dhanners623 Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 Anybody here have any recent experience shipping a guitar internationally? If so, I’d be interested in hearing your experiences, good and bad. I’ve got to get my J-35 from St. Paul, MN, to Manchester, UK. Looking at UPS, the cost is roughly the same as a round-trip ticket. I found an outfit in California called Ship Guitars that uses UPS, but gets a volume discount that knocks several hundred dollars off the price. When I emailed Willie’s American Guitars in St. Paul to ask what they do — it’s a world-renown shop and ships internationally — they recommended the U.S. Postal Service. I checked and it is WAY cheaper than UPS (naturally) but my experience mailing/shipping things internationally via USPS over the past couple of years has not been reassuring. But the price difference is pretty big. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 I've seen these guys advertise on the television before. Ship Sticks: The Best Way to Ship Golf Clubs | 3.5M+ Shipped Have never used them, but they should know about shipping "valuable" stuff. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 A few years back I bought some guitars from the U.S. and had them shipped by USPS to Sweden. It was much cheaper than UPS, and I did not have any problems. One good thing to know, which at least was true at the time, is that the tracking via the USPS site only reaches the customs of the country you are shipping to. From that point on, tracking has to be switched to the site of the local carrier, which in the UK most likely would be Royal Mail, but you could check that in advance. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 A guitar buddy of mine in the Twin Cities who tours nationally and internationally said he’s used an outfit called ShipNex and had no problems. I checked their rates, and while they are more expensive than the USPS, they are cheaper than Ship Guitars. My friend says ShipNex’s insurance coverage is much better. All things being equal, I’d prefer doing it USPS, but Trump’s guy, Louis DeJoy, screwed it up. I noticed a definite difference in USPS international shipping times after he took the reins. Things just took much longer to get to me in Cyprus or the UK. I had one envelope containing an important document I needed sit in Chicago FOR A MONTH before it left the U.S. I’ll probably make a decision by the end of the week. Maybe have my J-35 by the end of the month…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard McCoy Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 (edited) The US retailer from which I had recently ordered for delivery to Germany was also using USPS. The shipping fees were still horrendously high (around 150 bucks). Let's see how the delivery and import procedure goes. Edited April 13, 2022 by Leonard McCoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted April 22, 2022 Author Share Posted April 22, 2022 An update…. The fine folks at St. Paul Guitar Repair packed my guitar today and NEX Shipping (actually, a FedEx driver) came and picked it up and the guitar is now “in transit.” I’m supposed to get it here in Manchester next Thursday. The shipping/insurance was relatively reasonable (more than USPS but about one-fourth of what UPS was going to charge) and I was able to fill out all the forms and pay online so it was more or less sans hassle. When it arrives, I’ll report on whether it made it in one piece…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Keeping my fingers crossed that you'll celebrate the safe arrival of the J-35 with a new song and a video from Blighty. Lars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard McCoy Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 My international USPS package arrived without any issues in a matter of days. Of course, customs intercepted the whole thing at the last mile to charge horrendous import fees, but we all knew that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 I think my best experience was a Kris Kristofferson guitar I bought from UK. The seller bubble wrapped the case (no box) and shipped it. Got to KY in 2 days in good shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 (edited) The last time St. Paul Guitar Repair shipped a guitar to me, from St. Paul to Springfield, IL, they used StewMac’s inflatable shipping cradles, but stuck the whole thing in a Martin box. Those cradles really keep the case secure. https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/supplies/guitar-shipping/acoustic-guitar-shipping-system/ Of course the issue (particularly with a Gibson…) is making sure the headstock is immobilized from suffering an inertia break. They packed the headstock — it was my Farida OT-22 — pretty securely, so I have faith they’ll do it again. They do this on a routine basis. Just checked the shipping website and the J-35 reached the Memphis hub. I hope it doesn’t decide to tour Graceland or grab some barbecue at The Rendezvous…. Edited April 24, 2022 by dhanners623 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 If memory serves correctly while USPS was the most cost effective way to go they also have a limit on size