Shipping a guitar?

[scottmandue]

I know some of you guys have bought guitars off evilbay, how did you get them shipped to you? I have looked at a couple of acoustic guitars that look to be good deals but they don't have hard shell cases. When I contacted the sellers they tell me they will ship them out in the factory boxes, does that sound alright to you?

Thanks,
Scott

[Rick Lee]

Yeah, factory boxes are best. Lots of folks just take them out of the dumpsters behind music stores. Last few I shipped were around $25 with UPS. You want insurance.

Oh, just saw the part about no case. Ask how much it is to throw in a case. Some cases that cost $100 by themselves cost $25 when bought with a guitar.

[scottmandue]

Yeah I asked about a case and no go... one guy is a private party and the other is a guitar center that sells through ebay.

[kaisen]

Guitar center should be able to get you a generic case (?)

E

[scottmandue]

That's what I thought but when I emailed the guy (at guitar center) he said no, it is a very large jazz guitar and a bit of an unusual shape. I checked the ratings and he has apparently shipped out several acoustic guitars without cases with no problem.

The private party guy says he had the guitar shipped to him in the boxes with no problem.

[kaisen]

Be sure to purchase shipping insurance then!

E

[FrayAdjacent911]

Get the seller to provide the insurance, and let him get it to you however he sees fit. If it arrives smashed, claim the insurance.

[juanbenae]

i shipped my air guitar a few times in in a box full of bubble wrap with great results. very light, and shipping was cheap.

[TyFenn]

I shipped/brought my guitar on the plane with me from Boston to Montana one summer. I would not advise doing it again. The difference in air pressure, altitude, handling, my imagination...kinda' messed it up. I brought to a shop to have it fixed/re-set-up for a whopping $12 and then it was better. And that was in a semi-hard case - the thick cardboard style (in between soft and a full hard case).

Best of luck.

[Shuie]

Make sure they loosen the strings. It really helps if its in a hardcase. If not, just do the best you can with a gig bag or whatever they have. Keep the headstock and the edges protected from the edges of the carton that are going to be dropped on the ground.

Guitar Center whores out the cases separately so they can advertise a lower price on the guitar . If the guitar is suppsoed to come with COA or any paperwork at all, insist that you get it before you pay them.

[scottmandue]

Well you place your bets and you take your chances...

The private party guy seems really knowledgeable (knew about loosening the strings) and claims to have shipped four guitars with no problem.

Ghee-tar center (who you would think would be professionals) has almost all good feedback on (like two out of a thousand bad feed back) so I got my fingers crossed. I'm pretty sure they are sell it on consignment because you can buy a hard shell case for it on-line yet they claim not to be able to get one.

I bought them both, one is sold on the Internet for $320, I got it for $250+$35 shipping. The other I got for $350 and sells for $499.

[Don Ro]

Man, I don't know. I'd want a shipped guitar to be double-boxed, minimally.
Good luck.

[scottmandue]

They are at least double boxed...
We will see in two weeks when they get here, either I'm an idiot or a genius.

[azasadny]

Hard shell case is the only way to go! I've purchased several guitars through eBay (Fender and Parker Fly) and the hard shell case with an outer cardboard, padded box took the bumps and the guitars were perfect.

[Don Ro]

As per Art Z.
.
'Hate to think of my Martin being bounced around by UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc.
I'd be buying, renting, or borrowing a hard case, then sending it to each seller - one after the other.
Anyway, hope it works for you.