The Correct Way to Ship a 202

[Phonegal]

Hi. I had a discussion with someone about the best way to ship a WE 202 so as to avoid damage, scratches, etc. I said that the receiver shouldn't be on the cradle during shipping but rather, it should be wrapped in bubble-wrap and placed next to the phone itself. The other individual said that it was better to place the receiver on the phone with some secure bubble-wrap around the whole unit. May I have other opinions about this? Thanks a lot.

[WEBellSystemChristian]

The receiver should be wrapped separately from the phone, and both the base and handset should each be wrapped securely. It's bad enough with a plastic-cased phone to ship it with the handset on the cradle or poorly packed next to the phone, but a metal-bodied phone like the 202 is like shipping the handset in a box with a wrecking ball! Make sure both parts have enough bubble wrap or packing material surrounding them.

I believe that if you think you could drop the box off a one-story roof without damaging any of the contents inside, then it's safe enough for USPS.

[paul-f]

Check out this topic:

   http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=717.0

Any method is "correct" IF the phone reaches its destination undamaged.

Unfortunately, there's no way to easily predict what the shipper will do to the package en route.

Years ago, after receiving too many damaged phones, several of us got together and prepared some guidelines for safe shipping.

   http://www.paul-f.com/SaveThePhones/

The consensus was that it's usually safer to separate the base and handset, but to wrap each separately then tape the two bundles together and wrap in additional bubble wrap.  On a B or D mounting, the cradle supports the handset in a relatively narrow band, leaving lots of room for a hit on the end of the handset to cuase the handle to break, if not carefully packed.

Here's a photo shared by an unhappy phone recipient... (below)

Curiously, the Bell System often recommended that the handset be placed on the cradle and the mounting cord wrapped securely around the base and handset to hold them together.

The keys are to make sure the two can't move in relationship to each other and that any impact on the box can't be transmitted to the handset.  In the example below, the handset was also too close to the box sides.  The set should have been in a larger box with more padding or the box enclosed in a larger box.

[unbeldi]

This, for example, is not the best way to ship a heavy(!) phone.

Picture was taken as soon as the box was opened.  Actually the box almost popped open by itself, because it was really not tall enough, but about 3/4" too small.