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We’re preparing for a long distance move. I am considering letting my (three) guitars be moved with the rest of our household items. My heart says no, but the practical concerns of moving a household with small kids on a tight timeframe says be flexible.
Other than identifying these instruments as high value and fragile, does anyone have some specific advice to help ensure this goes as successfully as possible?
I would intend to supervise the packing and labeling of these items. What do I need to know? Triple boxed and strapped to wood pallets, right?
Thanks in advance for your help!
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09-06-2018 01:09 PM
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Are they going on one truck for the trip? If so, overseeing the load in and load out would be great.
Also there are super careful art shippers out there if the moving van doesn't respect your gear.
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?I moved from Cali to Jersey, eight years later I moved from Jersey to Chicago.
On the Cali to Jersey trip I got guitar boxes and packed the guitars myself and had them USPS Express Mail'ed to my awaiting fiancé in Jersey. No problems...
On the Jersey to Chicago move I had UPS pack and ship the guitars UPS Ground to my Chicago address. I dropped them off the day I before I flew to Chicago, they arrived the day after I got there. No problems...
I've become a firm believer in letting UPS or FedEx pack my instruments and insuring them for their full value. When I sold the 18 inch Heritage Johnny Smith to Max that's what I did, take it to FedEx, had them do the deluxe pack and ship declared for full value...
If you are moving to another country maybe let movers pack it, but otherwise no...
Big
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Will the truck trailer be temp controlled? Probably not. Can you mitigate temperature in your guitar boxes? Regulate humidity for the duration? How far a distance is the move, scheduled for how many days? Will it cross the hottest parts of the continent on I-40, 70, 80, 90? Might the truck be parked in the sun for hours or longer? I’d raise those concerns with the moving agent and with the driver. And I might ship each separately, in new shipping boxes, as though selling it to myself on Reverb.
I’ve made several transcontinental relocation moves and to be fair, nothing obviously, immediately bad occurred with the instruments I owned, though later problems with an acoustic top pulling up at the bridge make me wonder about my laissez faire attitude, simply handing over the cases for a 10-day August truck ride from Massachusetts to Oregon via other continental hot spots....
In subsequent transcontinental moves, I packed the guitars (better instruments altogether) and a precious amp in my air-conditioned car and unloaded them each night into lodging with AC. But by then my kids were grown and gone.
Good luck!
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When Rudy's shipped my GCS-1 they loosened the strings. It was in the original shipping carton. I don't recall if there was an outer box, but I don't think so.
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This.
Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
Another option is to box them as if you were shipping, but load them onto your moving van.
A couple of years ago I had a major water leak in my home, forcing me to move out for about a month until all repairs could be completed. I asked the insurance company if they'd pay me to personally move my delicate items and store off site. They agreed. I rented a truck, moved my guitars, amps and other breakables, and stored them at a local storage facility. After my home was habitable, I reversed the process. Yes, it was a pain, but nothing was damaged.
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I'll only discuss my long distance moving experiences as done by professional movers paid for by my employer. I have long distanced moved 6 times by my employer. In all of them I unfortunately had to put my household goods in storage up to 90 days. Based on my experience and that of my friends who also moved a lot (military), I would not trust my guitars to a mover.
If you are forced to do go that approach, I would suggest the following:
(1) Pack it yourself. And pack it so that it will withstand forces far worse than encountered by UPS of Fedex. I own expensive artwork and I had wood crates made for the pieces and packed them myself on every move. I have not suffered any damage over 6 moves.
(2) Take detailed pictures of the guitars prior to packing. Include a copy of the local paper for the day of packing. I have had a number of items damaged and the moving companies will fight tooth and nail to avoid paying for damage.
(3) The movers will put their own number/labels on your boxes. Add your own marking or make the boxers noticeable by bright colors. I say that because when the stuff comes off the truck it generally will come off at a pace that makes it hard to keep track of the items.
(4) Don't assume that just because your truck is going straight to your house that your shipment will remain intact. If your move isn't enough to fill up the moving van, the moving company will fill up the space with another person's belongings who happens to be going to the same general area. They will then transfer the items downstream. Depending on where your stuff is on the truck you may find out that it was offloaded and reloaded at some point.
