How would you ship your pipe collection across the country?

[geopiper]

Background
~60 pipes in collection, most of which are handmades or commissions. I'm moving from the pacific northwest to the east coast in a month. Moving company is taking the house items and tobacco. Transport company is taking the vehicles. Moving company and vehicle transport will take a week. Both are non-climate controlled. People are flying with luggage.

Concern
Heat inside moving company truck affecting pipes and stems.

Options
1. Send pipes with moving company.
2. Ship pipes via trusted non-US Postal Service carrier (Fedex, USPS)
3. Pack pipes safely in hard-cased suitcase and check bag with airline when people travel. Will have to pay extra bag fee.

 

[fireground_piper]

Imagine they’d be fine after they acclimate to the new place with option 1.

I don’t fly though, so everything would be driven by me so take that with a grain of salt.

 

[pappymac]

21 years in the military taught me that no matter how trusted the moving company is, things will still get lost in the shipping. If it was me, I would save some money by keeping one vehicle off the transport and cancelling the airline tickets and driving across country myself. You can use the five days to play tourist and make vacations stops along the way.

I have made solo trips from Seattle to Philadelphia and from Seattle to New York City in under 64 hours.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

21 years in the military taught me that no matter how trusted the moving company is, things will still get lost in the shipping. If it was me, I would save some money by keeping one vehicle off the transport and cancelling the airline tickets and driving across country myself. You can use the five days to play tourist and make vacations stops along the way.

I have made solo trips from Seattle to Philadelphia and from Seattle to New York City in under 64 hours.

Exactly this. At min, you're taking $20K to $30K worth of pipes. I would enjoy the car trip. See some places you've never seen. Smoke your pipes while driving.

Next choice would be to put them in a case, put the case in the trunk of one of the cars being transported.

Next would be breaking them into 4 packages and shipping by fedex to their nearest depot to your new home to be held until you get there. Insure them even though it will be costly.

No freaking way they go in checked baggage on the airlines. Those phuktards could screw up a wet dream.

Don't you have some guns to transport as well? If this were me, I have enough things I value for monetary or sentimental reasons, I could pretty much fill up a car. I've never shipped guns, I don't know what that would involve but I'm guessing it may be a bit painful.

Good luck and safe travels.

 

[greeneyes]

Carry-on. Nothing that the post office or luggage handlers could do to compensate you would ever recoup the loss.

 

[Waning Embers]

Pipes are a lot harder to damage than you think. Throw them in a box and take them with you.

 

[Auxsender]

Background
~60 pipes in collection, most of which are handmades or commissions. I'm moving from the pacific northwest to the east coast in a month. Moving company is taking the house items and tobacco. Transport company is taking the vehicles. Moving company and vehicle transport will take a week. Both are non-climate controlled. People are flying with luggage.

Concern
Heat inside moving company truck affecting pipes and stems.

Options
1. Send pipes with moving company.
2. Ship pipes via trusted non-US Postal Service carrier (Fedex, USPS)
3. Pack pipes safely in hard-cased suitcase and check bag with airline when people travel. Will have to pay extra bag fee.

#3
The bag fee is an infinitesimally tiny portion of the overall moving expense.
Don’t be pennywise and pound foolish.

 

[Skyfall]

USPS will only insure a package up to 5000$ I believe. Multiple packages mailed.

 

[sablebrush52]

Honestly? Either carry on or drive it myself.
Moving companies, unless you’re going to concierge route, are only concerned with moving volume at speed and don’t give a shit about the condition of your goods.

When I moved to Oregon I drove everything that mattered to me and left the rest to the gorillas to move.

It took two trips but my artwork, pipes, irreplaceable cellar items, and other memorabilia and family heirlooms made it safely.

Everything I packed that the movers shipped came through fine because I spent weeks engineering the packaging to survive handling by moronic thugs.

On the other hand, the movers managed to damage EVERY piece of furniture that they touched.

I would never allow a commercial mover to handle anything I care about.

 

[pappymac]

No freaking way they go in checked baggage on the airlines. Those phuktards could screw up a wet dream.