of the container. In the dim reaches of my mind I seem to remember having to cut a guitar shipping box down a bit to get within their limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 Well, it’s always somethin’…. Got a text this morning saying, “Hey, this is FedEx. We’re ready to ship the guitar to you from our Memphis hub, but first you have to pay the import duty and £340 VAT.” What?? Why do I have to pay VAT on a guitar I’ve owned since 2016? I called FedEx and after the first guy was completely unhelpful, I finally got a supervisor who told me I needed to fill out a “Transfer of Residence” form with Her Majesty’s Government, listing the guitar as my property. Once I do that and it is approved, they waive the VAT. She directed me to the form online. Filled it out and submitted it and the accompanying documentation, so now I wait. The form says it can take up to 15 business days, but the FedEx rep said they usually hear something in 24 to 48 hours. Learn something new every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cayine Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) On 4/12/2022 at 12:06 AM, dhanners623 said: Anybody here have any recent experience shipping a guitar internationally? If so, I’d be interested in hearing your experiences, good and bad. I’ve got to get my J-35 from St. Paul, MN, to Manchester, UK. Looking at UPS, the cost is roughly the same as a round-trip ticket. I found an outfit in California called Ship Guitars that uses UPS, but gets a volume discount that knocks several hundred dollars off the price. When I emailed Willie’s American Guitars in St. Paul to ask what they do — it’s a world-renown shop and ships internationally — they recommended the U.S. Postal Service. I checked and it is WAY cheaper than UPS (naturally) but my experience mailing/shipping things internationally via USPS over the past couple of years has not been reassuring. But the price difference is pretty big. Any thoughts on kontorflytting? I'm planning to list a Telecaster on eBay within the next few days. I haven't shipped a guitar before, and I'm hoping to get some advice from people who've been there/done that. I want to be able to offer the buyer a safe, reasonably priced, insured method, whether that be via Australia Post, a courier, carrier pidgeon, whatever. Any suggestions/advice re: methods and prices will be much appreciated. Edited March 17 by cayine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 12 minutes ago, cayine said: I'm planning to list a Telecaster on eBay within the next few days. I haven't shipped a guitar before, and I'm hoping to get some advice from people who've been there/done that. I want to be able to offer the buyer a safe, reasonably priced, insured method, whether that be via Australia Post, a courier, carrier pidgeon, whatever. Any suggestions/advice re: methods and prices will be much appreciated. eBay is pretty good at taking care of international shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 (edited) It’s like shipping anything else except it’s just going overseas, or maybe the next country over. Make sure it’s insured. Make sure it’s packed well, and make sure you’re using a reputable company to ship. Oh and it’s gonna cost a lot more. Edited March 18 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 You're posting this in the acoustic guitar forum. Shipping will be very different for a telecaster (I have one) and an acoustic. The telecaster could certainly survive rough treatment and humidity changes better than an acoustic. Might want to post this in an electric guitar forum.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cayine Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 On 4/12/2022 at 12:06 AM, dhanners623 said: Anybody here have any recent experience shipping a guitar internationally? If so, I’d be interested in hearing your experiences, good and bad. I’ve got to get my J-35 from St. Paul, MN, to Manchester, UK. Looking at UPS, the cost is roughly the same as a round-trip ticket. I found an outfit in California called Ship Guitars that uses UPS, but gets a volume discount that knocks several hundred dollars off the price. When I emailed Willie’s American Guitars in St. Paul to ask what they do — it’s a world-renown shop and ships internationally — they recommended the U.S. Postal Service. I checked and it is WAY cheaper than UPS (naturally) but my experience mailing/shipping things internationally via USPS over the past couple of years has not been reassuring. But the price difference is pretty big. Any thoughts on Custom Home Remodeling? When it comes to shipping guitars I"ve always been meticulous at packing. I usually slacken the strings, fill any empty areas in the case and then pack the case with several inches of bubblewrap before boxing it. Lately I've noticed more guitars simply being stuck in a box (in their cases of course) with full string tension. Have I been the anal retentive guitar shipper this whole time? Is it necessary to slacken the strings or have redundant wrapping when the guitar is in a form-fitted case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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