(5) While the driver's are generally first rate professionals, the folks that load and unload the truck in many cases are hired by the driver at either the pickup point or destination point or both. On one of my moves a very pregnant woman was hired as an off loader. I told her to sit down and I helped with the offload.
My suggestion is very similar to Mike's above. With only 3 guitars I would package them and ship them separately or figure out some way to take them with you along with other easily damaged or irreplaceable items. I had 15 guitars to take on my last move. I ended up buying a small trailer which I then sold when I reached my destination point.Last edited by rob taft; 09-08-2018 at 05:23 PM.
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I wanted to ship my 1953 Epiphone archtop from Wyoming to Virginia. I went to a FedEx Store and they would ship it but their maximum insurance value for a musical instrument was $1000.
I don't know if that's from FedEx or the store's company policy. I didn't have a chance to get to a FedEx terminal to check with them.
Just be careful of that - make sure YOU can declare the value and that they will actually insure it for that.
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I moved from New Mexico to Oregon 18 months ago. Really glad I moved my guitars with me. Don't trust long haul movers with guitars. All of your stuff will always get torn up some and they don't know how to handle or store guitars. They also won't be accountable. Find another way..
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Some long distance moving companies load your stuff onto a smaller truck, then unload to a warehouse where it waits until they have enough small loads to fill a large interstate truck, that goes to another warehouse where it gets reloaded on another small truck for delivery. Some companies even tell you ahead of time that that's what they're doing.....
Do you have a trusted luthier/repair person/mom-and-pop music store? If so, perhaps they can pack and ship your guitars to a trusted luthier/repair person/mom-and-pop music store at your destination.
Best wishes for getting your instruments shipped safely!
PK
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Spring 2000 my employer transferred me from St. Louis, Mo to Baltimore Md. Since they were paying, I chose one of the big moving companies. I was an apartment dweller at the time so my load was small. I had a 1976 Gibson Johnny Smith and 1982 Ibanez AM-205AV to move. The packers arrived in a small truck. I presented the issue to them. What they did was pack each guitar into separate large, double thick boxes with the small holes on the side with the metal bars for clothes to hang --- in the middle --- between all my shirts, etc. They also used towels to cushion the bottom and top. I was nervous at first, but not so much after seeing how tight it all was.
The load was taken to their warehouse where it was loaded on the big truck. It was then piggybacked on top of two other loads. I was able to track the truck online just like we do with anything else we ship. It took three weeks. All arrived fine.
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Me too. Would do it that way again, even if I had to rent the car/SUV for a one way trip. Originally Posted by rhl-ferndale
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IMO, your best bet, if you can’t carry them yourself, is to pack them very well and ship them with the carrier of your choice.
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Relocated from Connecticut to Chicago three months ago. I had saved all the shipping boxes so I personally packed the cased guitars in those shipping boxes as securely as I could. We rented a truck and my son volunteered to fly out and help pack and drive the truck. All packed tightly toward the front of the load. Two days in transit... no extreme temps... everything arrived intact... no problems. Control freak that I am, I would have great difficulty allowing others to pack and load my instruments. Hope all goes well with your move.
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coast to coast...i ups'd the guitars separate from the moving company...shorter time in transit, better tracking...and hopefully better conditions along the road..worked for me...when they arrived safely, i opened boxes & kissed every guitar
box them very well tho..double box with padding between boxes
luck
cheers
ps- and take pics of everything!!!Last edited by neatomic; 09-06-2018 at 08:52 PM.
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It has been a lot of years, but I moved many times in the military, including two overseas moves, to and from. I had two guitars, one a Gibson flat-top in a cheap chipboard case. I was usually able to watch the load and unload, but not always. I never had a problem with the guitars. The only damage we ever had was some minor damage to a Bose speaker. If it were me, I would send the guitars with the rest of your stuff, after taking lots of pictures. But it's not me, so do what you think you have to do.