They also steal items out of checked baggage.

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

Honestly? Either carry on or drive it myself.
Moving companies, unless you’re going to concierge route, are only concerned with moving volume at speed and don’t give a shit about the condition of your goods.

When I moved to Oregon I drove everything that mattered to me and left the rest to the gorillas to move.

It took two trips but my artwork, pipes, irreplaceable cellar items, and other memorabilia and family heirlooms made it safely.

Everything I packed that the movers shipped came through fine because I spent weeks engineering the packaging to survive handling by moronic thugs.

On the other hand, the movers managed to damage EVERY piece of furniture that they touched.

I would never allow a commercial mover to handle anything I care about.

Movers packed up our house knowing that everything was going to be stored in their warehouse for over a month. We finally moved in to our new house and we got a big surprise when we unpacked the kitchen items. One of the crew had put a ten pound bag of potatoes inside of a stock pot

Don’t let the movers anywhere near your pipes.

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

Movers packed up our house knowing that everything was going to be stored in their warehouse for over a month. We finally moved in to our new house and we got a big surprise when we unpacked the kitchen items. One of the crew had put a ten pound bag of potatoes inside of a stock pot

Don’t let the movers anywhere near your pipes.

I’m laughing now remembering my wife’s reaction when she removed the cover from that pot

 

[geopiper]

Thanks for the suggestions. For other reasons (two cats to move being one of the reasons) we've decided to drive one of the vehicles. I'll have room for the pipes in the car. Anxiety level is now reduced.

 

[Sig]

Fed Ex or UPS will be just as hot as the moving truck.
Ive heard many more horror stories with movers than with shipping companies.
That said, no vehicle is going to get hot enough to damage your pipes. Even the stems are kinda made to get hot.
THAT said, I would drive them myself.....I mean I wouldn't, my pipes would be in a cardboard box on the moving truck.
Worse case scenario....I'm buying a whole new collection of pipes....oh the horror!
85% of my pipes might as well be lost on a truck in Poughkeepsie for as much as I smoke them.

 

[telescopes]

If I lost them, then that would be fine enough. I can't take them with me after I pass.

 

[PipePic]

If I lost them, then that would be fine enough. I can't take them with me after I pass.

but if your talking 20-30K in pipes... sell all but the most important 3, and spend the rest on what gramma called fancy women and good tobaccie.

youll be far far aheader of if you ship via fedex, and get an empty box delivered.

 

[ssjones]

I did this in August 2024 - Maryland to Louisiana.

We had a moving company move the household goods. Great local company, local driver but they enlisted local help to unload in Louisiana. I supervised the load and unload (cost a fortune). In hindsight, a box of pipes packed properly would have been fine. They moved my 1980's era grandfathers clock with no issues. Nothing disappeared. They stickered and scanned every box and item. Like I said, it cost a fortune but no surprises.

But, we had two vehicles to transport, our Silverado and my Avalon. Daughter and wife drove the Silverado, but she spelled me for the 23 hour drive. We drove straight thru, 1000 miles.

I had in my Avalon:

1. 2 tubs of pipes - I bubbled wrapped each pipe, they most went into their box. If I didn't have a factory box, I put two or three in a small box.
2. 3 tubs of tobacco - maybe 300 tins?
3. Couple cardboard boxes of bourbon
4. 1 cat

I shipped my MGB down via car transport. Those guys are dirtbags and there was drama at every step, but the car made it without damage (driver turned out to be good)

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Thanks for the suggestions. For other reasons (two cats to move being one of the reasons) we've decided to drive one of the vehicles. I'll have room for the pipes in the car. Anxiety level is now reduced.

The cats are a higher priority than 60 Artisan pipes? What's this world coming to?

 

[ofafeather]

lost on a truck in Poughkeepsie for as much as I smoke them.

How true!

 

[RPK]

If I lost them, then that would be fine enough. I can't take them with me after I pass.

Well, when my father passed back in 1989 he was laid out holding his pipe, and had a pouch of Granger and a book of matches by his side. He took his with him.