Official Luthiers Forum!

I will be shipping a guitar from Califonia to New Jersey this week, any suggestions? It will be getting a case for it some time today.

Thanks,

Tim

My only suggestion is that you make sure and get insurance!!! I won't even tell you why I am so adamant about it. It makes me cry!!!

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Always remember you are unique......just like everyone else.

Also avoid using FedEx like the pelage. the have driven a fork lift into 2 guitars for me. USPS has given me the most reliable service, best handling and best price.

I`ve got to ship one also.I need to get a decent case. I remember Hesh talking about a TKL.Anyone know where to get one.I also remember a discussion about boxes,but I can`t remember where folks got them,in case the locals don`t have any.
JAMES

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

Uline has boxes that fit guitars. I'm also a fan of the USPS for shipping. Buy insurance and go out and visit www.frets.com. Frank Ford has a very good web page on packing. And please, remove the strap pin from the base!

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Wow! I've been using FedEx exclusively for 18 years without a single problem! That's FedEx express, not Ground. I've heard nothing good about their ground service except price.

I normally ship completed instruments 2-day; unfinished ones coming and going to my spray guy are usually shipped 3-day. Price is OK, service reliable, and so far, safe.

The comments about boxing, slacking the strings, and PADDING THE HEADSTOCK are right on. So is the recommendation about insurance. No shipper is really organized to handle large, fragile instruments.

At a luthiers' meeting a year ago, I commented on my good experience with FedEx. One of the folks said that he used to work for them and that anyone mishandling a parcel would have lost his job. Another person spoke up, said she used to work for UPS, and that anyone NOT throwing parcels around would have been fired! Hyperbole perhaps but it confirmed my suspicion.

I haven't used USPS myself but we've received several guitars shipped that way. They all arrived in good shape. Probably worth looking into their prices and policies.

Rick Davis
Running Dog Guitars

Thanks for the replies, I am going to use USPS and for sure get insurance. I went to U-haul for the box and they ended up giving me the cardboard to make it. I wrapped the headstock in bubble wrap.

Thanks again,

Tim

Whatever service you use, ship it the fastest way possible. Express shipping will have less people handling it and less time on a bumpy truck. Like others said, also loosen the strings. Most critical areas for padding are between the end of the headstock and the case and around the case within the box.

This is an interesting topic. I'll stir the pot a little. The store where I sell has an big mail order business and ships tons of high end guitars. They feel ground is the safest. They use UPS. The box goes on a truck and that's usually where it stays until out for delivery. Less handling, slower temp and humidity shifts. A friend that is a driver says the same thing. They are handled a lot more with air, temp and humidity shifts are more frequent and rapid. UPS ground has worked for me so far.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

That's interesting about ground shipments being handled less. Typically the ones I see that get shipped ground look like they've been dragged behind the truck, but not always. I suppose it depends on the start and end points as to how many transfers they get.

From what I can tell, it's all a crapshoot. USPS Priority has been great until the last two guitars I sent to the finisher came back with holes in the 1/4" plywood crates. Fortunately the guitars were fine but it seems like it's just a matter of time with any carrier.

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

I used to work at a bicycle shop and we used to occasionally ship and often receive bikes from different shippers. Bike boxes are big and bulky. I think one thing that you can do that makes a difference is to make it easy to move around gently, which typically means cutting handle holes in the sides of the box. Make picking up and securely carrying the box the easiest option, as opposed to shoving, dragging, kicking, etc...

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

I've used FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, UPS, and USPS. Never a damage by any one of them. They all will work. Here's my experience:

- I rank UPS last they combine being slowest AND most expensive to make it easy to dismiss them in my experience.

- USPS is the lowest cost, but they will not take packages over 48" tall which eliminates most guitar boxes and makes packaging more troublesome unless you set up for it with a supply of new correctly sized boxes. They also have no tracking ability which makes some customers irritated.

- FedEx Express is the fastest but just too expensive for me to justify. To each their own in justifying cost/speed.

- FedEx Ground is the fastest of the ground carriers. They are close to (and often equal) the cost of USPS and they have tracking. Lastly, all the guitar box sizes are OK with them. FedEx Ground is my first choice in shipping.

Insurance: I buy insurance from the carrier. I believe that a cost analysis would easily show that it is best to be self-insured (i.e. not buy insurance and put aside $20 to $40 per shipment which is what insurance costs). Another option is to buy 3rd party blanket insurance and NOT buy the carrier's insurance. If I sell larger quanities of guitars I will look into this or take a hard swallow and skip the insurance.

