Cheapest Way to Ship Guitar

[rickrock999]

What's up guys. I live in L.A. and am trying to find the cheapest way to ship a guitar. I have sold a few, and have used UPS, USPS and Fedex.

I usually list a flat shipping rate, and invariably the person who buys the guitar lives on the other side of the country. I have paid up to $150 to ship a guitar. I see people on Reverb listing shipping for $40, $60 etc. Are they just taking a loss?  If anyone knows a better way please let me know.

[DaveL]

I use www.shippo.com as well as shipnerd.      It's pretty much a free service.   The size of the box will have

an impact on pricing...   That said, if you use too small of a box, you possibly could invite damage.    I know

there are other similar shipping companies  (Mailchimp I think)   I know the guys on ebay that sell small items

use some kind of account, and send via first class or usps surface.     I have a ups account, but found shipnerd

and shippo a little cheaper and easier.       If you bring it to the UPS store, you definitely pay for their service

to measure weigh etc...   

 

   I'm thinking the guys who charge $40 get a good discount, and maybe are self insured?     

 

[Dave Scepter]

3 hours ago, rickrock999 said:

I see people on Reverb listing shipping for $40, $60 etc. Are they just taking a loss?  If anyone knows a better way please let me know.

Yes and no... I know Reverbs shipping is substantially lower than other shipping Co... also some people ad $50 or so hidden in their listing  to entice people on "lower shipping" rates... and some people have great rates from shipping from work

[Dutchman]

If you are selling on Reverb I would suggest you use Reverbs shipping. They require a signature but if something goes south they have skin in the game and in my case assisted. That was 2 years ago. So others may have more current sellers info on them. I quit selling when the over $600.00 tax bullshit came into play. 

[rickrock999]

Thanks for the info. The whole tax thing was supposed to start last year, it didn't. Who knows if it will this year. Don't forget, you only pay tax on the profit.

[bry4321]

I usually use pirateship. Probably comparable to the other sites listed. I don't think it gives you rates for FedEx but I have gotten good rates for UPS. Certainly MUCH better than going to UPS store. If selling through Reverb then the advice about shipping through them seems reasonable. It's easy to compare rates through PirateShip vs Reverb (and probably the others) if you have the addresses to plug in.

I just paid $85 to ship guitar to AZ (via UPS which seems to have lost the package) and $50 to Illinois (also UPS) from the East Coast. I always pay to fully insure the guitar. Not sure if that is wise or not but helps with peace of mind. 

I agree with you that it is tricky to list a single shipping price when the actual cost is probably going to vary depending on the distance. Thanks for asking about this and for the helpful replies, it was just on my mind. 

I have unrelated Reverb question that I may ask elsewhere!

EDIT: Those prices were for 52" x 20" x 8" boxes from Reverb weighing 23 and 28 lbs packed. Also I tend to forget to account for the cost of shipping/packing materials. 

[tommy p]

I've had a hard time getting a handle on shipping fees and I've been doing a lot of selling the last couple of years.  I've sold things on Reverb and eBay, both of whom offer discounted shipping but the "discount" is wildly inconsistent; one shipment it will be 3% and the next it will be 30% with no explanation why.  I also use Pirate Ship sometimes.  I've entered precise weights, measurements, and ZIP codes into eBay's Shipping Estimator, Pirate Ship, and the USPS site to get quotes, and then when I go to ship it's much higher.  Just yesterday I had something that was supposed to cost $12 and change per the USPS website end up at $27 at a Post Office.  How, I have no idea.

Bottom line: I overestimate shipping on everything now.  I'm sure to the potential buyers the idea of a high shipping charge has cost me some sales, but at least I'm not eating shipping charges every time I sell something in addition to the other fees.

[ZR]

I'm pretty sure USPS online pricing is only for shipping online. Go to the PO and it's a different ballgame. Some stores do that as well. 

Seems like the whole selling guitar and music gear is more difficult than it was before. 

And/ or they're just making more assholes in recent years!!

[kizanski]

12 minutes ago, ZR said:

Seems like the whole selling guitar and music gear is more difficult than it was before. 

And/ or they're just making more assholes in recent years!!

You're 1000% right on both points.

[scottcald]

14 minutes ago, ZR said:

I'm pretty sure USPS online pricing is only for shipping online. Go to the PO and it's a different ballgame. Some stores do that as well. 

Seems like the whole selling guitar and music gear is more difficult than it was before. 

And/ or they're just making more assholes in recent years!!

 

Just now, kizanski said:

You're 1000% right on both points.

Wonder if we could lower guitar rates by shipping the assholes somewhere far away?

[tommy p]

On 6/27/2023 at 3:28 PM, scottcald said:

 

Wonder if we could lower guitar rates by shipping the assholes somewhere far away?

Can I get a list of the potential places we, I mean THEY, might be shipped?

[scottcald]

On 6/29/2023 at 9:35 AM, tommy p said:

Can I get a list of the potential places we, I mean THEY, might be shipped?

How about Brent's?

[tommy p]

9 hours ago, scottcald said:

How about Brent's?

That town has reached its asshole saturation point with just him.

[tommy p]

On 6/27/2023 at 3:12 PM, ZR said:

I'm pretty sure USPS online pricing is only for shipping online. Go to the PO and it's a different ballgame. Some stores do that as well.

I never thought of that - you're probably right.  Another irritation is that the type of shipment I had could NOT be done from home so I had to go into a post office.  Given that requirement, I shouldn't have been quoted the $12 and change rate at all.