What is the proper way to ship an LD player?

Double-boxed with plenty of packing materials between the boxes. Ship via FedEx or UPS. Avoid USPS.

TLK

Isn't there a shipping screw concern?

Screws that hold the laser pickup in place went out in the early 80's. Pioneer did have a screw that held the turn mechanism from jumping out of side A position starting with the 3070 series and ending with the D702 series.

As for packing, if you want insurance to actually pay the claim you need to do one of two things. 1) Use the original manufacturer box. 2) 2 inched of bubble wrap around the product. They will tell you peanuts can crush during shipment and then the product is not secure. Avoid peanuts if possible.

I hate receiving players with peanuts in the box, I'm always cleaning little bits of peanuts off the player and taking them out of the inside of the player as they find their way there also.

2 inches bubblewrap minimum in a sturdy congregated box or better double congregated. I'll add addition bubblewrap or other non-peanut material as needed to keep the player secure in the box.

Agree with the above. I would ziptie the power cord and wrap in bubble wrap separately first. I use the bubble wrap with the smaller pea sized bubbles and make enough layers until I cannot see the player any more. I also fold some up and tape to each corner and the front faceplate as an extra cushion. I don't have any problem using peanuts but that should not be the only thing securing the item from flopping around inside the box. If I'm not using the original box then I try and find large pieces of packing material or make my own by folding up pieces of cardboard, then gently wedging them in between the item and wall of the box to secure it.

Also make sure you ask what insurance is covered. A few years back when I was mailing a CED player from Canada to Sweden, I asked UPS for price quotes, and they said they don't insure personal use items like VCR and video disc players. Maybe it's different for you in the USA with UPS.

Fedex Canada though said they would cover insurance.

Parking the laser

Before the player is sent the laser must be parked which involves powering the unit down in a particular manner using the power off button on the remote.

Precisely how this is done will vary from player to player but by way of example the following can be used for a Pioneer CLD-D925, DVL-909, DVL-919 etc

The laser is NOT parked if you simply switch the player off at the front. If you ship it without the laser properly parked it will get broken. The player contains lots of little plastic guides for the laser to move up and down on and if the laser is not correctly parked back in the box at the back of the player it will get jolted and break the tracking.

In order to put the unit into standby you MUST use one of the following methods:

The original remote control that came with the player via the power off button.

OR

Any later generation DVD only Pioneer player remote control will also work. I used a remote from a Pioneer DVD DV-340 player successfully.


OR

Any cheap generic remote control which can be programmed to act like a Pioneer remote. A previous seller who sold me a Pioneer DVL-909 player used this successfully to put the player into the correct mode before shipping it to me.

With the unit switched on, press the red power button on the remote control and you should hear some different sounds inside the unit as the laser is moved to its parked position. Once the sound stops switch the unit off at the front and then unplug it.

It is now ready to pack.

Packing the player

Note the orientation of the player - i.e. the top of the player.

It is very important to use a really large box. If you don't have a large box, take your time and locate one. The bigger the better as it offers more protection for the unit. The laser box at the back of the unit is very vulnerable to knocks as it juts out. If this gets damaged the player will be ruined.

The box should be large enough so the base can be filled with polystryrene beads - several inches is absolute minimum. The player should be wrapped in multiple layers of bubble over and over again for added protection. It should be placed in the middle of the box with 3-4 inches of space all the way round including the bottom and top. The gaps should be completely filled with more padding so the player cannot move at all. If it moves it will get broken. If it touches the side it will get broken as the case will get dented and this will break tracking inside the unit or cause the laser to no longer be correctly aligned.

Ensure the top has plenty of padding as well. Tape the box securely and mark the top clearly. - e.g. 'This way up' so it clear to whoever is carrying it what way the player should be handled.

For added protection wrap in bin liner so it is water proof so you don't find someone left the parcel outside your house and it rained!

I've used these exact same steps about 15 times successfully so hope they help.

i actually work in a warehouse and i can tell you guys the very best packing material is foam, peanuts can get flattened and bubble wrap pops, but foam will hold anything with a tight grip. what i would do if i ever shipped a laserdisc player is put the player in an 18x18x10 box packed tightly with foam and then put that box in a bigger 25x25x15 box packed tightly with newspaper and put up arrow stickers all over the thing so the truck driver knows not to hold it vertically!