A buyer just paid $655 for me to ship a $3,700 guitar FedEx Economy (?) last week to Australia (took 10 days). Seems crazy. But USPS will only insure $650 maximum international and the buyer wanted insurance (me too). It looked like they had lost the guitar by delivering it to the wrong person which scared me. Ended up that they had delivered it to the buyers local post office, which held it for the buyer. Scary even though it was fully insured.

The advice about getting a box from a guitar store is a good one. I like the Taylor boxes best. Go in and ask the owner and buy a few sets of strings from him/her. I ship Fedex and I insure it. I don't close up the box until I get to the store (I go into a local place) and I take a picture of it right there in the store hopefully with the clerk in the background. I have not had a problem with any damage... knock on sitka.

I get my TKL cases from First Quality Music. If they don't have the case you want call them and they can get it shipped direct from TKL to you. TKL does not sell direct (at least not to me). I had them convinced once to do it and at the last minute they had a "policy change" and wouldn't sell it. FQM has been good and the cases are priced well. If you go to the TKL site you can find the exact model number and the x-ref it with FQM. The case does come in a box... but it's just a simple card-board box. The Taylor boxes have a really nice padding system.

Seems like this topic is pretty well covered. Just two points:
Read the fine print on the shipper's insurance. They may consider handmade musical instruments as works of art and not cover them if damage occurs. I've only heard of this, not personally experienced it. I use private insurance, generally called "Inland Marine," to cover my instruments specifically. Not that expensive if you ship a lot.
Second, I used to put a min/max thermometer/hygrometer in the guitar cases when I shipped to shows. Using air shipments, usually 2-day, sometimes 3-day, the temps and humidity in the case varied only a few degrees/percent. I don't think it's a problem, certainly less than shipping across the continent by truck in the middle of winter! But again, insure!

Thanks Rick, that's great information.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I've used all the mentioned shippers.
The USPS has great rates but they have a gorilla in the back .
I've had the box the guitar & case was in destroyed but the guitar was fine.
Use Priority shipping.

Fedex has been great for me and cost less then UPS.
Just send one to Miami-got there in 2 days -undamaged ,insured for $8000.
Cost less then $200. to ship
Again I ship Express with them.

UPS LOST a guitar -yep -LOST it.
They have no way of finding it as I'm told.
The driver was sent back to the place he delivered it (wrong address & zip) and got a -never saw that package here.
But so &so signed for it-NO ONE named that has ever worked here!!!!
I got the insurance check in 2 months but the client was NOT happy.

Mike

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Mike Collins

I took the guitar to the Post office yesterday, when I gave it to the lady at the counter, she checked for weight and postage then proceeded to toss it through the window to the shipping area . Keep in mind that there were fragile-handle with care stickers all over the box.

Tim

If you use Ameritage or Caltons .. they send the case in a heavy plastic bag ... I use that to cover the case,and tie the end before putting the case in the box (BTW - most guitar boxes are not over 48 inches, all the ones I have are 47, and even jumbo cases fit that .. to get under the box max numbers at the post office). the bag helps regulate the humidity .. and I also use an Oasis humidifier in the guitar when shipping ...

I just shipped on today to a client .... Fedex, his acct ... the girl wanted to open the box to see how the guitar was packed - my guess was she would likely say that its not packed well enough (how would she know ..its in an Ameritage, the headstock totally stabilized with bubble wrap covered in cloth, in a double wall Calton case box), and that they wont insure it unless they pack it ... I said no, you are not opening it, and I dont want your insurance anyway - I have my own ..

Will know the out come tomorrow at noon !!!

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I think they get handled more by ground. But what worries me about air is the time spent in a cargo terminal or on the runway at night in whatever conditions are present (night is when all these things tend to fly), and then the time in a cargo hold that has less than 10º RH, even if it's heated.

BTW, it has to be repeated over and over again, and still the misconception persists: Neither UPS nor FedEx sells any insurance!!! The USPS does. What you pay the others for (and Fex Ex severely limits this for hand made guitars; last time I looked it was $100 for ground and $500 for air) is declaring a value over $100. That is not insurance. The main differences are that insurance comes from another company, which pays you the value of your loss regardless of who may be at fault.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Just got an e-mail and the guitar arrived in great condition, what a relief. Thanks for all the posts and help.

Tim