How to post an (electric) guitar?

I thought this would be easy but not so... Basically I want to send an electric guitar as an Xmas present to someone in the uk (I'm also in the uk).

First of all I don't have anything big enough to put it it - so anyone know someplace I can buy a HUGE jiffy bag or eqiv? I thought to wrap it in several layers of bubble wrap then wrap than in brown paper - but because of the weight and spiky shape that may not be the best. In the past I've received courier parcels than arrive in the couriers own substantial plastic bag. Is that something *they* put their parcels in - or is it something I can get from them?

The other thing is who which courier to use? I've just spent 1/2 hr reading the merits of several shipping companies... DNL say their max insurance cover for any "parcel" is £100 and the guitar is worth about £250. Mind you I did like their straightforward online order form - at least it is easy to fill out.

Sigh - this is going to take until after Xmas to send :-) Sorry for what may a seem a trivial post.

Reply to
Mike
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I'd seriously consider some form of rigid packaging. A guitar neck is very easily broken when handled roughly by a carrier of some sort.

You really need a wooden box, or at the very least fasten the guitar securely to a wood board before putting it in a "jiffy bag" or whatever.

Or deliver it personally.

Merry Christmas!

Reply to
Frank Erskine

Maybe buy a cheap or secondhand guitar case and ship it in that? I've no idea what they cost, but the recipient may eventually want a case to keep it in anyway. Maybe they're available on Ebay. I'd imagine a tatty one that's seen a few gigs wouldn't cost too much.

Other than that you could canibalise a large heavy duty cardboard box to protect the 'spiky' bits after first wrapping it in loads of bubble wrap. As you say, they're quite heavy, so it will need to be very well protected to ensure it arrives undamaged.

Mike

Reply to
MikeH

Get a cheap guitar case and then you won't have to worry about wrapping it as much or if you get a hard case then you can consider it wrapped!! You could also try posting in uk.people.consumers.ebay they regularly have experience of posting strange shaped object questions.

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has cover upto a £1000 so you should be ok with them.

Steven

Reply to
Steven Campbell

Musical instruments are extremely susceptible to knocks and bashes - so the key to a successful delivery is padding, and lots of it. Bubblewrap is insufficient, and gives very little shock protection to something as weighty as an instrument. One decent bash in the van and the neck joint might crack. End of guitar.

Ideal the guitar should be in a hard case, suitably padded inside and then fitted into a padded box.

I'm assuming all you've got is the cardboard box the guitar came in.

What you need is foam, and lots of it. Best place to find this is at your local tip - old sofas and chairs are a great source for six inch thick slabs of foam...and you probably won't even have to pay for it. While you're there, check out the cardboard bin for a huge box. You'll more than likely have to grab a couple of boxes and knock up your own. If you can find large lumps of polystyrene, so much the better. If you see any thin hardboard, grab that too - a layer of this over the front and rear of the packing box will protect the instrument from puncture damage. Even a strip will do, running parallel to the neck of the guitar.

Before packing, make sure the strings are slack - and if there's a whammy bar ( tremolo arm ) fitted, remove it and wrap separately. Wrap the guitar in paper. If it came in a polythene bag, use that. Pack the guitar in its box, ensuring there's sufficient foam around it to prevent it sliding around, then tape the box up. Construct your shipping box, ensuring that you have space for at least three inches of foam all the way round ( half the thickness of a sofa cushion will do ). Use double the thickness at the ends. A sharp, serrated bread knife will cut foam a treat.

This should ensure protection against the standard courier drop ( i.e. two feet, off the back of a Transit onto the floor ). You'll end up with a pretty heavy parcel - but at least you'll know it'll get to where it's going in one piece.

I can't recommend any specific courier company - I see damaged instruments all the time from a variety of courier accidents, and in every instance the damage could have been avoided by proper packing. Got any mates heading in the general direction of where the guitar's going? A £20 bribe is often enough to persuade them to do a drop-off, and saves all the packaging hassles.

Regards,

Reply to
Stephen Howard

thanks all. Steven this is a really good link - have you used them yourself?

Reply to
Mike

No Mike I haven't used them personally. I enquired a while back about delivery companies and this company had a few recommendations so I bookmarked it. The others were

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Reply to
Steven Campbell

To be safe it needs to go in a hard case or box. Ideally a guitar travel case! A large, fragile object like a guitar is going to take a lot of packing to protect from the knocks and bumps it's going to get during a courier delivery.

We have shipped musical instruments in the past and they've all been in purpose made travel cases. IMHO, all courier companies should refuse a shipment that is not sufficiently well packed to survive the journey.

We only ship for companies that have set-up and account for us. I'm not going to comment further - see below!

Guy,who works for a courier company...

-- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Guy Dawson I.T. Manager Crossflight Ltd snipped-for-privacy@crossflight.co.uk

Reply to
Guy Dawson

Just out of interest.. where's it going from/to? Or how far if you don't want to divulge locations!!?

There might be enough people in this group to do a pass-the-parcel... :D _______________________ The Grim Reaper

Reply to
The Grim Reaper

Telephone the nearest musical instrument shop to the recipient and see if they will deliver. (Or have you already bought it?)

Chris

Reply to
chris_doran

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