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I doubt anyone has more experience shipping expensive arch tops world-wide than Joe at Archtops.com. From Seattle to Dubai, Japan, Indonesia, UK and Australia to name a few more of the more far-flung destinations I've noticed in his 'Friends' section. His biz depends on proper packing and prepping.
Here's what he says: archtop.com: shipping your guitar
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I think I can safely say I have moved guitars the maximum distance possible within the United States. . .twice. Once in the spring once in the fall, dry cold to hellish-hot-humid and vice-versa. 5 and 6 instruments, flat tops, classical, archtop and solid body. Good movers (not cheap), guitars detuned in their hardcases I crated together and then was able to direct loading the crate into the van. Extra insurance. 3 weeks later on the other end I had some sketchy service but everything came through perfect both times. If I had a serious expensive instrument (I don't own anything worth more than $3K currently) I would fedex and insure to the max if I couldn't drive it myself. I would also really hesitate doing a move in the middle of dog-hot summer.
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Interesting thread since for our retirement, we are gonna relocate to my wife's home country in her childhood house in Germany all the way from Canada.
When we are ready to leave, we plan to sell most of our stuff, electronic will all go including amps, but I plan to keep my Gibsons and wonder what will be the best plan.
Still have plenty of time to figure out I am not yet even 50 so we talk about 15 or so years from now.
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I've gotten three very expensive classical guitars from a luthier in Washington state - I'm in Florida. He packs in guitar boxes with double walls and the guitars in their cases have additional padding if needed. He uses only USPS air express and they're insured for full value through his company. They get here in two days and I arrange to have them held for pickup at the local PO. Never had a problem. I'd never, ever ship so much as a pillow with UPS - I've used Fedex for 20+ years and never had a problem. A lot of the shipping stores will set a limit on insurance because they're franchises and don't want the liability. Pack them properly yourself, print your shipping tag online, and insure for full value. Then take it to the actual shipper whether it be Fedex or UPS or whoever. Oh, and take lots of pictures. Reverb.com has some pretty good info on packing guitars.
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We’re preparing for a long distance move. I am considering letting my (three) guitars be moved with the rest of our household items.
NO!!!NO!!! NO!!!
I don't care what you have to do, but don't let the mover take your guitars.
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FedEx will not insure high value items at all. Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance also will typically cover only a very limited amount of musical instrument value. Originally Posted by coryB
If you have a significant value in guitars, you should seriously consider taking out a policy specifically for them through a company like Heritage Insurance Services. (Heritage Insurance | Musical Instruments & Equipment | Free Quote). If you have a policy with them, your instruments will be covered always. That includes if you’re moving, shipping them, on a gig, etc.). It can also cover a loss in value resulting from damage such as a headstock break.
I have my personal instruments insured, and I also have a dealer’s policy to cover instruments that I buy and sell. It’s well worth the cost of coverage.
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My last big move was a 15 hour drive. I did two trips, one with only guitars and amps and the other with the rest of my belongings. I rented an enclosed U-haul truck. I had 20 guitars and 6 amps. I strung the guitars in cases upright along the perimeter of the inside. I padded the cases where needed but did not box them or do anything different from taking them to a gig.
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All my insurance is through USAA, including a Valuable Personal Property policy, which covers listed items, including jewelry and musical instruments. It's a very reasonable price, and if they didn't offer it I would consider insurance like that linked above. I have several of my guitars on it, but not all. It's not worth the trouble to me to provide all the information for guitars worth only a couple of hundred dollars, if that, and some of mine are in that neighborhood. But some are worth insuring, and I do.
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An update from the other side (plus a month) for completeness:
For all sorts of family and logistical reasons, I decided to roll the dice and let the movers relocate the guitars with the rest of our stuff. We were fortunate enough to have the same crew driving everything point-to-point: no warehousing, transfers, etc.. We were also moving from OH to MA in mid October with mild temperatures and no extremes. I prepared and packed the instruments in their cases (thanks for the fine advice here and on archtops.com), supervised how they were packed in wardrobe boxes, and oversaw the boxes coming on and off the truck. The guitars made it through just fine. While handling varies, I was fairly impressed with just how secure everything was in the wardrobe boxes and would consider this again should the need (hopefully never) arise again.
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