vivarey

Hey guys, a bit of a dilemma here. I need to ship my DVD collection from Michigan to California and I'm wondering the best way to do it. I'm hesitant to check them as luggage on the plane. What do you think? Should I split them up into multiple packages? Should I use UPS, FedEx, someone else? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

MovieExchange

First off, search on Ebay for someone selling enough paper CD envelopes to hold your collection. No matter how many "fragile" and "handle with care" stamps you have on the box(es), they're going to get thrown around, which can lead to the discs being knocked off the holding nub, and then getting scratched to hell. So put all the discs in envelopes and securely wrap and seal them up.

As for the shipping company, it's really a crap shoot. It all depends on how the service is in your area, the area of your destination, and all points between. In Flint, our UPS & USPS people suck. In Genesee, my UPS delivery guy is great, as are the people at the post office. So in the end, protect your discs as I described above (or buy one of those big CaseLogic CD cases), and go with the most affordable option.

Just make sure to get insurance!

Dr. Henry Jones, Jr.

I'd take the discs out of the cases and either put them into those really small, thin jewel cases, or one of the padded CD cases/carries that can hold a bunch of CDs, I think mine carries 200 so you may need a big and a small one, and put them in your carry-on luggage, and just ship the DVD boxes via FedEx.

pilot

I shipped about 400 dvds (disc, case & all) from FL to NY a couple years ago when I moved..I packed them as tight as I could in the box, some padding on top & bottom of the box...Sent em UPS ground..maybe I got lucky, but I didn't have a single damaged disc..Obviously FedEx/UPS are hit and miss as to how much they'll abuse your stuff, but if I had to move again, I'd do the same..

MahatmaPetey

over the summer i shipped around 800 discs through UPS. The discs look fine after inspecting, but when i got them a couple of the boxes were being held together by tape with dvds sticking out the sides. Apparently the UPS person dropped some boxes and dvds went flying. Several of my cases were broken, but luckily no scratches (after i sifted through every damn one). I'd take the advice about getting a couple cd cases and then shipping your dvd cases separate.

vivarey

Thanks for the great advice. I didn't even think of taking them out and shipping the cases. Makes a lot of sense!

BigPete

amazon has a bunch of huge 200-600 disc totes for $10 or less after rebate. Just look at the top 3 or 4 selling CD wallets.

RockyMtnBri

I would look at the wallet/binder solution as well. Ship or even carry your discs with you if possible and only ship the cases. I would probably make small bundles (50 cases/box) so that they can be more efficiently handled by whichever shipper you choose.

mndtrp

I'm not sure if it would help the cases any, but possibly putting a bedsheet between each of them might help prevent any breaking. Obviously use something thicker around the edges of the box, but having something in between each case to absorb some pressure might help.

Fincher Fan

I store all my discs in wallets. If you get a good quality one they won't scratch and you can just ship the empty cases.

Dr. Calamari

Being somewhat anal, when I moved to Honolulu a few years ago, I used the "box-within-a-box" method to ship approximately 400-450 DVDs (and over 1000 CDs, too). I found some long boxes that held around 15-20 DVDs in their cases, which I packed with closed cell foam padding between each case, then put that box into a larger box and packed styrofoam peanuts or bubble wrap around it, so it was isolated from shocks. Overall I used (if I remember) around 22-25 Xerox-type boxes for the DVDs, and shipped them UPS to Hawaii. No damage occurred, no boxes were lost (although I insured every single box!) and my collection came through with no problems...if I had it to do again, I'd probably do some serious weeding out of the collection before moving, but I didn't have the time to do it. And I haven't watched about 90% of my collection since I moved, either!

And, oh yeah, I moved from Ann Arbor to Honolulu. Don't you like the weather better in California than in Michigan?

ShallowHal

I'd get some DVD wallets (or try the paper sleeve thing), and carry them on or ship them. If you ship them, it'd be easy to put the sleeves in a box, then box that in a bigger box with peanuts and it should be good. Either sell the cases on craigslist locally, or give them away. When you get your new place set up, buy 500 new cases in bulk online. You'd obviously have to keep the boxed sets together, but spending money on new cases might be the same as shipping everything, but you don't have to worry about it. Even if it's a few bucks more, you'd still end up with brand new cases.

500 for $60, free ground shipping here
Reviews are good, and they're pretty damn cheap!

Okheresthedeal

I have moved twice in the past year. The first time, I shipped my DVDs myself. From that experience, I would advise anyone to make sure they ship in small lots. Maybe twenty to thirty DVDs in a single box. The box in a box method sounds good. I used packing peanuts (ixna on the eanutspa.) and would use bubble wrap if I shipped them myself again. In the last move, I just let the movers pack them. As I unpacked, I opened each case and every one of them was there. And the packing job was good.

Before each move, I made sure my Profiler database was up to date and that I had taken digital photos of the collection.