Shipping Guitar from US to Europe

[Dennis D]

The current issue of Just Jazz Guitar has what I thought was a pretty decent article " The Current State of the Archtop Market" that touched on a lot of archtop issues / business / and shipping to Europe.

They interviewed Tom Van Hoose and Adrian Ingram.

They've both been around a while selling high-end archtops. I got the impression from Adrian Ingram's quote that it -shipping to Europe - wasn't a matter of 'how much' but whether a high-end archtop would arrive at all. There were horror stories mentioned of guitars being confiscated in Germany, w/ the CITES law / process mentioned.

They didn't provide any recommendations either. And Ingram said he'd done business in Europe before, but hadn't done much European business lately and wasn't too sure what he'd do if he got pressed into it.

Interesting read.

Good luck.

[Philco]

looks like borderlinx will be $458 to spain. Too much!

Well that's what I would have gladly paid a couple of years ago. Remember us suckers across the ocean are used to that freight and also being slugged for customs clearance and local taxes. When we buy a guitar from overseas we already factor that price in when we see the asking price for the guitar.

In my head I just add on $500 to $1000 and there will be no surprises. It also usually means that we skimp on insurance and cross our fingers.

At the moment.....and for the next couple of years I don't think I will buy anything from OS because our exchange rate is now complete shite.

People who look at how the arch top sales are going sometimes forget that certain countries that normally buy "X" amount of arch tops, simply drop out of the market when their currency turns to crap.

I have to add at least a third onto the overall cost of an instrument from the US.
From the UK it's more than double.......so just forget about it. No sales for you British types!

There have been at least 3 sales (Tweed replicas and Danny's Wesmo) I would have jumped at a couple of years ago but it's all over for me now......and guitars?......forget about it.

[vinlander]

Well we canadians also don't have it easy as most nice deals are from across the border and our shitty oil value based dollar is very low right now compared to the US...

[Jabberwocky]

looks like borderlinx will be $458 to spain. Too much!

So, I used Borderlinx's cost calculator on a $4500 guitar packed in a 50"x20"x8" box to be sent to Spain. This is what I got:

Estimated costs

This is the estimated cost to ship (volumetric weight: 57.83 lbs) from U.S.A to Spain using Borderlinx. We used the volumetric weight because it's higher than the product dead weight (25.00 lbs). Learn more.

SHIPPING COST *	USD 237
TAX & DUTY	USD 1197.77
SHIP PROTECTION	USD 78.75
TOTAL COST TO PAY	USD 1513.52

* incl. Fuel surcharge of USD 0
Including:

• Duty & customs: USD 154.10
• Taxes: USD 1043.67

Well, well. I'll be a monkey's uncle. Send that boy a gift...

[phazyme]

FedEx does ship to Spain unless something has changed. Now here's a well kept secret. Open a regular account with Fedex backed up by a cc. Then go to Fedex Great Rates -Google that in- fill in your acct no and phone and country and city to where it's going and type of service. International priority and economy. Enter phone no and press enter. They will call you in 30 minutes with the price. Spain is about 250 priority insured for 3000 or more. Now u must ship on the date u have requested and use the shipping method as agreed upon- exactly or it will not work. They would rather do it this way as long as it's international and hi priced. Saves them time and money. One thing- if you don't have a proven track record they may deny until they know you. So open ur acct adapt. Does not work domestically under a 500 shipping rate so this is primarily good for international.

[JazzNote]

I have a guitar waiting somewhere in Pennsylvania to be shipped to Switzerland (finally i found a blonde GJS i really like). As the seller didn't want to do international shipping i have a friend organizing it for me. When ordering guitars from TMZ recently or Golden Age Guitars some years back i payed something like 200 to 250 dollars for shipping from NY to Switzerland (UPS/EMS). My friend was talking about approx. 450 dollars. I'm sure i can trust him and he is a branch manager for a cargo company in NY. Does anyone have experience with shipping and might know a less pricy and yet safe & reliable way? (The packed guitar has to be picked up @ the shop)

[hotpepper01]

I live in the Netherlands and have bought a guitar from the US recently. Prices do differ quite a lot per carrier (transport company). I was quoted 250 USD but also appr 700 USD.
I once had an expensive guitar lost in transit from Germany to the Netherlands. That was quite a nightmare. As a buyer I stood weak as I was not the customer. The seller was the customer. It took a few weeks and suddenly it turned up in their system again.

