How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

[slayer89]

I need to ship a guitar, and when I went to the UPS site, they said it would cost $60. Then I checked with USPS, and it was twice as much. I've ordered a few guitars before (retailers and individuals), and the shipping was normally half this. Is the site just giving you a rough estimate, or what?

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

The MOST I've paid was nearly a hundred Canadian dollars to ship within Canada, but that was because it was a Jackson Kelly in its huge hardshell case. Think how much more it would have been if I were shipping OUTSIDE of Canada... whew!!!! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] The method was FedEx Ground.

Really, it was my fault because I could have trimmed the cardboard box a little bit and it would have qualified for Oversize 2 shipping which is CONSIDERABLY cheaper than the Oversize 3 the Kelly got lumped into. But, I was feeling lazy and didn't want to go all the way back home to trim the box a couple of inches, considering I went to the FedEx World Service Center towards the end of their business day.

Cheapest shipped guitar I've shipped was about $28 Canadian to the USA, and that was my Ibanez RG560 in its generic Strat-style hardshell case. So, it qualified for Oversize 2 and was very cheap to ship, even across the border and all the way west across the USA to Washington. Nice!!! [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

I'd say the FedEx Ground estimates are VERY close. The price depends mostly on the package dimensions and rough weight, followed by the destination. So measure your CARDBOARD BOX accurately, as well as the weight of the whole package on the bathroom scale, and then hit www.fedex.com and get a FedEx Ground quote. Declaring full value for insurance purposes is not as expensive as I thought it would be, so I normally declare the full value. It's only a couple of bucks more! Sweet!!! [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

I don't really have experience shipping out guitars with other companies, although I've received guitars via UPS and FedEx Ground before.

[Jim Shine]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

I shipped a Rhoads to Spain that cost $250. Shipped a Flying V to California that cost $80. The variables are where it is going, how heavy it is, the dimensions of the box (oversized will kill you) and the insured amount. I just shipped a guitar to Massachusettes and it cost me $16 via Priority mail. It was close by and the insurance was low plus I packed it under 108".

[xenophobe]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

I shipped a Charvel Model 88 in a chiansaw case to Australia using FedEx for $220. I shipped a USA Jackson Strat in a chainsaw case to Ireland for $85 USPS. I've shipped various guitars and case sizes and weights from USPS, UPS and FedEx ground in the price ranges from $20-$45. Depending on size and weight, and how far it has to go, FedEx Ground is the cheapest across the country. USPS is the cheapest for a few states away. UPS.... umm... a little more expensive on average.

[MountainDog]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

Are you sure you filled out the 'calculate time & cost' thing out right on UPS site? Are you looking at the "Ground" cost?
For example, I just did it for shipping a 25lb package from CA to NY, $500 declared value, with 'my packaging' size box of 45" x 15" x6" (which is bigger than most normal guitar boxes which are more like 42x13x5), and it came up $35 via ground, and $62 via 3-day select.
The same thing on USPS came up $60.65 overnight, $44.95 2-day priority, and $31.65 Parcel post (8-day).

The guitars I've shipped have varied from around $23 to $35 depending on where and size of box. I can't see it being more than $35.

This is for you packing it yourself and then taking to UPS. If you have a UPS store pack it for you, then that basically doubles the price!

If you have a Fed-Ex near you, their ground is usually a few $ cheaper than UPS, and they'll deliver on Saturdays.
(they wanted $23.50 for the same specs as above for ground (5 business days)

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

Oh yes. Another thing to keep in mind is to actually go to the proper courier office rather than authorized centers. For example, I will use FedEx again since I know them the best and have dealt with them multiple times. I choose to ship FedEx Ground at the actual FedEx World Service Center down by my international airport than to go to the Mail Boxes Etc authorized FedEx place which apparently charges you a LOT MORE than the proper FedEx service center.

[Carbuff]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

Yeah, Ive discovered fedex ground recently. After the P.O. quoted me $76 to ship a guitar (parcel post) I decided to drive 10 minutes to the local fedex service center. The lady at the PO wanted me to rebox it in a smaller box so it wouldnt be oversize. F-that! It was $18 fully insured and the place was empty! The most Ive paid is $26 coast to coast fully insured for a heavy guitar-case combo with fedex. The lady at the counter was even into guitars. Supposedly her son won the crossroads competition on the east coast. Won a ton of stuff, sold most of it off. She was really into it, telling me how he had a $2500 custom guitar on order and she was buying her husband a $1200 ovation for Christmas. Nice lady.

[Genebaby]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

I got a Model 88 in a chainsaw case from the US and it cost me US$220 to get it here.... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I've paid around US $250 for Rhoads style guitars sometimes and I just got an empty G&G Star case for about that much. Shipping can be a bitch.

[Mordor]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

$108 from USA to Italy via USPS

[sully]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

most i've paid was $85 to ship an import roswell (FU mailboxes, etc!) but i didn't know better. cheapest i've paid to ship a guitar was around $8. that was the "charvelle" i sold to pete (who's 4 hours away). fedex ground, AND it got there overnight! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

i've heard good things about dhl...

sully

[MetalMedal II]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

I've shipped using Fed Ex Ground which, within the CONUS is usually $12 - 18. Fed Ex bought Kinkos so most Kinkos copy centers are authorized Fed Ex centers so there's no upcharge. On the downside, some staff aren't as knowledgable (at least not yet) with all the Fed Ex lingo. Also, they tell me that when using Fed Ex Ground, $100 is the maximum amount that they'll insure any package...which doesn't sit very well with me if sending a highly prized axe!

[Junior]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

I've been using DHL here in the US, and their ground service is quick. I've shipped guitars and amps to S.C./N.C./TX, and delivery has been averaging 48 hrs. It's hard to beat $14.96 to ship a guitar w/case, and have it arrive in 48 hrs.
But USPS can't be beat on International shipments. Just sent a guitar w/case to Belgium for $105, and this was for 4-10 day service.

[shreddermon]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

The most I've paid was $35 to $40-ish for a Y2KV (large case) from NY to the mid-west. UPS ground, fully insured.

[RacerX]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

I had to pay $55 to get my Rand V (King V size) shipped USPS Priority from NJ to CA.

[Ace]

Re: How much have you payed to ship a guitar?

I usually pay about $35 within the continental US. I shipped to Canada (Accept2, I think) for around $80 and I've shipped an ESP Mirage II to Spain for about the same, but I took the neck off and packaged it smaller at the buyer's request.