Shipping tales - URGENT UPDATE!!!

[santellavision]

URGENT UPDATE: Just read this about FedEx shipping guitars. 



Back to our original programming...

As many of you have seen, I've been selling off a bunch of gear... guitars, amps, pedals etc. And, I have found out some really interesting tid-bits on shipping.

There seems to be more ways to ship gear than ever. Beside the standard USPS, UPS, FedEx etc. I've found some great discounts at other places. It also seems the box and sizes sometimes makes one shipping service better than others. What I mean is, you just have to check all of them to see which ones gives the best price for a particular box/weight. It's kinda' a pain-in-the-ass to enter all the info multiple times, but I'm retired, I have plenty of time - haha. But, it can save you a LOT of money on big items.

OK, let's not get into a flame-war over which company is safer than another. It's all a crap-shoot, they all can damage stuff. Over the years, I haven't found one to be the 'Best' to ship. That's why I over pack and bubble-wrap the crap out of everything and make sure there is plenty of room around the item as to not let something hit the box and still get to the gear. Loosen strings, take off switch-tips, secure guitars in cases, pull tubes and wrap separately when possible, put paper under the strings as to not let the strings vibrate and possibly put indentations on frets etc. Double box guitars with gig bags. With all that, damage can still happen.

Back to shipping...
There are the big 3. UPS, FedEx, USPS (Yeah, there is also DHL)
Also, when selling on Reverb or Ebay, they offer discounted shipping if you use them. And, can provide 'safe shipping' coverage, which can be good. (I usually have all my gear insured by Heritage Insurance, so I have that to rely on. I have only had to use them once in 20 years and they were great.) But, I've found much better shipping prices outside of Reverb and Ebay.

Then, there are some other outside companies that you should check: PirateShip.com and Paypal. Yeah, Paypal offers discounted shipping, even if you didn't use them for the sale. Their prices have been EXCEPTIONALLY good!!! Sometimes the best I have found on big items.

Also, always remember to check for discount codes, especially when using UPS, I have found some really good, 20-25% discount codes on the webbernets.
Again, its weird, one shipper might offer a better price for large items or small boxes vs another, you just have do some legwork to find out.

Lately, I've found big items like guitar and amps, Paypal Shipping or UPS with discounts, seem to have the best prices. Pedals or small stuff, Reverb shipping or USPS is quick and easy. Middle size stuff, like rack gear is all over the place.

Hope this helps!
ernie

P.S. If you guys know of any other shipping options, please post them. Let's keep this going to save us all some moolah!

Edited February 25 by santellavision

[specialk]

What about discounts on bubble wrap? 😄

[santellavision]

 

2 hours ago, specialk said:

What about discounts on bubble wrap? 😄

I found the best prices are at Staples or Office Max, sometimes on sale and I grab 2-3 big-ass rolls! Home Depot is usually more expensive.

Edited March 11, 2025 by santellavision

[murkat]

Uline for boxes and bubble wrap 

[bry4321]

On 3/11/2025 at 11:22 AM, santellavision said:

As many of you have seen, I've been selling off a bunch of gear... guitars, amps, pedals etc. And, I have found out some really interesting tid-bits on shipping..

Hope this helps!
ernie

P.S. If you guys know of any other shipping options, please post them. Let's keep this going to save us all some moolah!
 

Thank you for taking the time to post this. I have been happy with PirateShip in the past but had no idea PayPay had a shipping option. Will be sure to check that out next time!

[Cboss]

Thank you also for posting this, I had to ship a large heavy amp today and thanks to this post I was able to do it via PayPal for $110, next quote up was 160 and they took off from there.. forgot to check pirate ship

[HamerCustomEr]

Oh, man, I was hoping for shipping horror stories, not bargain advice.  Thanks, anyway, I guess.

 

[velorush]

14 hours ago, HamerCustomEr said:

Oh, man, I was hoping for shipping horror stories, not bargain advice.  Thanks, anyway, I guess.

 

We shipped three pallets of four (very large) batteries each, Tennessee to Colorado, with an LTL carrier.

The entire shipment went missing.

Located three weeks later... in Mexico. Well, one pallet with a couple of batteries was located... 

[Ham Rex]

Creating a Fedex Account VS walking in off the street and creating a label saves a few dollars.

I'll have to check out PirateShip and PayPal.

Thanks for the informative post!

