[darren]

It's important to protect the guitar from impacts, but what some people overlook is that you also want to do your best to keep the guitar from moving. Motion = acceleration in many cases, and protecting the impact points will only help so much. If the guitar gets dropped on its head, it's still going to go hurtling towards the inside of the case if not properly secured. A few bubbles aren't going to stop a pointy headstock from potentially sustaining damage.

1. Wrap the guitar in bubble wrap. You want it to be VERY snug in the case so it can't move around.
2. Make sure all the compartments in the case are wedged shut using blocks of bubble-wrap. You don't want trem bar, tools, keys, etc. coming out and bouncing around loose in the case. Better yet, put all that stuff in a padded envelope inside the case and secure it.
3. Use styrofoam peanuts, not bubble wrap between the case and shipping carton. Lots of them. The case should not move AT ALL in the box, and the box should be stuffed so full of peanuts that the sides of it do not flex when you put pressure on them. The whole package should be sturdy and feel completely rigid. Boxes that flex will get torn to shit in no time at all.
4. Use two layers of packing tape on all seams, and a couple of "straps" around the box. (You don't need to encapsulate the whole thing.) Packing tape has a "grain" to it, and two layers creates a matrix that's very hard to tear. Three layers might provide a bit of extra insurance, but any more than that is just overkill.

[skinhead]

Also, take off the strings or set them really flabby.

Also, the first thing you have to do when you're back from the mail, send an email with the tracking number (package number). So, DON'T THROW THE TICKET.

[Cheap Poison]

I am the one who is putting him through all this so i might as well take part here.

People have talked about custom on here alot,which i knew about.
But what can i reliably suspect to be charged?

Might as well known it now then when i have to pick it up or when Shadow has goen through all the trouble and i suddenly decline.

[HighGain510]

Originally Posted by darren

Use styrofoam peanuts, not bubble wrap between the case and shipping carton. Lots of them. The case should not move AT ALL in the box, and the box should be stuffed so full of peanuts that the sides of it do not flex when you put pressure on them. The whole package should be sturdy and feel completely rigid. Boxes that flex will get torn to shit in no time at all.

I'm going to disagree on this one. Having bought and sold a TON of gear (lots of selling...) I can't tell you how many times I've seen people stuff the crap out of boxes with packing peanuts and by the time I receive the box the item is flopping around and a bunch of dust is at the bottom. Packing peanuts will compress quite easily if there is any weight put on the box (and knowing shipping companies, they will more than likely toss whatever they want on top of your precious cargo) those peanuts are going to squish down and turn to little tiny pieces and dust. A few layers of bubble wrap would be much better as even if the first layer gets popped and pushed down a bit they're more than likely not going to crush the 2nd or 3rd layer like they can with packing peanuts. Just speaking from experience here, no offense.

[ukfswmart]

I'm starting to think that a mod should sticky this, what with the amount of good advice there is in this thread

[shadowgenesis]

:-X
this is such a bitch. and the cost of shipping seems absolutely absurd on UPS (400 bux?!), but i've never shipped anything big before... I think i may have overestimated the hypothetical package dimensions.

Originally Posted by ukfswmart

I'm starting to think that a mod should sticky this, what with the amount of good advice there is in this thread

awesome plan. I FINALLY created a thread that people actually responded to. lol

[HighGain510]

Originally Posted by shadowgenesis

:-X
this is such a bitch. and the cost of shipping seems absolutely absurd on UPS (400 bux?!), but i've never shipped anything big before... yowzers

Re-read my first response in this thread. USPS (US Postal Service) is going to be your cheapest bet for overseas shipping man. I think when I shipped a guitar to Sweden from Virginia it was like $100 or $150? A lot of money but nothing compared to how bad UPS and FedEx screw you for shipping.

[ibznorange]

you DEFINATELY want to bubblewrap the damn case, a few times around, make EXTRA sure you get the corners. inside the case, wrap anywhere the guitar is free floating, so the headstock namely, as well as the body a bit. then fill in all the cavity left over (space around wrapped HS, space in body cavity etc) with some sort of packing to keep it from moving around. If its going overseas somewhere, ill recommend bubble wrapping the box itself, and either finding another bigger box, or constructing one around it to ship in. also make sure you tape the box to high heaven. dont just tape the edges or go over them. I make a few joints each way COMPLETELY around the box. so if the box opens lengthwise, i tape it across the 2 side edges with one piece of tape, and continue that piece all the way around the box till it overlaps itself. I do that in a few different spots when going perpendicular to the longer 2 edges

and customs paperwork (on the sellers end) is a pain in the ass depending on where youre sending it. ever try sending shit to australia? goddamn, thats like a functional disaster. Im willing to ship internationally and overseas usually, but if im feelign worn out, i wont, cause in addition to the normal, theres customs paperwork, theres informing the buyer of their duties, tracking down a shipping time (which seems to go missing soon as you click international), theres finding the importing customs (ive found most buyers expect the seller to figure out approx. what customs is going to run them), and then theres always the customers who want you to declare a lower value on customs or declare it as a gift or whatever. it really is more of a hassle, but i find im usually willing to do it provided the customer is cool about things

and matts right, ship USPS international if at all possible. Shipping overseas with UPS includes shipping at all with UPS, which is bad juju, and fedex just rapes the fuck out of you with intl shipping

[drjenkins]

Any time I shipped a guitar I used a lot of the methods mentioned, especially the bubble wrap. I also put wadded up shipping paper in any crevice or spot that could hold it just for my own piece of mind. May not be necessary, but better safe than sorry and all that. Good Luck!!!

[Emperoff]

Originally Posted by ukfswmart

+1 to you, sir . I guess as is the case with all things, it only takes a couple of idiots to ruin the experience for everyone

For me, if I spot something on eBay US that will only be shipped within the continental states or to Canada, and I want it, I'll shoot the guy an e-mail asking if he'd consider sending it overseas. Granted, I've not bought a guitar from eBay US, but the sellers have always agreed to it as long as I pay the shipping, which is an absolute given. So Emperoff, just ask next time!

I shoot and email everytime I want something . I was ranting about the people who don't want to ship, not the ones that don't list overseas shipping in the auction or whatever.