shipping a guitar, need some help

[thez0rk]

A friend of mine, currently in the navy and stationed in Georgia, has agreed to buy my Ibanez...it's in a hardshell case and I'm not so sure how to go about shipping it. I figure I'll take it to the local UPS store...but does anyone have any experience with this? Can you find a box large enough to store a hardshell case easily? How much did the standard ground shipping cost?

Thanks.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: shipping a guitar, need some help

Stay away from UPS or Fed Ex, they are both really slipping quality wise. If you want to be covered by UPS and really wish to go through there, pay the extra to have them pack it for you and keep the receipt should anything break.

I packed my Bad Cat up a week or two ago. I wrapped it in thick foam and used bubble wrap to fill in the black parts. Make sure you get support all the way around in the box so that it doesn't slide and the filler doesn't move around. If you have a digital camera, take pictures. If you have more than one box around, double box. ALWAYS take out insurance on the package and cross your fingers

I used DHL the last time and LOVED the service I got. Shipped it half way across the US in two days and it arrived with no dings or issues.

Should you decide to still do UPS, make sure you don't go to an official UPS store they charge roughly twice as much as a business (like Staples) that does it on the side. For instance, my H&K Triamp cost me $95 to ship insured and my Bad Cat was just as heavy and bigger, shipped for $45 insured.

Good luck

 

[Paul S.]

Re: shipping a guitar, need some help

I've sold several guitars on EBay, and I always do the same thing when it comes time to pack them: Go to your local guitar store and see if they have any boxes lying around that guitars had previously been shipped in. I've never been denied at Make 'n Music here in Chicago when I ask them for a box.
Then, just bubble wrap the hard-shell case and stick it in the box.

Good luck,
Paul