How To Package An Electric Guitar Prior To Shipment. 7 Easy Steps:

(Revised 10/21/06 - Now Featuring PICTURES / Wisdom from Others: Unfortunately, I did not know Ebay limits guides to 10 pics and only small ones; so I will work on another update with off-site hosting as well). Thank you all for your comments both positive and critical. This is a living document - feel free to contact me with your experiences.  Nothing will ruin your day more than receiving a broken guitar; and this document offers solutions to prevent that situation from happening.

This is a living document that details what I ask of all of my sellers  when I buy an electric guitar on Ebay:  It will allow both  me and the seller to have an easy transaction and for both of us to keep our excellent Ebay feedback records!
 
Preface:

I have bought and sold tons of electric guitars; especially ones with “pointy”  headstocks that can easily snap-off if abused. Jackson’s, Kramer, B.C. Rich, you know, the 1980’s gear. Here is a polished version of what I have been asking my sellers to do in order to package the guitar prior to shipment via UPS/FedEx/USPS, DHL, etc.    This material comes from EXPERIENCE and also from other Ebay members’ experiences. You may find additions that are important to your specific needs; but especially for the first time electric guitar shipper – it is important to follow the following steps.  The day that you open your guitar case, after awaiting 3 weeks to receive it, and notice that your guitar is in two pieces – due to a snapped off headstock will be a very bad day. So here is information that will help you.

I like The UPS Store. They have always treated me good, but they are a business and will up-sell you with products that may appear to be beneficial and good for shipment safety; but for electric guitars, we need to educate ourselves and take 7 steps to insure our baby will arrive safely. Remember, UPS store or similar pack and ship stores may not know how to package an electric guitar. You do not have to have them  sell you tons of bubble wrap unless you ensure the guitar is safely packaged inside its guitar case. Bubble Wrap  is  great; but having a guitar's body move in the case will snap off the headstock in a second; so it is important that there is material filling in the gaps.

 Good. This is how a properly wrapped headstock should look - more or less.

1) Make sure the body has zip zero displacement in the case. (Put  paper towels,  newspaper or bubble wrap around it so that it does  not shift). The body of the guitar needs to be snug inside its case. Apply bubble wrap and or newspaper or other non abrasive packaging material. You can even use an old blanket or towel. What is imperative is that; The butt of the guitar needs to be snug; no gap. Hopefully your  case is form fitted and prevents the body from wiggling in the first place. All of the plastic popcorn and expensive UPS Store brand new cardboard box's  will not prevent the actual guitar in the guitar case to shift its weight from the body to the tip of the headstock when there is a shock or it’s dropped. Remember, your guitars’ body is heavy and if that weight shifts to the small headstock during shipment – BAM – SNAP there goes the headstock! So it is imperative that the BODY DOES NOT HAVE ROOM TO SHIFT AROUND INSIDE THE CASE.  The body of the guitar needs to be stabilized. This my friends is the most important aspect of my guide. It is so important and often overlooked. But I would much rather have a guitar firmly placed in a snug case with no cardboard box and no plastic peanuts – than a guitar that is allowed to shift all about the case; even with $30.00 of material around the outside of the case and a brand new cardboard box. You see, the foundation for electric guitar packaging is making sure the guitar, especially the body does not have any way to move when it is in transit.
 
2) Also Make sure the headstock  itself  does not "wiggle" in the case- by applying the same principals as above (newspaper or bubble wrap  is fine, just lots of it.)  You do not want the headstock to shift forward and smack the hard shell case during transit. Simply put bubble wrap or newspaper in front of the headstock in the gap between the case and headstock.  Trust me , you do not want an “impact fracture,” or worse.  Love your guitar and make sure she’s being held snug in her guitar case!!!

 See the gap?  You don't want that!    This is much better. Adding a buffer of bubble wrap.

3) Print another copy of the Paypal receipt and/or your Ebay Winning Bidder notification  and stick it IN THE GUITAR CASE - this is so that in the event UPS looses the label or it is torn off the box- the UPS dead mail department can track us down Obviously, this document will be the last thing you put into the case so that if it is lost in the mail; the person opening the case will see this document.

 Just before the case closes - be sure to put your Paypal / Ebay receipt inside before closing the case.

