The packaging and shipping advice given here applies to UK residents only - international packaging and shipping may be subject to different rules, so check with your international carrier before packing.

When we send a bassoon to you we use custom-made packaging. If you wish to send a bassoon to us which we sent to you, please use the same packaging in which it was sent to you and pack it in the same way.

However, if you are sending a bassoon to us for the first time, it is easy to pack it for shipping by re-using cardboard packaging from elsewhere.

Packing Advice for Bassoons

The key point to remember is that the corners are the weakest point and therefore you need to make sure that the packaging is thickest around all eight corners.

Either use several thicknesses of cardboard or leftover polystyrene foam, to provide at least 50mm (2 inches) of protection around each corner.

Ensure that this protection is securely lodged inside the outer packaging so that neither it nor the bassoon can move around.

For the outer packaging, use the thickest and most robust carboard you can find. Left over fruit boxes from your local supermarket are fine (just look around near the checkouts next time you visit).

Cut up two or three of the fruit boxes, leaving the corners intact, and fit them round the bassoon. Then wrap them together using a larger cut-up cardboard box.

Use plenty of packing tape to bind the whole package together, taking care to cover all the joins and pull the cardboard tightly round the bassoon and internal corner protection.

For shipping within the UK, try using one of the reputable carriers via Parcel2Go.com. You book them over the internet and they will pick up from an address you specify. If you prefer to drop your parcel off at a Post Office, bear in mind that only their Special Delivery service offers insurance above a minimal level, but that Special Delivery is only for items below 70cms in length. Packed bassoons are often just over this limit. Many post offices accept the packages anyway, but you may be refused on occasion. We would not recommend shipping a bassoon without insurance (your bassoon will be insured by us as soon as it arrives at our address, but not until that point).