I have about a 66 percent success rate because the PO drops my box. I have shipped about 10 boxes and 3 of the units I have sent have been destroyed. It says heavy all over it, it says fragile all over it. There is about 1 inch of foam around the box of the laserdisc and then another inch of cardboard around the box and foam and then a thick box around it. I have used shipping screws when I have. I have parked the Laser when I can and they still manage to destroy the thing. The problem is if there is no damage to the box then they will deny the claim. It is a risky business and I really like hand delivering the units to the people. It is very costly to send a unit around the country as well. You have an oversized box with UPS or with USPS. Be warned, if you have never done it before before be very careful. You can play football with the way I ship the things and between here and there something happens. Electronics, especially heavy ones are difficult to send, even for the box sellers.

yeah thats why i always go pick up heavy electronics, ill drive for hours if i have to, i aint risking getting heavy electronics shipped thru the mail, no sir

I finally gave up shipping and tell the person for 50 cents a mile I will get it to them or they can pick it up.

One of my LD players from the USA to me in Canada got damaged. (cld-1080) The post brought it to the door, and after I set the box down, I noticed the top of the box was all rippled and looked if it had been wet, and part of it still was. Then I realized the whole shipping box was upside down with my address on the bottom.

My guess is the box got wet during transit, and when picked up the LD player partly fell out the bottom of the box (which crunched the corner) and they re-put it back in the box and turned the whole thing upside down so it wouldn't fall out again. Thankfully the insurance covered it.

The other really important point was mentioned.

Before you even thing about packing the unit you need to let it completely power down. I go to work on so many that were not in park position when shipped. I get questions like "The door won't open, HELP!" and others all the time. Let it power off, watch the display and you will see is blimk "OFF" and wait until that stops blinking and there is no display, then unplug.

even if u do get insurance to cover shipping damages, thats still one less working laserdisc player in the world that may or not be fixable

Just received another Pioneer CLD-D925 player by post today bought on Ebay recently. I'd previously sent the seller the same basic instructions I discussed in this thread.
The player arrived safe and sound. I've used those same instructions 16 times before so I feel comfortable they do work IF (and that is a pretty big IF) the seller actually follows them which they did to the letter in the case!

A few months ago I sold a Pioneer Elite tuner (F-93) that had the rosewood side panels similar to a few of the high-end Pioneer LD players. The buyer sent me the below instructions on shipping:

"Hi. Please, remove the wood side panels and wrap them in bubble wrap separately. Put screws in a plastic bag. Then wrap the unit in several layers of heavy duty bubble wrap. Put the panels on top of the unit shiny side down and tape them to it. Tape the bag with the screws. Fill the corners and the rest of the box with pellets, etc. so the piece does not move. I am sorry for advise; the machine is expensive, and I do not want to lose it to UPS package throwing olympic games. Best regards, D."

I followed the instructions to the letter but was surprised at the first step which was to completely remove the side panels. They came off very easily and it actually made the unit much easier to bubble wrap. I think it's worth remembering if you ever decide to test your luck buying a CLD-95, 97, 99, etc.

Putting the panels shiny side down on top, would protect the panels and also the top of the LD player. When things ship out of country into another country their border security customs can and does open packages to see what's inside. (with box cutters I might add)

I remember a pair of Bose wood bookshelf speakers I got new from e-bay from a seller. Thankfully the seller had put the speakers manual on top of the speakers. Customs had opened them (re-sealed with their customs tape) and the first 8 pages of the manual had been cut into, which otherwise would have cut into the speakers.

I would add that shipping the LD-S2 is a special case, due to the extraordinary mass of the unit. I won an S2 off of ebay some time ago, and the remote control was packed right next to the rear of the player. Big mistake. The end of the remote was basically split in two and the movement of the player against it made a big dent in the rear panel. This was a real shame, and you could tell that the player was in mint condition before it was shipped (double boxed). I received a full refund, but really would rather have had the S2. The S2 is simply a behemoth, even in a damaged state the one I looked over had incredible build quality. I have never seen anything like the massive cast metal base plate, oh well...

I still say it is a crap shoot. They drop the box, you are toast. Simple as that. You can box, double, triple wrap and if it is dropped regardless, the shock could kill them.

The point I was making earlier is that is you want UPS or FedEx to cover the damage with insurance you purchased the player needs to be in its original packaging which they will automatically accept that packaging or a minimum of 2 inches of bubble wrap around the player. I have had both shippers state this to me. Otherwise you have to fight for a claim. I would think the hard foam would be good too. If you are relying on bubble wrap to protect the player UPS and FedEx normally deny the claims.

The best way to work UPS is go to the Distribution Center customer desk as the workers check the items and have you repack as necessary as once packages are accepted there UPS has accepted the player is packed properly. This is the actual USP distribution center, not a UPS Store in a strip mall.