I have been asked a few times here at Talk Bass about shipping a bass by Greyhound bus. I would say yes this method works but only if it is packed well or you have a flight case. Well I am here to change that answer and hope that others who are considering shipping a bass by Greyhound Bus get the full picture before they leap.
Here is my experience:
Greyhound Bus is by far the most inexpensive way to ship an inexpensive bass…we are talking plywood, nothing special, nothing super valuable bass.
Greyhound Bus one way service from PA to CA was $75.00, but it is cheap for a reason, there is very little insurance available often less the $300. The more transfer stations the bass has to go through, the less insurance there is to purchase. From NY to PA I could purchase $1000 insurance. From PA to CA I could only purchase $300 insurance. If you are willing to take the risk with little or no insurance, Greyhound is an option. Beware there is no live tracking available while your shipment is in transit. If you call customer service, be prepared to wait 20-40 minutes on hold before you talk with a live person in customer service, only to tell you they have no live tracking available. The only thing they can tell you is “it is in transit”, that’s it! The travel time can be painfully long, average 7 days to 14 days or more.
A large object like a bass is one of the very last things to move on the belly of a bus. Passengers and luggage first, if there is room for a bass only then will it be loaded. If the busses are running full or delayed because of bad weather your bass will sit at a Greyhound station for days until space becomes available.
I have used Greyhound a few times in the past four years. The very first time was to receive my beloved Epiphone B-1 and it was damaged by Greyhound. This was a lesson learned in proper packaging. The seller mummified the bass in bubble wrap thinking this would work. I was naive and allowed the bass to ship this way…bad decision…and I take full responsibility for the bad choice of packaging and shipping. Though the bass was wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap the neck was sticking out like a handle on a frying pan, and it was handled that way…yep…my bass arrived with a broken neck. I was really heart broken, this bass had survived since 1940 without a broken neck and one ride with Greyhound bus…BANG…it was broken. The silver lining (if there is a silver lining) was the broken neck was the catalyst for us to begin to learn how to repair plywood basses…so in its on way, there was a bigger purpose (call me Pollyanna).
Since that first time we used Greyhound we got wiser on the packing…we bought a high quality flight case. A big investment, but it definitely improved the shipping success rate with Greyhound. We used the case a few times and though the travel time was 7-10 days, the case with a bass inside always returned home…until now.
Right now my flight case is lost in the great abyss of Greyhound Bus. It is now 21 days with out a trace of my case. I have called Greyhound in Dallas, TX…daily. I have called the terminal in CA daily and no clues to where it can be. My next step is to file a claim and wait 180 days for a possible refund of $300. The case is worth seven times that amount and thank goodness if there is any positive, silver lining to this situation, the case was empty…if that can be a relief right now.
Greyhound Bus can be rude, un-helpful, non-responsive and sometime down right incompetent.
The one shining person during this situation is my local terminal manager who has been helpful and caring. He knows our names, our face and “the fiddle case” pretty well. He of all the folks at Greyhound has been helpful and pleasant…a rare find at Greyhound Bus.
Hopefully by sharing this information if you ever need to choose Greyhound you are more fully informed and have low expectations. I see Greyhound being touted on eBay fairly often as a safe means of transporting an inexpensive bass.
I am here to say, cheap and slow are cheap and slow for a reason. If you are a gambler and don’t have much to loose you might try it. The jury is still out for me. IF my case is found, IF it is returned to me in one piece and IF I ever use Greyhound again (not likely) I am going to purchase a live GPS tracking device and install it in the case. This way I can have my own live tracking system and see if the case is just sitting at a terminal…which would be just fine…at least I would know where it was. Right now I have visions my case has been stolen and is being used as a new deluxe shelter for a homeless person down behind the bus station.
If it has been stolen and anyone in the Talk Bass community sees it pop up on Craigslist, or a pawn shop please send me a PM. It is a one of a kind white fiberglass and gel coated hard outer case made by a Canadian yaught company named Saga. Their makers tag and 800 phone number was on the inside of the case by the end pin holder. It has a special interior finish that is splatter blue paint much the way the haul of a boat would be finished on the inside. The inner case was a black Eastman soft gig bag. Our name was placed three times on the outside and two times on inside and there are no stickers on it except for two red fragile stickers. The handles are spring load retractable and the locks are aluminum butterfly shaped and conceal into the case. The dolly wheels are not integrated but attached to the bottom with bolts. The strapping system on the inside is black and riveted to the case. There are a few grey foam pads on the inside of the case for extra protection.
Thanks for reading my long winded post and hopefully this will help someone, some where down the line be more informed about Greyhound bus and their cheap but limited services for shipping a bass. And if the case does come home, I’ll let you all know of its happy homecoming…my fingers are crossed and my attitude remains positive.
ForwardAir 
