What you’ll need
- A strong cardboard postal tube with end caps, longer than the bow and with thick walls. Never a padded envelope or soft packaging.
- No suitable tube? Buy this one, sold singly for about £7: Defenda extra-strong postal tube, 940mm × 76mm. It fits any bow, even bass, and we reuse it to send yours back.
- Bubble wrap or tissue to pad both ends so the bow can’t slide or rattle. The tip must never press against the end cap.
- Tape to seal the caps securely.
Packing, step by step
Loosen the hairTurn the screw at the handle end anticlockwise until the hair hangs slack. Never post a bow with the hair tight — a knock to a tight bow is how tips get broken.
Wrap the bowA light wrap of bubble wrap or tissue along its length, snug around both ends.
Pad both endsScrunched paper or bubble wrap at each end of the tube, so the bow can’t slide. The tip must never touch the end cap.
Slide it inGently in, then a shake test — if you hear movement, add more padding.
Cap & tapeCaps on, taped closed, and address the tube to us — the address is in your booking email.
Hand it overAt any Post Office counter: “Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm, please.” Keep the receipt — it’s your proof of cover.
Where to send it
Your posting address is in your booking confirmation email. Post it any day in your dispatch window (the week you chose when booking).
Please use Royal Mail Special Delivery and nothing else — it’s the insured, signed-for service both of us rely on. Once you’ve posted it, add your tracking number via the link in your email and your tracker shows the bow on its way to us.
Insurance & value ceiling
Standard Special Delivery cover is £750, right for most student and mid-range bows. Bow worth £750–£2,500? Ask the counter to increase the cover when you post it, and tell us at booking so we raise it on the return too (charged at cost). Above £2,500 it shouldn’t go by post at all — contact Barnett Bows for an in-person rehair or restoration instead. Full details in our terms.