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how to safely ship an instrument

T

the wako kid

May 11, 2011
440
4
Denver,CO
#1
I may be selliing a guitar soon and will nedd to ship it to the buyer. what is the best way to do this so that the recipient gets the guitar in one peice?

we're talking about one of those wierd light guage six string electric piccolo basses btw.
 
#5
you want the bass & headstock to be padded inside the case with lots of crumpled newspaper --- shock absorbing material so that no part of the guitar never actually bangs against anything hard -- even the headstock rest inside the case.

then, once the case is fully packed INSIDE, you want to place the case inside of a guitar shipping box where you also pack it quite full of newspaper & foam padding.

the idea is that the box should be able to get knocked around and you shouldnt have to worry about any part of the guitar receiving the blow. all the shock should be absorbed by packing material.
 
#8
It costs more to do it this way... but if you are really concerned, and have no packing materials/guitar shipping box... you can take it to one of the small "The UPS Store" kind of places and tell them to make it bullet proof. That way UPS will honor their "Insurance" (Which they WILL try to get out of if you pack it), and it will probably get there safely. Yes, I realize it can cost way more to do this as opposed to packing it yourself and going to the real UPS counter... But sometimes it is worth it to pay more to be sure. I have shipped some bases that could not be replaced, and wanted UPS to be sure to treat them well, so I did this, and didn't regret the few extra bucks.
 
#10
Double boxing is key. If you can't find boxes that will go inside of each other, tear up a second box and stuff it inside along the outer box walls to create a double-wall. I disagree on using bubble wrap and especially peanuts. They're too rigid and under pressure and can exert too much force on the bass. Individual sheets of crumpled paper are better because enough of them will prevent the bass from floating around while having enough "give" to avoid putting excess pressure on the instrument. The above "buying & selling" link is good.
 
#11
Adequate foaming both INSIDE and OUTSIDE the hardcase (avoid gig bags as possible as you can!), by outside I mean BETWEEN the case and the solid outer package.

I've done this several times with satisfying results.
 
#12
The best way is to get some cheap plywood and build a strong, but light weight crate. Internal bracing, the whole nine yards. Hard foam/styrofoam internally. It sounds like a hassle, but not nearly as much as a broken instrument...WildBill_USPS...PS shipping in a cardboard box is just begging for damage...Good Luck.
 
#13
I guess you can't build too strong a case. However, I have shipped many basses w/out a plywood case and none have ever been damaged (knock on wood). I use a specific large guitar box available from Uline or EcoBox. Very strong & heavy cardboard (around $14). I put a sheet of heavy styrofoam on the bottom & place the case in the box. Then I use empty sealed drinking water bottles to center the case and pad the sides so it doesn't move. Then I pour foam p-nuts into the rest of the spaces & place a sheet of foam over the top. If it's in a gig bag I wrap it in bubble wrap double thick and put solid foam sheets on all four sides.
 
#14
I don't really want to buy a case for it period.I paid $25 for the guitar(which goes for about 200 on the used market). I have a mic stand case that I use.but it is really just for carrying it around,and it has a lot of empty space in it,aas it is not meant to hold guitars,it just so happens to hold them. it could work but it is like a padded gig bag,and it is pretty big for the guitar in question(about 7 inches of dead space above headstock). will it work if I pad the hell out of it?
 
#16
4-stringB said:
The best way is to get some cheap plywood and build a strong, but light weight crate. Internal bracing, the whole nine yards. Hard foam/styrofoam internally. It sounds like a hassle, but not nearly as much as a broken instrument...WildBill_USPS...PS shipping in a cardboard box is just begging for damage...Good Luck.
Click to expand...

This is insanity.

I've shipped about 100 guitars in cardboard boxes with and without hardcases. Use common sense, use bubble wrap, and make sure there is no moving around in case. The immobile part is key.
 
#17
The best way is to solder together a titanium container. Then fill it with anti-matter granules. Wrap the instrument in 78 layers of diamond carbide-grade micro-weave fabric, then insert it into the container. Finally, remove the air, so that it is vacuum packed. For best results, ship it on the same flatbed railroad car used for transporting NASA rocket stages, and make sure to accompany it with a division of National Guard troops and an overhead formation of Air Force fighter jets.

Or, do what Baba said, which was absolutely right. :)
 
#18
dougjwray said:
The best way is to solder together a titanium container. Then fill it with anti-matter granules. Wrap the instrument in 78 layers of diamond carbide-grade micro-weave fabric, then insert it into the container. Finally, remove of the air, so that it is vacuum packed. For best results, ship it on the same flatbed railroad car used for transporting NASA rocket stages, and make sure to accompany it with a division of National Guard troops and an overhead formation of Air Force fighter jets.

Or, do what Baba said, which was absolutely right. :)
Click to expand...

OMG, too funny. I'm crying' ovah heeah!
 

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