[stonge]

I did want to mention that you can hide an Apple airtag under the neck pickup of a guitar so you can track it in shipping; there are also some Android compatible versions that look to be thinner and might be a better fit (the airtag can be a little tall depending on the neck pickup routing depth). The airtag would have fit in the control cavity, but I'm not sure if Hamer's shielding paint would have affected the airtag signal.

A big thank you to Dr Bear for mentioning airtags; it's easier to look something up on your phone and get a locational update rather than depend on the tracking info.

[diablo175]

I paid the most I've ever paid to ship the Virt to the buyer in Winnipeg CAN. $330 via UPS (his insistence). 😲 This didn't even have the total amount of insurance that could be had. Reverb wouldn't cover it for more than $2000 so I couldn't even use Reverb's discounted shipping. Turns out UPS set that limit but buyer OK-ed insuring for that amount. Needless to say, we were both more nervous than a long tailed cat in room full of rocking chairs. Luckily, it arrived perfectly intact (in fairness, I have managed to cultivate some very solid packing skills in my years as a guitar buying/selling whore. ) and in 3 days as was stated. 

Don't even like to think about what he paid in VATs and duties. Ended up being an additional $1600 CAN?  Told him it woulda been cheaper to have me fly out and deliver in person.  

 

[santellavision]

Check this out...

Shipped another guitar in a standard guitar box. Checked UPS and the cost was $51 for the box (with discount code) Actually a good price. Then, checked Pirate Ship and it was only $37. Not sure how they can do it, but they can. 

[Willie G. Moseley]

OKay, my "shipping tale" is an "inexpensive sequel" to a USPS episode from a number of years ago where someone sliced into a manila envelope and stole the vintage guitar catalogs therein. I was sending them to Vintaxe in St. Louis so they could add the pages ot their website (I've been using it for research for at least a couple of decades.

Recently I mailed a  small package containing some memorabilia--celebrity picks, key chains, etc. to a friend in CA. Same tyep of event---envelope precisely sliced open and contents removed. Dollar-wise, not particularly valuable but a gesture of appreciation for our friendship based on and around guitars.

And I don't collect anymore, but the recent incident underlines in a small way why, at times, I don't miss the collecting phenomenon. 

But those times aren't permanent.

[santellavision]

Just wanted to give an update on my shipping tales.

I have been shipping a ton of stuff in the last couple of months... amps, guitars, pedals etc.
I am still getting by far the best rates with Pirate Ship. 2nd is Paypal Shipping which is usually about the same. Reverb shipping is easy and they do offer simple protection if you are worries about shipping something. But, as you know me: MOBW (Master of Bubble Wrap) I over pack everything.

One thing to note, I've been hit twice with extra fees from Pirate Ship after the item arrives. It turns out it my my mistake. You have to be EXTRA careful with your dimensions and weight. I had a box that was very slightly protruding out in the middle and they figure that into the size. I just measured it at the top. So, after that, I always triple-check my measurements and weight (I even bought a new scale that is super-accurate) No more issues!

Carry on my friends!
ernie

[velorush]

We were getting killed by UPS for dimensional upcharges. To boot, if we had too many adjustments on a single invoice UPS changed an additional Adjustments Fee. 

Always round up to the next inch (they never discount for overstating the measurement). If it's on the bubble, really close, go with the larger measurement. It's cheaper in the long run.

[santellavision]

Urgent update on FedEx and shipping guitars. Read the top of the thread.

Edited February 25 by santellavision

[RobB]

2 hours ago, santellavision said:

Urgent update on FedEx and shipping guitars. Read the top of the thread.

What is that? A font for ants?

Hey, Ernie. Does Heritage cover guitars you’ve sold/shipped until the buyer receives the package?

Edited February 25 by RobB

[currypowder]

In all my years shipping hundreds of guitars, I have had less than 5 that had any shipping damage, all fairly minor except one neck break on a rather inexpensive guitar. The claims were between $100 and $500. On all of those incidents, I was eventually able to get reimbursement from the carrier, but it wasn't easy. Lots of back and forth with pictures, inspections, descriptions etc. But the amounts were low.

I'm fairly certain that if I filed a multi thousand $ claim with any of the carriers, they would tell me to jump in a lake and there would be very little to do about it. To think that they are going to gladly just write a check for significant shipping damage, whether the value was claimed or not, is delusional.

Instead, I have a policy with Heritage that covers my entire collection, including shipping. They are well aware that I am a private collector who buys and sells quite a bit. I would have the policy even if I didn't ship quite often, so it's really not an additional cost. I have had to make a claim with them on a guitar that was damaged in international shipping, and I just needed to provide proof of value loss and price of repair, and they cut me a check.

