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What is the best way and method to ship a bass to someone??

J

Jazzbassman23

Apr 20, 2000
379
6
Maryland
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#1
I had the same questions recently when I sold my Dean Edge 5 on eBay. My problem was that I sold it without a case. Fortunately, I'd saved the Dean cardboard box in which it had shipped to the dealer. I securely packed it up in that, and then had one of these local shipping places pack that box in a bigger one. Cost me about $25 to ship, and it must have been okay because I didn't hear anything from the buyer. This place ships UPS. Dave has a great idea, and who knows, you might get lucky and they'll have an ESP box lying around. I recently bought a bass from Musicians Friend. It shipped in a hardshell case which was simply placed in a large cardboard box filled with plastic peanuts. The damn thing was in tune when I pulled it out. UPS also. Obviously, the key is to ship it as safely and cheaply as possible unless the buyer wants to do it differently. It's his/her money. Make sure you stipulate that the buyer pays shipping, standard eBay practice. Also, I'd advise against listing a flat shipping fee until you've done this at least once. I made that mistake, and of course the guy lived in California, so I ended up eating some of the shipping costs. Oh well, live and learn. Good luck. Sorry if I told you stuff you already knew.

Dave
 
#2
Thanx Dave! I really appreciate the help I, going to go to GC after work today for a box and I'll list the item tonight. I have heard a couple of horror stories about broken necks and thats whats been holding me up , but that is what insurance is for I guess. Thanx again and as always your a great help!
Funkster
 
#4
Hi guy's I have a couple of quik questions. Im selling my sea foam grn 1986 ESP MK 1V and Im thinking of doing the E-bay thing. I have bought plenty of stuff over E-Bay but I have not sold a bass over the net yet. What is the best way to ship out the thing if it sells. Do I use UPS, Fed EX and how do I pack it up. Any info you guys can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanx again...
Funkster
 
#5
Hey Funkster..
The basses I've sold, I've usually shipped UPS. Go to Guitar Center or another music store and ask them for an empty, bass-case sized box.. they're happy to give them away. Make sure the bass is packed securely in its case, and the case fits snugly in the box. If there's any wiggle room, stuff newspaper down the sides, or packing material. That's about all the tips I can give. I know there are horror stories about UPS but I've shipped and received several basses through them without incident.
 
#6
I shipped a Warwick from Tampa to Los Angeles via UPS Ground for $17.00. I wrapped the guitar with bubble wrap that I had laying around at work and stuffed the guitar into the gig bag. Then I went to our local Mars Music Store and got a Fender box out of the dumpster. Perfect fit. Put a little extra paper in sent it out.
 
#9
Ive shipped and received at least 100 basses and guitars over the years.Most of the advice you got is right on the money.If you can get the buyer to pay for a pro-pack do it!Be aware that these places(i.e.Mailboxes etc.)not only charge you to pack,but they inflate the UPS price!You can have them pack,take it home,and then have UPS pick it up at your house for$3.extra.If you intend to send it by air,I would suggest detuning it a little(low air pressure on a wood neck with tension}.I like to wrap them in bubble wrap, then put it in the case,then(if theres room in the box)wrap the case in bubble wrap,ALL SIDES,and put it in the box.If there is extra space,fill it with foam peanuts or styrofoam chunks.NEVER USE NEWSPAPER!!Newspaper has no elasticity,in other words,once it is squashed it doesnt bounce back to shape.And if the box gets squashed a second time,it has only the flattened ineffective newspaper to cushion the blow.As far as insurance goes,the only one who can collect is the recipient,not the sender.Although you wont collect,I always urge the buyer to over insure by a couple hundred bucks.Its cheap enough,and if they have to collect on it,theyll make some money,taking the "sting" out of a bad situation,and youll be a hero,whose much less likely to get hassled by the recipient."You packed it-its your fault""you sold it,you should give me the difference between the insurance and the purchase price""You didnt deliver what I was promised,either give me my money back or fix it!"etc.etc.
 
#10
Make sure that you loosen the strings before you pack up the bass. You must elininate any tension on the neck/headstock or the headstock could easily break off in transit.
Make sure that the neck is well supported with bubble wrap. Do you know what a broken headstock does to the value of a instrument. I'm sure that you can imagine, pro headstock repair or not, it bites.
Cheers
 
#11
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dave Siff:
Hey Funkster..
The basses I've sold, I've usually shipped UPS. Go to Guitar Center or another music store and ask them for an empty, bass-case sized box.. they're happy to give them away. Make sure the bass is packed securely in its case, and the case fits snugly in the box. If there's any wiggle room, stuff newspaper down the sides, or packing material. That's about all the tips I can give. I know there are horror stories about UPS but I've shipped and received several basses through them without incident.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Agree with everything Dave said. I've had no problems. The only thing I would add is to wrap the bass in plastic bubble "paper" first, then add styrofoam "popcorn" and newspaper, etc. to further insulate and stabalize.
 
#13
Ok, I know this is old but I'd rather resurrect an old thread than get yelled at for not searching. Does anyone know if UPS/FEDEX have bass sized boxes? I'm selling my GSR200 and I don't have the original box as I bought it used a while back. There is no Guitar Center near me and the two guitar stores in town aren't exactly places I would walk in and go "Hey can I have a box?" as they'd be liable to tell me to buy something. So back to my original question- bass sized boxes, do they exist?
 
#14
SH - I'm pretty sure many UPS stores will either have one, know where to get one, or can make one from what they have.

But why not ask your local guitar stores? If they pressure you to buy something, point out that you're just helping them get rid of some garbage. Failing that, buy a set of strings (after they give you the box...).
 
#16
Hey guys, I'm movin to Texas from California here in a couple days, and was wondering about the best way to get my destroyer (explorer shaped) over there too.

The large body shape has definitely made it hard to find a case (I actually don't have one at all) and the airline won't let me bring it as a carry-on, and I'm not crazy about the idea of checking it, just seems sketchy.

So I was wondering if anyone had any more stories or tips for getting a bass from point a to point b, I'm guessing I'll probably have to ship it, but I've never actually shipped anything before, so I'm kinda sketchy on that too...

Would you guys consider it a bad idea to let them pack it for me? And who would you suggest I go through?

Thank for the help
S/M
 
#19
ShredderMaximus said:
why is that?:help:
Click to expand...

Bass necks are designed to be under tension from the strings- the neck warp if it's left without tension for a long period of time. If you were to take off the strings for shipping, you'd need to compensate for it by really adjusting the truss rod.
 

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