Shipping

Packing & Shipping Instructions

Now friends I know you have some questions, every customer of mine does

• So, Papa, what do I do now? How does this all work? How do I pack the clock? Do you charge for estimates?
  No
• Do I send a deposit with the clock or money up front?
  No
• When do I pay you?
  When your clock is finished with the restoration process and up and running perfectly on my test wall I will send you an invoice and how to pay.

I don't need deposits or money up front and I don't charge for looking at someone's cuckoo clock to determine what is wrong. I've built my business on straight talk, fixed prices, and rebuilding YOUR clock's own original movement so I'm happy to tell you what is wrong with your clock without charging you a fee just to look at it.

How to pack & Ship

Select a box slightly larger than your clock so that there can be cushion material placed all around it. The main worry for us would be if the box were to take an impact on a side while traveling and a cushion of material on all sides will protect the clock from any possible impact while it gently floats along inside with a few inces of good cushion material all the way around it. You can use styrofoam peanuts, wadded or shredded paper, bubble wrap or any such packing material of your choice to give a nice cushion all the way around your treasured clock.

If there is a decorative headpiece that clips to the roof off the clock, remove it and keep it at home with you. Some headpieces have antlers which are very brittle so to be safer just keep that part with you. Many cuckoos like chalet style clocks don't have these roof pieces so you won't need to remove anything on those. If your decorative headpiece is broken or damaged you are welcome to send it along and I will be glad to repair it for you along with your clock.

I DO need your clock's pendulum as they are sensitive to their own so carefully wrap "the little leaf on a stick under the clock" and send it in the box along with your clock. I do NOT need your clock's pine cone weights and it is much safer to ship your clock without them. The problem is that a loose weight can and will go flying through the side of the box like a missile if it is mishandled in shipment and might damage your clock. If you would kindly let me know what weights your clock has I will use my own shop weights to run your clock with while it is here. Most weights will have a number cast into them that corresponds to their weight in grams and you can simply let me know what this number is however some do not have a number visible especially antique weights. If your weights do not have a number cast in them you can simply weight them on a postal scale and let me know how much they weigh. Latch your cuckoo bird's door closed with the little wire shipping latch above the door if one is there. On many older cuckoo clocks this will be missing and you will only see the tiny hole where the latch one was. If that's the case and your door latch is missing then don't worry about it and proceed on. Use twist ties or a thin piece or wire and insert these through the links in your clock's chains where they come through the holes under the bottom of it's wooden case. By tying the chains off there it will prevent them from coming off their sprockets during it's trip and going up inside the case and making a big knot. Next open up the back door of your cuckoo and remove to expose the coiled wire gong on the inside of the rear access door. Take an index card, business card or something similar and slip this into the coils of the gong weaving it between the coils. Even a folded piece of paper will work fine for this step. Doing this will protect your gong during shipping and silence it so that it doesn't make noise during your clock's journey to my shop. At this point I like to wrap the clock in bubble wrap, side to side and top to bottom once or twice with the wrap just for extra protection and however this is not necessary I leave it up to you if you want to and have some bubble wrap available. Please put your clock in a plastic bag like you get at Wal Mart or Target or for larger cuckoo clocks a plastic garbage bag works great! If it won't fit just use 2, one on each end of the clock. That keep will keep your clock protected from the plastic peanuts, shredded or balled up paper, or whatever material you choose to use to pack your clock with.

Please put your name, address, phone # and email address on a piece of paper and put it in the box. Having your contact information in the box with your clock is a huge help to us when one first arrives at the shop both in checking it into the shop and in quickly contacting you to let you know your clock has arrived safe and give you my initial impression.

I prefer to ship clocks using the United States Post Office because I feel they handle their packages more carefully and are easier to deal with as well as less expensive than their competitors. If you prefer to ship your clock to my shop using UPS or Federal Express that is fine. Many of my customers prefer to use one of these carriers for convenience reasons and these companies deliver clocks here frequently. UPS stores have begun offering a packing service where they will pack your cuckoo clock for you as well as ship it. I have noticed over the past year or two many of my customers clocks have come packed by UPS. They do a good job packing the clocks to be protected although this is rather expensive to have them do for you it is an option. If this is more convenient for you and you don't mind spending all the extra money by all means you are welcome to use the service offered by them and ship your clock that way. I figure for the high cost involved in paying someone else to pack your clock for you, it's easy and much more cost efficient to gather a good box and a few simple supplies and pack your own clock!

For safety's sake, I prefer you use the U.S. Mail and ship it with a tracking number and delivery confirmation. My shop address is as follows...

John Barnette
Cuckoo Clock Doctor
14500 Highway 57
Moscow Tennessee, 38057

IMPORTANT: Please email me or telephone the shop to make contact with me before you ship your clock. That way I can be on the lookout for it. I want you to feel safe about your clock. When I receive your cuckoo clock at the shop I'll send you an email that it got here all right and has been checked into the shop. Although I get the restoration process started and begin some of the work on each clock as soon as it arrives, I try and complete clocks in the order they have come in to my shop to be fair to all my customers. When I finish with yours and begin the final testing of your cuckoo clock I'll email you to let you know it is just about ready to fly my coop and come home and send you your invoice. At that time you can just send me a personal check, postal or international money order made out in U.S. Funds for the amount of your invoice. When your clock flies my coup heading home I will email you after I've shipped it and provide you with a tracking number. There are instructions on the website on how to set it up and keep it running and I will also be sending you printed instructions along with your clock. If you have any questions while I have your clock or have trouble setting it up or for any reason just give me a call or email me and I'll be more than happy to help you.

Thank you so much for letting me repair and restore your treasured cuckoo clock!

Papa
Cuckoo Clock Doctor