Shipping a Guitar - Errr Banjo

[Morrill]

I sold a banjo last week and am shipping it to its new home tomorrow. Just thought i would add my experiences with shipping/packing an instrument as easy as possible.

When i sold the banjo (1939 Gibson/Kalamazoo) it did not have a case. I told the buyer I would split the cost of a new case with him and use it to ship. Ordered a new case from Sweetwater and it ended up costing me $45 (my half). The good news is that now I had a case to keep it safe, a nice shipping box and the packing materials to keep it secure.

If you are shipping a guitar you can pick up a new case from them or Amazon for less than $60-70. Pretty cheap investment. took me 10 minutes to unpack, safely stow the banjo in the case and then repack for shipping. The time savings alone of tracking down a box and shipping material was worth it for me.

I hope this post is useful to someone.

Originally Posted by Morrill

I sold a banjo last week

Well things are finally looking up for you then.

[Morrill]

Lol. Bought it at an estate sale to either resell or use as wall art. Turned out it was a good investment.

[agfsteve]

Originally Posted by Morrill

I sold a banjo last week and am shipping it to its new home tomorrow. Just thought i would add my experiences with shipping/packing an instrument as easy as possible.

When i sold the banjo (1939 Gibson/Kalamazoo) it did not have a case. I told the buyer I would split the cost of a new case with him and use it to ship. Ordered a new case from Sweetwater and it ended up costing me $45 (my half). The good news is that now I had a case to keep it safe, a nice shipping box and the packing materials to keep it secure.

If you are shipping a guitar you can pick up a new case from them or Amazon for less than $60-70. Pretty cheap investment. took me 10 minutes to unpack, safely stow the banjo in the case and then repack for shipping. The time savings alone of tracking down a box and shipping material was worth it for me.

I hope this post is useful to someone.

What a great idea for a seller who doesn't have a case! Thanks for sharing.

[frankmcr]

One thing about banjos, thinner necks than guitars (and not infrequently no truss rod) so for shipping be really careful securing the neck inside the case.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Morrill

I sold a banjo last week and am shipping it to its new home tomorrow. Just thought i would add my experiences with shipping/packing an instrument as easy as possible.

When i sold the banjo (1939 Gibson/Kalamazoo) it did not have a case. I told the buyer I would split the cost of a new case with him and use it to ship. Ordered a new case from Sweetwater and it ended up costing me $45 (my half). The good news is that now I had a case to keep it safe, a nice shipping box and the packing materials to keep it secure.

If you are shipping a guitar you can pick up a new case from them or Amazon for less than $60-70. Pretty cheap investment. took me 10 minutes to unpack, safely stow the banjo in the case and then repack for shipping. The time savings alone of tracking down a box and shipping material was worth it for me.

I hope this post is useful to someone.

Why didn't I think of that?

Super clever! Finding a box is half the battle for shipping an instrument and you found a good way to save a lot of time in the process.

Good on ya!

Musician's Friend often has the semi-rigid foam cases (guitar or banjo) sale priced at less than $50 and they work as great shock absorbers inside the cardboard shipping box.

[Morrill]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

One thing about banjos, thinner necks than guitars (and not infrequently no truss rod) so for shipping be really careful securing the neck inside the case.

I did. I supported the head stock and neck by filling the void with a towel. If it gets damaged it certainly wont be from lack of effort packing.

[SCVJ]

I've bought and sold over a dozen guitars and mandolins over the years that required shipping . Even reputable and large independent stores vary widely in the quality of their packing, although nothing ever arrived damaged.

As an occasional seller/shipper I have to reinvent the wheel every time I ship an instrument. The first piece of advice is to save the box if you buy an instrument online - you'll eventually need it. If you live near a store you may be able to get them to give you one, or they may sell you one.

I just sold a guitar ($1,600 range) that I didn't have a case for. I bought a used case on craigslist just for shipping purposes. You should be able to find one for $20-50, especially if it's ugly, has a broken latch, etc. When I advertised the guitar I described the case, with pictures, as damaged. not original, etc..

I've had stores tell me they ship guitars without a case regularly. I even bought one that was shipped that way without problem. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it as a seller. Even a gig bag would be better than just the box and some bubble wrap.

I sold the guitar through Reverb.com. Their website has great instructions and a video on packing. The video isn't very thorough, but the written instructions are. It's at the bottom of their home page, at the right, called shipping guide. Youtube may have something too.

[str8blkcoffee]

Having sold and shipped several banjos worth near 3k I can tell you the best protection is to pack it with newspaper balled up, packed all around and supporting the neck/headstock inside a hard case, preferred, and double boxed. The foam cases will offer some shock resistance too.

I think UPS at one time was only willing to fully settle claims if the shipper utilized brown craft paper.

It is still a gut wrenching week watching the parcel via tracking and having the customer wait to contact you to say it arrived in perfect condition

Amazon has some good cheap cases, and being a Prime member free "2 day" shipping is great. As you stated buying a case gets you a free box. My B&M charged me 5.00 for a box for the last instrument I shipped, that he dug out of the bin.