HOW TO PACK A GUITAR
The shipping container is a proper guitar box
that's larger than the guitar, at least 2 inches wider on all sides, to allow
for packing material between the guitar/case and the inside of the box.
The best place to get a box is a music store that sells guitars. They
throw them out nearly every day and if you ask a salesman, they're generally
happy to give you one, or if you're not too proud, most stores have a separate
dumpster for clean corrugated cardboard and you'll likely find one near the
top of the heap.
Before packing the guitar I would very much
appreciate your cleaning up the guitar, ideally making it as nice as the
guitar you'll be receiving. It's generally prudent to detune the guitar
slightly before packing, to take some of the tension off the neck. For
guitars with a hardshell case, make sure it can't move around inside the case,
using a little packing material such as crumpled newsprint or bubble wrap
around the bottom, horns, and headstock - plus some packing on top of the
guitar if there is room between the top and the inside top of the case.
Before putting the guitar inside the case, put some packing material in the
bottom of the box and after putting it in the box jam some packing material
between the case/guitar and the inside of the box, filling the air barrier
with packing material. Lastly, use some packing material in the top,
just as you did in the bottom.
A good rule of thumb is - anticipate that at some
point the box is going to be dropped 5 feet - and use sufficient packing
material to protect it from such a drop.
Note: If there isn't a music store with a
spare box, other sources might be; furniture stores (a lot of
unassembled desks come in long, flat boxes), auto body shop (large parts such
as bumpers or fenders come in large boxes), or a store that specializes in
packing such as "Mailboxes, etc.", or "The UPS Store".
Most of them have proper guitar boxes and they can sell you one for $7-$15.
Caution: If you use them to pack your guitar, stand by for price shock.
If you pack yourself and drop off at an UPS customer counter (the place
where the brown trucks park--NOT "The UPS Store"), the cost
will be around $20-$30. If you take it to one of the packing places (UPS
Store, Staples, Mailboxes etc., etc.), the cost will be around $50-$100.
If you simply cannot find a box or don't have the
time, we can do a "reverse trade", wherein you would pay for my
guitar fully, and then when you receive it you ship your trade in the same
box. Upon receipt of your trade, I would send you the agreed up trade
amount.