Shipping a guitar?

[Diminished]

Any advice on packing and shippers to use?
Thanks,
Kevin

[neilli]

Make sure the guitar can't move around in the case.
Make sure the headstock isn't taking the weight of the neck.
Make sure that nothing loose in the case can scratch the finish (trem arms, spare pots, straps etc)

As for shippers, it's luck of the draw. They all fuck up, but mostly stuff seems to get there OK.

[DRM]

Ship USPS.

[nafe]

If going Airfrieght, loosen the strings. Apparently the corgo holds in aircraft aren't pressurised (or are pressurised differently...not sure) and it can do nasty things to necks if the strings are taught. Might not be a problem but probably best to play it safe

[Newc]

Different shippers suck for different areas. USPS might suck for you, but DRM says it rocks for him. They're a toss-up for me.

Shippers recommend at least 2" of packing material on all sides. This means you'll need a box that's bigger than what you're shipping. Chances are pretty good you didn't get it that way, but rather in a box that was just big enough for the case the guitar was in. Thousands of guitars have been shipped safely that way, so there goes the "2 inches of padding" thing.

If it's not in a case, bubblewrap the shit out of the guitar, stuff it in a box that will not explode from the inside due to the massive amount of bubblewrap, pack it on all sides so the bubbleball doesn't move, put a label on it with a sheet of printer paper (use the whole sheet, not 1/4 - what're ya gonna do with the other 1/4?), preferably printed from your computer in case of any dyslexic moments where numbers appear backwards to you (and use a regular font, not something fancy or artsy - you want this delivered by people who are easily pissed-off and in a hurry, so don't piss them off).

And don't take it anywhere teenagers work. This includes Kinko's and The UPS Store. Find the actual shop, if you can, and see if it has a Customer Counter. That's where you want it to go. The kids in the Office don't want to do any heavy lifting (which is why they got the Office job), so bringing them anything half as big as they are is going to be an issue.

And the Post Office will not ship a Rhoads, Kelly, King V, or Warrior in its case. I've tried several times, it exceeds their max girth limit.

[TVTiZtiK]

Different shippers suck for different areas. USPS might suck for you, but DRM says it rocks for him. They're a toss-up for me.

Shippers recommend at least 2" of packing material on all sides. This means you'll need a box that's bigger than what you're shipping. Chances are pretty good you didn't get it that way, but rather in a box that was just big enough for the case the guitar was in. Thousands of guitars have been shipped safely that way, so there goes the "2 inches of padding" thing.

If it's not in a case, bubblewrap the shit out of the guitar, stuff it in a box that will not explode from the inside due to the massive amount of bubblewrap, pack it on all sides so the bubbleball doesn't move, put a label on it with a sheet of printer paper (use the whole sheet, not 1/4 - what're ya gonna do with the other 1/4?), preferably printed from your computer in case of any dyslexic moments where numbers appear backwards to you (and use a regular font, not something fancy or artsy - you want this delivered by people who are easily pissed-off and in a hurry, so don't piss them off).

And don't take it anywhere teenagers work. This includes Kinko's and The UPS Store. Find the actual shop, if you can, and see if it has a Customer Counter. That's where you want it to go. The kids in the Office don't want to do any heavy lifting (which is why they got the Office job), so bringing them anything half as big as they are is going to be an issue.

And the Post Office will not ship a Rhoads, Kelly, King V, or Warrior in its case. I've tried several times, it exceeds their max girth limit.

Any idea where I can get a big enough box to ship a guitar in a hardshell in?

[RacerX]

Any idea where I can get a big enough box to ship a guitar in a hardshell in?

bicycle shop.

[atvdave]

Any idea where I can get a big enough box to ship a guitar in a hardshell in?

http://www.uline.com/Product/AdvSear...uitar%20Box%20

Your local guitar shop should have plenty that they might sale, or give ya.

Also I've always wrapped my stuff with bubble wrap, and pack in crumbled newspaper to make a tight fit.

[MetalMedal II]

You can also dumpster dive behind large guitar shops like GC...it actually aint too bad since they have a separate bin for recycling. But they flatten them out so you gotta tape em up. Taylor acoustic boxes are nice because they are big!

[RacerX]

You can also dumpster dive behind large guitar shops like GC...it actually aint too bad since they have a separate bin for recycling.

As long as you don't live in an urban area where folks grab all the cardboard as soon as the shops put it out. Been there done that - in fact, I've been looking for a box for literally months....been to GC AND SA 3x each, no dice.