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Shipping Guitar FedEx Ground

SeanT

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
104
Hello,

Shipping guitars FedEx ground kind of scares me. Do any of you guys use FedEx ground when you ship guitars?
 

samsdad

New member
Joined
Aug 21, 2015
Messages
406
Hello,

Shipping guitars FedEx ground kind of scares me. Do any of you guys use FedEx ground when you ship guitars?
Why Does it Scare You?
Just Pack it well Make Sure its Secure And Insure it For the Proper Amount
I been using Fed-Ex Express,Fed-Ex Ground And Fed-Ex Home Delivery For years Never Had a Problem At All
But I Myself have had Trouble With UPS With Loss And Damage to the Instrument and Amps
 

SeanT

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
104
Why Does it Scare You?
Just Pack it well Make Sure its Secure And Insure it For the Proper Amount
I been using Fed-Ex Express,Fed-Ex Ground And Fed-Ex Home Delivery For years Never Had a Problem At All
But I Myself have had Trouble With UPS With Loss And Damage to the Instrument and Amps
Thanks.
 

axeman565758

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Messages
1,204
I have used DHL (problems) UPS (many problems) USPS ( no problems but pricey ) and FedEx Ground....I have never had an issues whatsoever with FEG.
 

57Strat777

Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2015
Messages
347
Just pack the guitar really well with lots of padding around the case, and wrap duck tape around the box to keep the box from coming apart. Putting a plastic bag around the guitar case isn't a bad idea either in case the box gets wet.
 

Guitar Whiskey

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
2,757
All the packaging advice noted here is important. In addition I would shoot to minimize the exposure time. Overnight is best as it won't be moved from as many places or sitting around which increases chance of mishap. There are plenty of good videos about packaging on YouTube.
 

Scott L

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2008
Messages
880
Fedex will box / pack a guitar in a new Fedex box for $23. This eliminates any question whether or not it was pack correctly.
If it is an LP - ask them to cut the box down to below 50 inches and it will lower the price significantly. A factory Gibson box is only
45 tall.

Detune the strings 1/2 step. Place crushing under the headstock and around the body if it is not snug.
 

Norton

Active member
Joined
Jun 18, 2019
Messages
137
I've always wondered if it's because I live in UPS' Corporate back yard but I have always had the best luck with them. Never had loss or damage and my driver goes out of his way to make sure any guitars are hidden at a back door if he has to leave one. Fedex on the other hand has been the bane of my existence at times, delivering to the wrong address (3X), losing packages (not a guitar thankfully) and once leaving a bass in the middle of my driveway instead of bothering to at least walk it up to the house. I cringe whenever someone sends me a Fedex tracking number as notification.
 
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SeanT

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
104
Hi all,

Thanx for your replies. The reason I said it’s scary is that they told me they do not offer insurance. Even if they pack for you, if anything happen to your guitar they’ll only cover up to $1,000 and you are beyond that amount.
 

Aloha_Ark

Active member
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Messages
154
Best to get guitar insurance when the instrument is vintage and costly. One of the forum sponsors is Heritage, but there are others.

As I live in the outskirts of the American empire, most of the traffic is inbound. Every carrier has delivered to my home, and whether the shipper is Fedex or UPS, there has been damage. Virtually all the problems are due to neck breaking around the headstock, and Gibson was the victim each time. USPS has been good, so far.

Yesterday, UPS delivered a new custom shop Strat to me by ground freight. It survived because Fender is using a polyethylene or closed cell foam insert above and below the case. The rest was all air gap. The dealer detuned the strings down by more than an octave.

There are dealers in the business who pack extremely well. One is Sweetwater. Examine how they package (and double box) a guitar. It may not save your guitar, but at least you will be giving it the best shot at survival.
 

raymodart

New member
Joined
Nov 17, 2021
Messages
1
Delivery of musical instruments is quite difficult. Especially when they are expensive and high-quality musical instruments. When I sent my brother his guitar by mail, I carefully packed it in several layers of soft fabric and then wrapped it with packaging material. My brother tracked her using https://www.postsendungsverfolgung.com/de/ and constantly checked where exactly it is and whether the weight of the shipment has changed. This is important because there are a lot of unscrupulous couriers now and the tracker allows you to track the parcel.
 
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ADP

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
Messages
682
Fed Ex is the absolute worst shipping company to use for anything valuable. UPS have always had my back in any situation and have never lost or broke an instrument in my experience.

I rate FedEx an absolute ZERO out of 10. 0/10. The worst.
 

Progrocker111

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Messages
4,013
No problem with them so far with goods from USA to Europe. In Europes internal destinations they are ok too.
 

goldtop0

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
8,931
Fedex Express have always been good into NZ.
Most US and Japanese dealers send Gibsons in their cases in the sturdy square cardboard Gibson labelled cartons(well padded with newspaper and spongey packing etc) so I've had no problems over the last 18 years with 6 guitars.
 
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