Your situation is different. You order the guiter to be picked up. My advice is to select a shipping service with a certain degree of restitution of the value in case the package gets lost.

[Top of the Arch!]

I ship overseas all the time, the USPS would cost about $150. BUT! They have a cap on Insurance , I believe $600. I shipped a Les Paul to the Netherlands somewhere for $128 last year, the guitar was valued at $3000 but could only be insured for much less, I dont remember the exact amount. If you trus the seller to pack correctly , the USPS is the least costly. Other carriers will be $450 to $600+. Bob

[Jabberwocky]

$450 is about the correct rate for a walk-in retail customer. Plus insurance (ha, ha, ha) on full value it could go up to about $550. Next Day Delivery could bump it up to $700 or more. TMZ and Golden Age have business accounts with the freight forwarders and they get business rates.

USPS has size restrictions. A packed archtop exceeds that, 108"< or = 46" maximum length + Girth.

A 50"×20"x8" box has a volumetric weight of 26.21Kg. That is what you are paying to ship it unless the actual weight of the parcel exceeds that. No point skimping on packing materials to save weight because you aren't saving anything. So, you should pack it well to survive handling trauma.

There is Borderlinx.com located in Ohio. With Borderlinx, you may pay about $250. But there is domestic shipping ~$130, 3-Day Air. And if the parcel is delivered damaged to Borderlinx I don't know what its procedure is for dealing with them. The crewmen working the receiving department just accept deliveries on your behalf. The total costs works out to be about the same.

May have to just suck it in and pony up. Packing it very well* is the best preventative against heartbreak. Your friend does send you gifts, doesn't he?

* Pack wads of clean sketch paper (Utretch Art Stores) or butcher's paper around the body of the GJS so that it lies very snugly in the case. It doesn't shift when you push on it. Make a cocoon of large sized bubble-wrap around the headstock so that the cocoon lies very very snugly within the neck compartment and the headstock suspended in the middle of it does not touch the walls of the case. You want to suspend it in air bubbles away from the walls. The cocoon should be a little oversized for the neck compartment that you'd have to push it in to fit snugly. Three or more complete wraps should do it. Pad crevices with wads of sketch or butcher's paper.

Remove floating bridge, wrap it in a ball of paper or bubble-wrap, store it in string compartment. Pack sheets of paper between strings and spruce top. Pack wads of paper under the tailpiece and pickguard. Pack a wad between the endpin and the wall of the case.

I'd also pack wads of paper between the lid, the fretboard and the top of the GJS so that the lid requires a little pressure to close it.

Line the shipping box with another shipping box. You'd probably have to cut up its long side to fit one in the other. Pack lots of foam peanuts such that case does not move at all within the shipping box. Ensure that the case is packed equidistant from the walls of the shipping box. Important not to skimp on this step. You must have lots of foam peanuts tightly packed around the case. Pack at least 2"/5cm of foam peanuts at the bottom and top of the box when it is stood up. DON'T USE WADDED UP NEWSPAPERS OR BUBBLE-WRAP. THEY ARE USELESS IN A LARGE DROP AS THEY COMPRESS INTO NOTHINGNESS UNDER GRAVITY ACTING ON THE MASS.

Seal the flaps with reinforced 3M packing tape. For good measure, I'd tape down with reinforced 3M packing tape the four long corners of the shipping box, too, particularly where the seam is.

[hotpepper01]

Last time I imported a guitar from the USA, the carrier used by the seller was Fedex. Shipping costs were not seperately quoted, it was a bottom line price I paid.

