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I have to ship an Gibson L5 WesMo with a hardshell case across the US (Bay Area to South Florida). I've had like 3 guitars shipped to me in the past 30 years, but I've never shipped one out. As this is a very expensive (for me) and delicate (in my mind, anyway, though probably a lot more road-worthy than my anxiety would allow me to recognize spiritually), I very much want to do it right.
I've found some solid guidance on packing from experienced collectors/luthiers, but I'm struggling with the shipping. Seems like the consensus is UPS and FedEx are vastly superior to the US Postal Service and probably cheaper for a package of this size. But I can't figure out how to calculate the shipping cost with either service. UPS's shipping calculator forces me to choose from a menu of box sizes, the largest of which is less than a quarter of the anticipated size of a box that can contain the hardshell.
What should I expect to spend? Any suggestions for keeping price down without sacrificing the instrument's safety? What insurance is available/practical/reasonably priced? Does anyone have a preference on the shipper?
Any help you can give is greatly appreciated!
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Oh, if you have thoughts or suggestions on packing, I'd still like to hear them!
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Originally Posted by
omphalopsychos
That is a pretty excellent packing guide.
I will only offer this pic of how my Campellone was packed, it was a masterful job by Mark, who ships year in and year out. It pretty much follows archtop.com's method, but Mark likes to put rolled cardboard blocks covered with soft white paper on the top taped to the edge of the case to keep the guitar from rattling around. I can't remember if the wrapping under the strings where the bridge is was actually the bridge. The box was as it is on archtop.com, but he had a form fitted piece of wrapped styrofoam with the shape of the bottom of the case at the bottom.
I would probably ship overnight, and insure! If you have a musical instrument insurance policy, it might be covered there. Good luck!
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That’s great for interior. But you need to strengthen the box. No peanuts, as they won’t stop a puncture. I recommend triple boxing it. If you've unused Amazon or other boxes fold them and insert them onto the top and bottom of the neck. I use dense styrofoam blocks along the outside of the case. Also elevate the case at least 4” from the bottom of the box with dense styrofoam.
UPS will pack it for you and assume the risk of it arriving without incident. But they’ll likely charge you $750 for the shipment. Pack it properly yourself and create a FedEx account. It’s 15 minutes to do it but will save you a lot over not shipping with one. I’ve shipped over 100 archtop’s and never had a shipping incident. I would never recommend shipping any guitar in single or double ply cardboard.
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Free UPS and USPS shipping software | Pirate Ship
Parcels are billed according to their actual weight or volunetric/dimensional weight, whichever is higher. A 50"x20"x10" parcel has a vol./dim. weight of about 72 pounds.
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I apologise for the misspelt and misdirected link to some malware site. It is the effing Samsung keyboard.
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UPS packing endangers your instrument. The only reason to use it is for UPS' insurance. But try claiming on the whole instrument for it. They may cover repair costs and that's it. Loss of market value is not their bag.
Your best insurance is to pack it very well yourself. But some sellers can't be arsed after getting your money because "it is YOUR guitar/amp now".
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