friend's TV is no longer under warranty.

OK, I didn't misspeak, he did when he first told me about it, but I'm not going to mention that here because he might read it.

I will also not call him a dumbass.
posted by The Deej at 12:47 AM on September 24, 2007