4) I like to have guitars sent out on Mondays as my favorite  day and Fridays the worst. Why; ? Because a Friday sent guitar will be stuck on a truck or warehouse longer due to Sat and Sunday being potential dead days for mail stream.  It’s a picky request; but if you are in CA and buying from a seller in NY, the added stress of your guitar being on a truck or loaded-re-loaded more times  increases the odds of a damaged axe.
 
5) Stick the whammy bar, allan wrenches, strings, etc. that are included with the auction in the accessory compartment and make sure the latch is secure and taped down. You don’t want the flap opening up and finding out that your allan wrench just scrapped up your AAAAA Flame Maple finish. Same with whammy bars; if they get loose while in transit – you’ll end up with lots of scratches on your guitar. So simply wrap them up in newspaper or bubble wrap and secure then in the accessory compartment; and make sure that it will not accident open during transit.

6) Un-tighten the nut assembly prior to shipment. There are different opinions on loosening the strings; but it is a reality that around 100lbs of pressure is released if you loosen your guitar strings –so I would say it is a good idea to have your seller at least un-clamp the locking nut prior to shipment. I used to advocate loosening the strings themselves; but  have changed my opinion on this as I received this knowledgeable response from an Ebay member: I am one of the other opinions. If your going to loosen the strings, you need to loosen the truss rod. Strings are not the only thing that create tension on the neck. That 100lbs stabilizes the neck. Truly the best thing is to leave a guitar in tune, maybe a half step down. It is better for the neck this way, it's never good to leave a guitar with the truss rod set for proper action under string tension without there being string tension, not even for 3 days. You can do what you do and if it works for you, that's cool, but I thought you might like to hear it from a certified master luthier/ repair person. Chances are the guitars you most hear about busting the peg head off are gibsons. Something about their design, it has to do with the angle of the peg head and the way their truss rod comes out of the top and how it affects the sturdiness of the throat/wrist area... If your gonna loosen one, do the other. This concept makes sense, and we do not want our baby to arrive with a Banana shaped neck, so it might be best to only downtune and un-clamp the locking nut.

7) Wrap the hinges of the guitar case with tape. This is to prevent the case from opening during transit. You do not want the guitar case to spring open during transit.

I hear many others’ situations and opinions, but let me say that from my personal experience. UPS has been the best carrier. Second to FEDEX  - both have a 3 day option that I usually pay my sellers extra for. Unless the seller is in my state (CA), I will not use “Ground” anymore. I currently refuse to  use USPS for Guitars/Amps –they have the worst customer support and are the carrier that I lost a Kramer Baretta USA and a Robin USA Ranger Wizard to.  FedEx one time delivered a broken guitar case with a fork-lift indentation right through the box and case. The FedEx delivery man waited with me as I nervously opened the case in his presence and thank God the guitar survived the trauma and I decided to not pursue an insurance claim for just the case with a fork-lift indentation in it.

Also, I ALWAYS fully insure; it’s not that expensive. Some people claim it is important to take a digital picture of your packaged item while at the shipment drop off store in order for your insurance of the guitar to be valid. I encourage correspondence on this because I simply do not know the specifics. Obviously you need to enquire about insurance rates and claims procedures through the carrier; But by using these 7 Simple Steps to Success; you should not need to file an insurance claim!

Wisdom Bits and Peices:

1) Apply numerous "Fragile,  Do Not Stack,  This Side Up" stickers on the box. This may help -could not hurt. One thing is that the TOP of the guitar be clearly pointed out. The Top of the guitar has  the headstock - and it should be standing up - not doing a head-stand. Of course, the delivery carriers may or may not care, but it is probably worth putting on some type of sticker on the outside of the box.  

2) Be sure to dedicate at least two hours out of your day to actually package the guitar. If you are in a rush and cut corners, it might end up being a costly mistake. Alternativly, you can spend the extra money and have the UPS store package it for you - and per their new policy "if it breaks, it's on us."

3) You are statistically better off with an OHSC (original hard shell case). This may appear obvious, but simply put - if the case in which your guitar lays is a tad bit to short or small because it was meant for another guitar; you could be in for trouble. It's probably better to confirm with your seller that the case being sent is indeed original and meant for the guitar you are buying.

Take Care and always be good to your guitars!

Jason
  
EBay: Metalboots