How do I pallett an arcade?!?! Help!

JohnB

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So I have sold a golden tee gt complete in a dedicated cab, the fucker is big and heavy... the buyer is sticking me with the pallet work/fee... is there any way I can do this myself securely? Or should I call up the freight company and tell em to either stick the buyer with the pallet or don't come? I never agreed to pallet the arcade by the way. I said I would help and work with the freight company to deliver his arcade >.<
 
Well the only time I had to pallet a game to be shipped off I did the following...

1. steal a wood pallet...they're laying around the back of businesses

2. Go to a U-Haul store and buy a roll of commercial plastic wrap

3. Buy some 18' ratcheting tie downs and use a couple to tie the game to the pallet

4. Wrap it w/ the plastic wrap...I also used some flat pieces of cardboard and bent them around the edges and then wrapped it tight. I did about 10 layers


hope this helps and I hope you charged a palleting fee
 
Well the only time I had to pallet a game to be shipped off I did the following...

1. steal a wood pallet...they're laying around the back of businesses

2. Go to a U-Haul store and buy a roll of commercial plastic wrap

3. Buy some 18' ratcheting tie downs and use a couple to tie the game to the pallet

4. Wrap it w/ the plastic wrap...I also used some flat pieces of cardboard and bent them around the edges and then wrapped it tight. I did about 10 layers


hope this helps and I hope you charged a palleting fee

Well the freight company called me up to setup all the time information and stuff and they told me the buyer assumed that I had palatalized the machine! >.< should I contact the buyer to ask for a fee? How much should I ask for? I am gonna ask if the freight company does it and how much they charge - but I know I can do it myself to.... I just dont know where to buy the straps from is all...
 
If you didn't agree to palletizing in your original deal and you are not comfortable doing it, then don't do it. The buyer can't just volunteer you for something like this. Golden Tee is a big heavy cabinet and you may get hurt palletizing and wrapping it. If you don't do it properly and the game gets damaged in shipping, the buyer will want a refund. I won't mess with it, tell the buyer to cut a deal with the shipping company. --Rich
 
Well the freight company called me up to setup all the time information and stuff and they told me the buyer assumed that I had palatalized the machine! >.< should I contact the buyer to ask for a fee? How much should I ask for? I am gonna ask if the freight company does it and how much they charge - but I know I can do it myself to.... I just dont know where to buy the straps from is all...

I crated a game for somebody and they sent me $20 for supplies and $100 for my time etc to drop it off at the shipping company.

I ended up buying in bulk for future shipments and picked up the following. I picked it up from all world packaging but there should be similar stores in your area. Just google shipping supplies

  • Free pallet from back of business
  • Black plastic wrap
  • Poly strapping
  • Strapping tightner
  • Clamp tioghtner
  • clamps
  • misc cardboard for the connection point
  • styrofoam for bezel and marque

photo10.jpg
 
Good luck getting that sucker on a pallet, mine kills me every time I have to move it. No doubt, GT Completes are big heavy mothers :D

When I brought mine home, I stupidly did not take the tailgate off my truck and it snapped my cables. Nearly crushed me.
 
le sigh... i am as big as some of these machines at "tree fitty"... :D former lineman hehe... but still - GT IS a big mother, im going to take the advice here for sure and try contacting the buyer first - if pittohio's palleting fee is out of control i may try to do it myself, i just dont want it to void his warranty with the freight co.
 
Even though I could figure it out, I would never agree to pallet a game. I'd have no problem wrapping it, but not palleting it. I remember getting my 720 off a pallet and it was a huge PITA. The shipping company needs to take responsibility for that, and if they won't wrap it and the customer won't pay for it, then that's a deal breaker. The customer should never have assumed you would pallet it...that's a HUGE assumption. There are many shippers out there who will do it.
 
Ive done it many times for pins and vids,I only charge actual charges which is about $50bucks no big deal IMO.Cardboard is free,pallet is free,my time is free I buy the shrink wrap and straps(which the buyer pays for and gets to keep)You can get straps anywhere i.e. walmart,harbour freight,northern tools etc.I just consider it part of the sale.
 
Ive done it many times for pins and vids,I only charge actual charges which is about $50bucks no big deal IMO.Cardboard is free,pallet is free,my time is free I buy the shrink wrap and straps(which the buyer pays for and gets to keep)You can get straps anywhere i.e. walmart,harbour freight,northern tools etc.I just consider it part of the sale.

what kinda straps? the elastic ones with hooks on the end of em? i got walmart target and ups by me
 
Find a 4x4 pallet. Drill a cheap piece of plywood to the top of pallet to create a floor. Cut to shape if needed. Drill 6 holes in the floor of the pallet: 2 in front, 2 in back, one on each side. the side holes should be acrossfrom each other, close to the cab, and drilled where a strap can be effectively run through. The back holes should be across from each other (front to back), about 4 inches from either side. Wrap the game with shrink wrap VERY well. Rolls can be bought at Home Depot or Lowes if you don't carry industrial shipping supplies on hand.

Use poly strap for straps. If you do not have shipping supplies, go to walmart and buy 4-6 of the longest ratcheting straps you can buy. Do not buy bungy straps, they suck. Run the straps through the drilled holes in the pallet, over the game, and ratchet tight, with the hooks from each end encompassing each other. THE KEY HERE IS TO STRAP IT TIGHT ENOUGH SO THAT WHEN YOU SHIFT/MOVE TEST THE GAME, THE PALLET MOVES WITH THE LOAD (GAME). This test ensures that the only way the game gets damaged is if the freight company or forklift driver is careless.

Wrap the game head to toe in cardboard. Wrap the very top as well, because the freight company doesn't give a poo if it is raining. If they have to move something outside the dock, even in bad weather, they will do it. If you have to wrap it with pieces of cardboard versus having a big ass box on hand that encompasses the whole thing, you can tape the bits of cardboard to the shrinkwrapped parts of the game.

Wrap the cardboard with shrink wrap again, and you're done. Run another set of straps if using the poly at this point, for good measure. I charge $60 for this service to a customer purchasing a game from me, and I think $60 for this service is way cheap. I do not do this for other people's games because it is a PAIN IN THE ASS. I try to keep the whole process affordable though, realizing that shipping costs are going through the roof.

Here is a pic of a game I have palleted. This game is a Stacker merchandiser that was shipped from the port in Newark NJ to Panama, and made it in one piece.

If you do not want to pallet, then tell the customer to use NAVL. They don't require palleting. In my 10 + years of selling games, the only damages I have ever had reported (knock on wood) were when Pilot Air put a forklift through the side of a Theatre of Magic pinball head, and when Old Dominion dropped an Addams Family GOLD off of their dock. None of which were my fault ;)

mods, feel free to sticky this post if you feel it will be useful to others.

-Mike
 

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