Shipping Steel Guitars

[Rex Lindsey]

Where does one buy a 4 x 8 sheet of cardboard - without
getting a bundle ??

[Rex Lindsey]

Take a look at this great packing.

From CA to MS - no damage -God much really like me !!!

[Rex Lindsey]

Take a look at this great packing.

From CA to MS - no damage -God much really like me !!!

[Damir Besic]

leaving a handle exposed goes a long way ...

[Gene Tani]

Rex you could ask at Home Depot or appliance stores about large high quality boxes, I think most of those places have cardboard compactors so they want you to pick up ata specific time, they don't store boxes.

[Duane Reese]

Take a look at this great packing.

From CA to MS - no damage -God much really like me !!!

That's one of those things that should never be seen. That is the height of laziness. Clearly, an exposed handle – well, a handle – is better than not in that situation.

Adding a layer of cardboard around it would provide cosmetic protection around the case, but not a whole lot more to the inside. I think that idea is a lot more popular with sellers than buyers.

[Johnny Howington]

What most people dont consider is the insurance you put on your merchandise! When you sell say a steel guitar! That guitar is still yours until the buyer receives it and makes sure there is no damage before signing for it. If there is any damage he can have it returned to
You and he would want his money back I'm sure. Might want to ask about this with whoever your getting the insurance from. When you sign for the package your saying there was no damage and I'm keeping it.

[Paul Strojan]

Has anyone else been having trouble with Fed Ex not delivering guitars? I have been waiting three weeks and I have no clue when it will be delivered.

[Duane Reese]

Not non-delivery, but in my experience, UPS treats guitars a little better than FedEx, although FedEx seems to do big heavy packages for cheaper.

Seems I've also seen a time or two where FedEx was kinda balky with insurance claims. I don't know that UPS is better on that, but at any rate, I would not be betting my life on insurance with those carriers ever coming through for you. Not to say it has never happened, but I can't think of a time I've ever known someone to get any insurance money from one of these carriers. Either pack it well or pick it up/deliver it yourself.

[Bobby D. Jones]

Another thing to consider in shipping a steel guitar is stabilizing the Pickup. That block of magnets and copper wire is heavy and only held by a couple small bolts. If the package hits hard on the bottom of the case the Pickup's weight will break the plastic bottom plate on many pickups and turn the pickup loose in case, To do more damage.

A forum member I know shipped his steel to Texas to meet a band to play a Texas tour. When he picked up his steel the pickup was busted, He ended up renting a guitar some how and did not get his guitar fixed till it returned to West Virginia.

[Greg Forsyth]

Hello all,
Rex asked about getting a 4 x8 sheet of cardboard without having to buy a bundle.
Cabinet shops and wood product distributors have cardboard cover sheets that are of that size and most would be happy to give some away just to get rid of excess.

[Tony Prior]

I recently shipped a D10, as in a week ago, my typical procedure, purchase a 4x8x1" styrofoam bd and build a box around the case. Yes this adds $13 to the shipping cost.
Then build a box around the styrofoam,which basically is to only protect the styrofoam. The handle is left partially exposed so it can be accessed.

The box is marked with the weight and an arrow pointing to the handle, only a total fool would not be able to see or read it. LARGE BLACK MARKER PRINT, both sides of the box. And an idiot did rise to the occasion.

I dropped it off at the local UPS store, brought it in on my trusty cart, the young kid started to pick it up, struggling, found out it was real heavy, very hard to manage, , never read the LARGE BLACK MARKER PRINT on the box as well as not using the handle marked with a LARGE BLACK MARKER ARROW.

The Counter Supervisor looked at him and said
Can't you read , it weighs 70 pounds, ? Why don't you use the handle ? The kid says.."Oh yeah, didn't see that " He'll make a great UPS or FED EX worker someday !

The Steel made the trip in 2 days. No issues.

[Nick Fryer]

Hi all -

I would like to get some feedback on the UPS conundrum of letting them pack and getting insurance vs. packing yourself and waiving insurance. It’s my understanding that they won’t offer insurance if you pack.

I’ve shipped a lot of guitars of all sizes and weights over the years. I’ve always packed the guitars myself. I take pride in packing very well. I pack inside the case, build a foam box around the case and then I box. My guitars have always arrived to the buyer without damage.

I don’t trust UPS or FedEx to pack my guitars well.

Let me know your thoughts on this dilemma and please correct me if I’m wrong in my understanding of the corporate policies of these shipping companies.

Thanks,
Nick Fryer

[Roger Rettig]

I had occasion to pack-and-ship all my instruments (and a lot of other personal stuff) via container-ship in 2020.

As each shipment (or part-container) is shrink-wrapped onto pallets then lifted as one unit, the Emmons was fine just in its case.

Or so I thought.

When it reached me four months later, my first concern was how the instruments had fared. Nothing was broken and cases had, generally, done their job.

The steel, though, was in my Wheel-Ez case with the foam-rubber lining. Whether it had just aged too much or whether there was excessive moisture, the black rubber had perished and some was stuck to the strings! There was no alternative - I had to change both necks.

Before I returned (my stuff was shipped again) I researched it. I read that simply spreading sheets of newspaper as a case lining would absorb any damp. It worked like a charm. The new strings I'd put on in Fall, 2020 after their sea voyage were perfect; the newspaper took care of it.

[Roger Rettig]

One other hazard that I don't see mentioned is the vulnerability of the pick-ups.

Perhaps this is covered is some of the earlier threads on proper packing (and what a great job they do) and we all know that bracing the leg-compartment is vital.

(I was once shipped a D10 that arrived with the back-apron distorted and every cross-rod dislocated from the underside. There had been no attempt to brace that thin wall and the heavy guitar did its worst. The shipper was a company that should have known better.)

I think that filling the slack between the top of the case and the guitar is just as important. We can assume that 'This Way Up' is pretty much ignored by the handlers. My Emmons once arrived with the C6 pick-up not working. I now think that someone had allowed it to fall flat on the ground, case-lid downwards, thereby imparting shock-waves through the strings and the pick-up. The bottom-plate of the pick-up was cracked from end to end.

If this has been covered, I apologize.

[Bobby C. Webster]

I had some problems with shipping with ups, and never any with fedex. Just saying.

[Jim Pitman]

Beware:
Paypal has fees now. I was charged a total of 5.5%. Some of that was due to the person I sold it to being in a foreign country even though he was having it shipped to a stateside address which I wasn't made aware of initially.
That's not the worst of it. I made a special trip to the local pack and ship to have them estimate packing, insurance, and shipping. I got $130.00 in writing. When they shipped it they billed me $278.00 - wow! I also made a donation to the SGF which I don't regret.
Anyway, the fees and shipping amounted to a 1/3 of the selling price which I absorbed for the most part.

[Landon Johnson]

I packed a Justice ProLite in a standard case for shipping, took it to FEDEX to have them pack it, declared value $3K. They will not honor their insurance unless they do the packing (customer-supplied packaging)

Shipping base rate $188
Declared value $59
Custom box $60

Total was $311...