Even though my activities are not a formal business, I feel that, as the shipper, it's my responsibility to get guitars to the buyers safe and sound and make sure that I'm fully covered, and not by whatever the carriers call insurance. Now maybe the person who posted the FedEx insurance info (name redacted for good reason) as a dealer would need to get some other kind of insurance than Heritage since it's more for individuals, not business. 

[santellavision]

37 minutes ago, RobB said:

What is that? A font for ants?

Hey, Ernie. Does Heritage cover guitars you’ve sold/shipped until the buyer receives the package?

Yes, Heritage covers shipping when I sell or even ship for repairs. They are great. 
What this article is talking about is when you insure through Fedex or UPS and use their coverage. Not sure if Reverb's coverage will be effected. Stay tuned! 

[velorush]

We ship often large, often heavy but always expensive bits of technology all over the U.S. and have claims more regularly than we'd prefer. The carrier insurance pays based on weight, something on the order of $0.10 / lb. That is after the mentioned back and forth, tracking discussions and photos.

Expecting carrier insurance to reimburse you fully, as @currypowder said, is delusional. 

We had one recent shipment where the driver failed to scan on pickup. It got lost and UPS held firm they'd never picked it up. Drivers are no longer allowed to leave our premises without first scanning their pickup.  

[HSB0531]

On 3/11/2025 at 6:07 PM, murkat said:

Uline for boxes and bubble wrap 

When I was selling off a lot of basses, I got my boxes, giant bubble wrap roll and huge bag of peanuts from Uline.

There's a shipping freight charge for the larger stuff, but  I picked up my supplies at the "local" warehouse which saved a lot.

[ebradfordrich]

On 2/25/2026 at 4:18 PM, currypowder said:

In all my years shipping hundreds of guitars, I have had less than 5 that had any shipping damage, all fairly minor except one neck break on a rather inexpensive guitar. The claims were between $100 and $500. On all of those incidents, I was eventually able to get reimbursement from the carrier, but it wasn't easy. Lots of back and forth with pictures, inspections, descriptions etc. But the amounts were low.

I'm fairly certain that if I filed a multi thousand $ claim with any of the carriers, they would tell me to jump in a lake and there would be very little to do about it. To think that they are going to gladly just write a check for significant shipping damage, whether the value was claimed or not, is delusional.

Instead, I have a policy with Heritage that covers my entire collection, including shipping. They are well aware that I am a private collector who buys and sells quite a bit. I would have the policy even if I didn't ship quite often, so it's really not an additional cost. I have had to make a claim with them on a guitar that was damaged in international shipping, and I just needed to provide proof of value loss and price of repair, and they cut me a check.

Even though my activities are not a formal business, I feel that, as the shipper, it's my responsibility to get guitars to the buyers safe and sound and make sure that I'm fully covered, and not by whatever the carriers call insurance. Now maybe the person who posted the FedEx insurance info (name redacted for good reason) as a dealer would need to get some other kind of insurance than Heritage since it's more for individuals, not business. 

Thanks for the info on this.   It’s something I really should look into further.    Like everyone else here, I’ve had my share of shipping incidents, most recently UPS breaking a headstock off of a limited run Tacoma acoustic bass.  (Try finding a replacement neck for a brand that Fender killed off decades ago).   Anyways, for me, it comes down to the hassle and wasted time.   I eventually get paid out but it’s a pain in the ass.   I like the Heritage idea a whole lot more.   

[tommy p]

Thanks for the tips!  I've been using eBay or Reverb shipping labels and they always show how much they are discounted, and I always though it was a good deal and I couldn't do any better.  I have occasionally used Pirate Ship and didn't notice any difference.  I didn't even know PayPal offered shipping.

[santellavision]

20 minutes ago, tommy p said:

I have occasionally used Pirate Ship and didn't notice any difference. 

I have found that Pirate Ship is always cheaper than Reverb shipping prices. 

 

[cynic]

Fedex Ground has no "insurance" cap because they don't really offer insurance, but they've had that $1000 cap on "declared value" reimbursement for at least a dozen years.  Of course they continue to allow you to declare and pay for whatever value you feel is appropriate which can offer a warm and fuzzy until you need it.

Pirate Ship is great and offers third party coverage per shipment at competitive rates.

Edited April 4 by cynic