ForeverFabFour
Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2018
- Messages
- 93
I’m really curious to know everyone’s best and worst experiences when shipping/receiving guitars (or other instruments). I’ve personally shipped over 50 guitars in the last decade and have had a lot of different experiences. I know a lot of people prefer UPS but I have used FedEx almost exclusively and have had extremely positive experiences.
Best: I receive a heavy discount with FedEx and was once able to overnight an extremely large and heavy bass guitar all the way across the country for $24. I’ve also shipped a Vox AC30 to the middle of nowhere Texas for just $16. Downright astonishing considering the size and weight at almost 5 feet wide and over 75 pounds.
Worst: Two years ago I bought a guitar from Ukraine. Yeah... call me crazy I know. To make matters more intense, it wasn’t just any cheap guitar. We are talking an original 1959 telecaster. The seller was fantastic and the guitar was had for a great price, but there was a miscommunication along the way. I don’t speak Russian or Ukrainian and he didn’t speak English well. I was hoping to get the guitar quickly and paid for high end proper international shipping with full insurance and tracking. However, the guitar was shipped via the snail mail. By the time the seller understood what I was saying, the Guitar had already left his possession and was probably in the back of a soviet era military truck now labeled "Postal Service of Ukraine". Although I got my money back for the shipping and handling, the damage had been done. To make matters even worse, the guitar was not fully insured at its proper value (not my choice). For over two months there was no information updated on the Ukrainian Postal Service website. The only information I could figure out is that they did appear to have the package. At the three month mark I was beginning to contact my bank in order to get my money back as I was worried I had been involved in a scam or that the Postal Service had lost the guitar. But just as I was about to file a claim, I finally received an update that the United States Postal Service now had the guitar. It was like two tortoises running a relay race. Unless you live outside the USA, I shouldn’t have to explain to you how inconsistent and slow the United States Postal Service can be. For three weeks the guitar sat at a customs facility in Chicago. I started to wonder if one of the employees moonlighted as a musician and was giving my guitar a go at some Chicago dive bar. After a few dozen phone calls and emails to nearly every postal service employee I could contact, the guitar eventually cleared customs but continued to sit at a facility in Chicago. After nearly five months of anxiety and one stomach ulcer later, I decided I would take matters into my own hands and drive 5 hours to Chicago to see what the hell was going on. I eventually found the facility I believed had my guitar. After arguing for 20 minutes with an extremely unhelpful employee I was able to meet with the postal manager. After explaining the situation to him he told me to wait in his office while he took a look. No more than 30 seconds later he appeared with a large guitar sized box covered in Ukrainian writing. After five months, countless emails in horribly translated Ukrainian, 5AM phone calls to kiev, and a 10 hour round trip to Chicago, the guitar was finally in my hands. All of that struggle for one parcel. You better believe I opened it right then and there in that post office. OH... and it turned out the postal manager was a guitarist after all. Wonder if he moonlighted as a guitarist too?
What are your best and worst experiences when shipping or receiving instruments?
Best: I receive a heavy discount with FedEx and was once able to overnight an extremely large and heavy bass guitar all the way across the country for $24. I’ve also shipped a Vox AC30 to the middle of nowhere Texas for just $16. Downright astonishing considering the size and weight at almost 5 feet wide and over 75 pounds.
Worst: Two years ago I bought a guitar from Ukraine. Yeah... call me crazy I know. To make matters more intense, it wasn’t just any cheap guitar. We are talking an original 1959 telecaster. The seller was fantastic and the guitar was had for a great price, but there was a miscommunication along the way. I don’t speak Russian or Ukrainian and he didn’t speak English well. I was hoping to get the guitar quickly and paid for high end proper international shipping with full insurance and tracking. However, the guitar was shipped via the snail mail. By the time the seller understood what I was saying, the Guitar had already left his possession and was probably in the back of a soviet era military truck now labeled "Postal Service of Ukraine". Although I got my money back for the shipping and handling, the damage had been done. To make matters even worse, the guitar was not fully insured at its proper value (not my choice). For over two months there was no information updated on the Ukrainian Postal Service website. The only information I could figure out is that they did appear to have the package. At the three month mark I was beginning to contact my bank in order to get my money back as I was worried I had been involved in a scam or that the Postal Service had lost the guitar. But just as I was about to file a claim, I finally received an update that the United States Postal Service now had the guitar. It was like two tortoises running a relay race. Unless you live outside the USA, I shouldn’t have to explain to you how inconsistent and slow the United States Postal Service can be. For three weeks the guitar sat at a customs facility in Chicago. I started to wonder if one of the employees moonlighted as a musician and was giving my guitar a go at some Chicago dive bar. After a few dozen phone calls and emails to nearly every postal service employee I could contact, the guitar eventually cleared customs but continued to sit at a facility in Chicago. After nearly five months of anxiety and one stomach ulcer later, I decided I would take matters into my own hands and drive 5 hours to Chicago to see what the hell was going on. I eventually found the facility I believed had my guitar. After arguing for 20 minutes with an extremely unhelpful employee I was able to meet with the postal manager. After explaining the situation to him he told me to wait in his office while he took a look. No more than 30 seconds later he appeared with a large guitar sized box covered in Ukrainian writing. After five months, countless emails in horribly translated Ukrainian, 5AM phone calls to kiev, and a 10 hour round trip to Chicago, the guitar was finally in my hands. All of that struggle for one parcel. You better believe I opened it right then and there in that post office. OH... and it turned out the postal manager was a guitarist after all. Wonder if he moonlighted as a guitarist too?
What are your best and worst experiences when shipping or receiving instruments?