Shipping Guitars

casperasahi · #1 03-02-2010, 09:53 PM

I will be moving back to Canada from Taiwan and need a safe and secure way of bringing back my guitars. I have three hollow body jazz guitars. One suggestion is to put them on a flat shipping pallet in hard shell cases surrounded by other boxes containing my belongings. They would be moved by boat and would take up to three weeks.Has anyone had experience with this type of shipping and does anyone have any suggetions?

billkath · #2 03-02-2010, 10:14 PM

I'd detune the guitars 3 steps (not completely-just enough to release a little tension to allow for temperature extremes in the cargo hold of the plane) and completely wrap them in bubble wrap. THEN place them in the hardshell cases, and wrap that in bubble wrap. Then put them in individual cardboard cases, which would be full of pellet beads-polystyrene (or whatever you call it over there-styrofoam?). Then I'd Fed-Ex them home, air freight. No way would I let them be standard shipped via sea if they were my instruments. Out on the deck, with all the rest of the heavy stuff, open to the weather and massive containers knocking around the place? No Way. I live in a place where we see tons of cargo shipping-they do not take care of stuff, no matter how it's labelled-it's supposed to be bullet proof.

JohnW400 · #3 03-02-2010, 10:34 PM

I would never ship any of my jazz boxes via ocean freight. Ship them DHL and don't forget to put those little dessicant bags in the case (you know, the ones that they ship the guitars with originally)

Bill C · #4 03-03-2010, 01:43 AM

I've shipped a number of valuable archtops without problems following these instructions - I always aim for minimum transit times and avoid periods of extreme weather if possible ...

archtop.com: shipping your guitar

... you've probably thought of this but consider any customs requirements depending on the origin of the guitars

Uli · #5 03-03-2010, 04:50 AM

I've always shipped my instruments via air freight. When we moved last time and they unloaded the two containers in front of our house, it was around 38° outside, full sun. Imagine the temperature inside a steel container! The only advantage of moving things by container is that the cargo is much better fixed and wrapped than otherwise. But temperatures can do a lot of damage (last time I had several bicycle tyres flattened because of the heat). Plus, containers are usually not just moved from A to B but often stored for days at some port along the journey. Which means they are exposed to full sun, humidity and other things that can do harm.

Five Guitars · #6 03-03-2010, 07:17 AM

I agree with the air freight. Swing by Fedex on the way to the airport and ship them next day air and meet them at the door the day you get back to Canada.

derek · #7 03-03-2010, 11:22 AM

I have shipped and recieved dozens of guitars over the years, and for shipping to Canada, you can't beat USPS for dependability and price. Keep in mind there are size restrictions on packages. Good luck with it.