[2bornot2bop]

I recently shipped an 18" Super Eagle to Germany. FedEx rate was around $380. That guitar was double boxed, and had quadruple insulation on the box interior's, so it was much heavier than a standard guitar shipment surrounded by peanuts. That's also from the furthest west coast of the US. That rate was also using my FedEx account discount rate. 4 years ago I spent nearly $300 shipping a 17" Yamaha AE1200S to Switzerland.

You're talking a $7k GJS, so insurance alone is going to cost you some money. A $3-400 quote from FedEx for an insured archtop valued at $7k is very reasonable, in my experience. But you're only going to get that rate quote from a business or someone with their own FedEx account.

Why not create your own account? It takes 5 minutes on line. Contact FedEx by phone and have them issue a call tag for your package and they'll pick it up at the destination you quote...that way you pay FedEx directly and avoid any shipping rate hikes. To get the best shipping rates you have to call fedex int'l and when the operator answers you have to ask for an operator at fedex "great rates." Sounds funky I know, but if you don't ask for "great rates" you'll only get the standard operator and receive the standard rate quote, which can be several hundreds more than if you asked for "great rates." Well, that's my experience.

Never skimp on shipping a guitar, especially internationally, and especially shipping an expensive guitar. And by all means, I would never ship knowing I've sent a multi thousand dollar guitar without the laughable insurance coverage...but that's just me.

[Jabberwocky]

Shipping a Guitar

Yes, 2bop speaks from experience. Buy their laughable insurance anyway. This does not protect you really against their handling oafishness (you will have to fight them as your first claim will invariably be denied) but it protects you in case an entire shipment is wiped out.

As the great Dirty Harry says, Do you feel lucky, punk?

[m_d]

Some years ago I bought an Eastman from the US to Switzerland, shipping was around $200. The guitar was at my door two days later in perfect condition. The guitar was <$2k. The company was either UPS or FedEx. I don't remember any detail about insurance coverage but truth be told didn't pay attention to any insurance considerations which was probably foolish. Not sure there would have been any "traps" though, as the dealer was Jeff Hale who's no longer in business, but was well regarded by customers before he went out of sight. I very often see quoted shipping costs (from the US to Switzerland) on e*ay with comparable amounts.

[JazzNote]

Some years ago I bought an Eastman from the US to Switzerland, shipping was around $200. The guitar was at my door two days later in perfect condition. The guitar was <$2k. The company was either UPS or FedEx. I don't remember any detail about insurance coverage but truth be told didn't pay attention to any insurance considerations which was probably foolish. Not sure there would have been any "traps" though, as the dealer was Jeff Hale who's no longer in business, but was well regarded by customers before he went out of sight. I very often see quoted shipping costs (from the US to Switzerland) on e*ay with comparable amounts.

I bought a Incheon d'Angelico from Jeff Hale in 2008. He made sure the insurance was covered to the full value, which was certainly lower than $1500. The shipping cost was $285. As this was a very good buying experience i bougt a few more things from him after that.

[Teddyfm]

Hoi. Got my Super Eagle shipped from Canada to Switzerland for $370 a year ago. Fedex. Excellent packing. Came without a scratch. But man, was I nervous.

Best of luck.

Ted

[JazzNote]

I want to know the one that quoted $700 so I can avoid them

I myself did an online inquiry @ UPS and was quoted between $700 and 980$. But as pointed out by other members, people with business accounts are getting huge discounts.

[2bornot2bop]

I myself did an online inquiry @ UPS and was quoted between $700 and 980$. But as pointed out by other members, people with business accounts are getting huge discounts.

Like FedEx you've got to register with UPS to receive the best rate quote. And as I previously mentioned, once you've registered for your own account, even with FedEx you've got to ask for their best rate ("great rates"), otherwise the operator won't quote the lesser rate.

What FedEx does is place you on hold for a few minutes and check their space availability on flights, etc. The more availability they have the lesser the rate quote for you the customer. I'm not familiar with UPS because I closed my UPS account a decade ago. Good luck!

