“I don’t like letting my guitar out of my sight,” Andrew said. “But sometimes you have to do what you need to do, and what I need to do is ship a guitar – as well as several other instruments from our collection – to my oldest son, who lives on the other side of the country. What shipping tips do you have for me?”
Well, the number one tip we have for people who need to ship valuable or personally important musical instruments is to work with a professional packing and shipping company. As you know, musical instruments are both delicate and expensive. If you want them to survive the rigors of cross-country shipping, it’s a good idea to work with experienced professionals who know how to pack musical instruments for shipment safely.
That being said, here are some useful tips if you’re going to try DIY. The most important thing is to have the right sized, brand new, cardboard shipping box. You don’t want some dinged up box out of the recycle bin: used boxes don’t have the strength to prevent them from being crushed if something heavy is stacked on top of them. Investing in a brand new properly sized cardboard shipping carton will help protect your instrument.
Shipping Musical Instruments: A Word about Boxes
A cardboard box is the proper size if it can contain your instrument in its case with just enough space for reinforcing cardboard and packing materials. Reinforcing cardboard provides stability, which helps keep the box from being crushed and your instrument from being damaged. Packaging materials, including high density foam, are used to surround and support your instrument while it is in transit. The best place to source these type of materials is often at a packing and shipping store, but if that isn’t an option for you, you can try an office supply store or online vendor.
When shipping your instrument, make sure you secure the proper insurance coverage. If you’re working with a packing and shipping store, they will be able to assist you with this. When you’re on your own, the shipping services’ website may be the best source of relevant information.