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Hi.
Sorry I havent got back to you guys earlier. So this is how it went:
You can find pictures of a few of the stages here:
http://www.thedeadindustry.com/Imac/
So, I of course decided to ship my 27'' Imac as check in luggage, for a flight between Los Angeles and Berlin via Zurich.
Following the advice I found online, I decided to remove the Imac stand using a plastic card (credit cards are too thick) and a T10 screwdriver. There is a good Youtube video of this, search for "removing imac stand" on the webs.
I then placed the imac in its original paper sheath, and heavily wrapped it in bubble wrap. Heaps of bubble-wrap. I wrapped it as much as I could and still fit it in the suitcase.
Out comes a "Samsonite F'Lite 30" hardshell suitcase that I bought especially for this task. I own 2 x F'lite cases, they are really great, solid cases.
I heavily padded the bottom of the suitcase with bubble wrap to eat some of the space, and then squashed in the bubble wrapped Imac on top of that, screen side down. It was an extremely tight fit: the case was hard to close. Anyway, I made sure that there was no way for anything to move around, and that none of the imac edges were too close or "one bubble away" from the edges of the case. I then put my winter coat on top of that pile, to eat up some more space, and fought to close the suitcase, which again was very hard to do. Once it was closed I bought 2 luggage straps for the outside of the case, and bound them tight incase the suitcase latches would pop open for some reason.
The stand all all my other computing peripherals went into my 2nd suitcase with all my clothing.
Btw, I made sure that each of my 2 suitcases weighed under 50lbs, so as to not trigger extra luggage fees with the airline. I used scales for this.
My flight was with Swiss air. The check in guy was cool. As the computer was a 2nd piece of luggage under 50lbs, it only cost me $75 USD to check it in. I explained to the guy what it was and how it was fragile. He gave me a bit of an 'appraising' look..but not quite an 'are you insane" look, heh. I asked if he had an Fragile stickers, he looked and said he didn't but said they really dont change how roughly the luggage is handled.
At LAX airport, the last time I had flown out of terminal B, the TSA luggage checks were done while you could watch, but that has changed now, and all checks seem to be done behind the scenes. As he grabbed my suitcase and dragged it to the conveyor belt behind him, I was worried..as I expected to be near the case when TSA went over it. He told me that TSA would call my name if there were any problems. My anxiety level went up even further than it was. When I was packing it, I was planning on cutting a slit in the bubble-wrap so that TSA could access the computer surface for a chemical swab, and also including a "dear TSA" letter inside the case. I never cut the slit, and while the letter was written, I forgot to put it in the case (you can actually see the paper on one of the pics I took).
So fast forward a bunch of hours and I am at my apartment here in Berlin, unpacking the Imac. Everything had felt and looked secure after taking the case out of the airport..The only noticeable thing was one of the luggage straps was a little loose.
Upon opening the case, I find a "Notice Of Baggage Inspection" leaflet from the TSA. Arghhhh. Upon 1st glance, all the packing seemed to be how I had left it, but exploring deeper I could see that they had cut open the bubble-wrap "envelope" to remove the Imac. They had obviously made some effort to get the packaging back to a state as secure as it had been
I'd give them an 85%.
Upon pulling the Imac out, I notice that there are cut marks all over the back of the Imac from a Box Cutter blade. Yay. Seems it got in a knife fight with the TSA, and some guy was cutting away at the bubble-wrap into the back surface of the Imac.
Apart from these scratches, everything was working fine, and no other damage. I consider myself lucky that the TSA guy didn't attack it from the other side and put cuts all over the monitor face.
One last problem I had was trying to attach the stand. The spring loaded 'thing' that you attach the stand to had popped back into the Imac while in flight. I had to loop a whole bunch of electrical wire through the screw holes and pull it out back into position. This is really hard, requiring lots of strength and something to protect your hands, like an oven mitt or such. Eventually I was able to get it out, re-attach the stand, plug everything in and boot up. All good.
So..the computer is insured, but the damage not so bad that I feel like going crazy on a claim and getting the back out the unit replaced. So the back scratching is likely here to stay, unless I decide to file a claim after I get back to the USA.
Would I do it again this way? Yes probably. Shipping the unit properly, as many have suggested in this thread, is way too expensive for me. That would be with Fedex inside its original box, or perhaps a pelican case, + customs duties, through you can get these back once leaving, through it is a hassle.
What would I do different? Cover the computer in cardboard, especially the screen, so as to protect from knives. Leave a note for the TSA on how to unwrap the computer, and wrap it in a way so that it is easy for them to open and wrap it up again.
I am not as worried about taking the system back to the USA, as I feel the security here in Europe wont be as interested as the TSA in the US. That has been my experience thus far.
That said, I cannot recommend this method at all, it is indeed playing with fire. if you can afford it, ship this the proper way with the proper protection via a proper carrier.
Again, please see the pictures here:
http://www.thedeadindustry.com/Imac/
Please note the pic with the styrofoam corners is for reference only, it was not packed that way.
Cheers guys!