[Jabberwocky]

Try DHL, too.

[cmajor9]

I've shipped several high price guitars from the US and Canada to Europe in the past few years using FedEx Express. They have good tracking, not outrageously expensive, and seem to get items through customs quickly and without hassles.

[Jim Soloway]

I ship overseas all the time, the USPS would cost about $150. BUT! They have a cap on Insurance , I believe $600. I shipped a Les Paul to the Netherlands somewhere for $128 last year, the guitar was valued at $3000 but could only be insured for much less, I dont remember the exact amount. If you trus the seller to pack correctly , the USPS is the least costly. Other carriers will be $450 to $600+. Bob

The insurance cap for Switzerland is $2499.

Maximum length: 46 inches
Maximum width: 35 inches
Maximum height: 46 inches
Maximum length and girth combined: 108 inches

The price not including insurance is $134.10 for 20 lbs.

[JazzNote]

I have just tried to figure out how to ship with fedex as i got a fair quote, but they make it impossible to do so because of some commercial law.

excerpt from help-chat:
Cathy G: An Electronic export information has to be file for a value over $2500. The shipper location will need to have an account to pay the $10 fee to file the EEI.
Me: I am the shipper, the guitar has to be picked up at the sellers shop and there is an agreement that i pay all cost
Me: so i have to file the EEI, how do i do that?
Cathy G: You cannot file the EEI from Switzerland only the shipper in the U.S can file. Sorry for the inconvenience.

This applies although i am the shipper and have expressed the intention to pay all expenses.

[2bornot2bop]

I have just tried to figure out how to ship with fedex as i got a fair quote, but they make it impossible to do so because of some commercial law.

excerpt from help-chat:
Cathy G: An Electronic export information has to be file for a value over $2500. The shipper location will need to have an account to pay the $10 fee to file the EEI.
Me: I am the shipper, the guitar has to be picked up at the sellers shop and there is an agreement that i pay all cost
Me: so i have to file the EEI, how do i do that?
Cathy G: You cannot file the EEI from Switzerland only the shipper in the U.S can file. Sorry for the inconvenience.

This applies although i am the shipper and have expressed the intention to pay all expenses.

You call FedEx on the phone...I don't know their international number outside the US, but I'm certain it's available via FedEx: Shipping, Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management

When you're ready to ship call them on the phone...they'll walk you through filing the EEI and all customs forms as you're logged in to your account at fedex.com and typing in all the shipping and destination info.

Sometimes you've got to call several times to get someone who has the experience to assist you with what you need. Don't expect someone in a chat response to know all the details of how to assist you.

edit - your other option is to have the shipper Call on your behalf and fill out the shipping forms using your fedex account.

[JazzNote]

You call FedEx on the phone...I don't know their international number outside the US, but I'm certain it's available via FedEx: Shipping, Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management

When you're ready to ship call them on the phone...they'll walk you through filing the EEI and all customs forms as you're logged in to your account at fedex.com and typing in all the shipping and destination info.

Sometimes you've got to call several times to get someone who has the experience to assist you with what you need. Don't expect someone in a chat response to know all the details of how to assist you.

edit - your other option is to have the shipper Call on your behalf and fill out the shipping forms using your fedex account.

Thanks 2bornot2bop. The seller declined international shipping from the beginning of our negotiations, but agreed if i was to organize it the way that the guitar just needed to be packed and handed over to the carrier by him. Therefore i believe that i cannot involve him. The official EEI form can be filed only by users within the US. However, i will try to find out if my friend in NY could do it. If not i may have to go with UPS which is 3 to 4 days delivery time for the same price FedEx would do in 2 days.

[Naquat]

It looks like prices have gone up quite a bit. I'd say 4-5 yrs ago I shipped a Gibson to Switzerland valued at $3400. The shipping costs with insurance for UPS, because the USPS didn't cover that amount, was $350 which I thought was a lot back then.

[JazzNote]

U.S. Customs and Border Protection | ACE Exporter Account Application

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