Official Luthiers Forum!

i'm planning to send off a guitar to a finisher soon and wanting shipping advice from you who have done this.
what kind of box do you use? do you have pictures of your shipping box? so you also prepay your return shipping or is that cost built into your payment to the finisher?
and for those of you who ship guitars (in cases or boxes) within canada, which shipper do you recommend? has anyone tried canada post?
thanks for any advice,
phil

I knew I'd be doing this for a long time so I got an industrial shipping case from Atlas cases in Denver.
http://www.atlascases.com/molded.html#molded
I have two of the foam lined hinged top models. They have worked very well and give piece of mind. I've shipped 15 or 16 guitars with them. I wrap the neck with bubble wrap and pad the neck and body firmly inside with newspaper or foam so they can't move at all. I've used UPS with no problems. Usually ground. Be sure to go to a UPS center, NOT a UPS store. It's a lot cheaper.
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.

Phil my friend I buy my guitar shipping boxes from U-Line: http://www.uline.com/ProductDetail.asp?model=S-4922&searchedkeywords=guitar and they are $7 each in small qualities with a minimum of 5. The boxes are nothing special but work fine for me.

I have used USPS Priority Mail and was pleased with them. I have also used FedEx ground which in my area can reach my finisher in only a day. Both charged me in the neighborhood of $35 one way.

The finisher will pay the freight back to you and just add it to your bill.

I pack the guitar with neck on, no strings of course, in a guitar case and then I place some 1/2 hard. pink....., foam around the guitar case to make it fit snug. For the rest of the voids I throw in my dirty laundry. Some finishers will not do your laundry and return it folded and sealed in plastic......

Not that this will help you but I am fortunate that I can drive to my finisher in about 1.5 hours and it's always a great time to see Joe White and what he is up to these days. So actually I am no longer shipping my guitars favoring to visit Joe and Hang out a bit.

Phil, I get guitars in every imaginable shipping method but the majority of the guys are using a heavy cardboard box that will hold a guitar body and neck stacked. The boxes are lined with hardboard liners all the way around, top bottom and sides and the the bodies and necks are padded with 2 inch foam to prevent movement within the box. The only damaged guitar I have had in the last 60 guitars was one shipped back in a case with the neck snugly bolted back on, go figure.
Some clients even make a nice wooden box and line it the same way. here are a couple pictures of different packing methods. BTW, Avoid packing peanuts!!!! Tony Ferguson and I detest those things AND in some cases they may cause contamination to the guitar.

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jw ( o)===:::

I've been using the old egg crate mattresses the hospital throws away after patient discharge for padding. (Also wadded up newspaper) I usually put the guitar body in a pillow case. I put enough in so it takes just a little pressure to close the top.
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.

Is It ok to ship a guitar in a guitar case, then put the guitar case inside a heavy duty box?

Ron M.

thanks guys. this is all really helpful. the pictures especially give me good ideas of what works and is safe enough. i'm still wondering if any canadians have used canada post for in country shipping?
phil

Canada Post .. preferred carrier for me when I can use them ...

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

thanks tony. exactly the kind of reference i'm looking for. collins is expecting to turn guitars around so fast that i don't think it will bother me at all to wait a few extra days on the shipping.
phil