Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends / Selling Your Guitar
Packing and Shipping
Shipping vintage guitars is not difficult. It just requires some easily available materials, and some common sense. We ship delicate instruments routinely throughout the world safely and securely. Here's a simple, step-by-step guide that can help you prepare your guitar for shipment safe and sound. You may wish to print this page out now so you can keep it handy while packing.
Please email us for our shipping address in Seattle at info@archtop.com. If you are a consigner and haven't received a consignment form already, please email us for a copy. Fill out the form and enclose it in the instrument case. If the instrument is being purchased by us, please include a bill of sale that includes the date, make, model, serial number and sales price as well. A preprinted form isn't necessary: you can write this info on a plain sheet of paper. Place it inside the guitar case along with the instrument. This is to ensure that the parcel can be delivered even if the exterior shipping labels should become damaged.
Loosen the strings but do not remove them from the tuners. On most tailpieces, the ball end of the strings can be removed from the slots in the tailpiece once the strings are loosened. Detach the string ends and coil the strings together into one single loop, and rest it next to the peghead. On tailpieces where he string ball ends cannot be removed, slacken the strings just enough to remove the bridge, and keep enough tension to keep the strings from rattling around. Then put a piece of paper between the strings and guitar top, to keep them from scratching the finish. Again, do not remove the strings from the tuners as loose strings cause serious finish damage in transit.
Remove and secure all loose parts. Most archtop bridges
are not permanently 
attached to the
guitar, and are easily removed when the strings are slackened. Make sure
not to reverse the bass and treble sides of the upper and lower bridge pieces.
Secure the two halves of the bridge together with a rubber band, and stow
it in the accessory compartment of the case, under the lid that lies beneath
the neck. If the tailpiece has loose parts (as on an Epiphone Frequensator
tailpiece), please stash these in the accessory compartment too. If a removable
pickup like a Dearmond is attached, please remove it before shipping. Finally,
remove the end pin, which should be located at or near the tailpiece. Make
sure no other objects like screws, cables etc. are loose in the case, as
they will cause serious damage to the finish in transit.
Important: Any items too large to fit safely in the case should be boxed separately within the shipping carton, with the words "Other Items Included" written clearly near the shipping label. Please note that to facilitate unpacking the carton, we will open your parcel from the bottom, and may miss extra items if they are packed at the top of the box.
If the tailpiece is permanently attached to the guitar, wrap some folded paper around it, to keep the tailpiece from banging into the top and denting the finish beneath it in transit.
Next, pad inside the case. Fold some paper to make a pad underneath the neck heel and shoulders of the guitar, so that this vulnerable area does not bear all the load on the neck block of the case. Continue to equalize the load by securely padding the area under the peghead and neck as required. Please use paper padding only inside the case. Bubble wrap and packing peanuts can damage the finish in hot weather.
Place the guitar in the case, and position another paper pad over and around the peghead as shown.
Pad under the pickguard with a small piece of folded paper, to protect the top from impact damage in this sensitive area. If the guitar has a floating pickup, pad under the pickup in a similar fashion.
Wad a single piece of paper into a small pad about 6"-8" in diameter, with a single smooth side, as shown. To avoid scratching the finish, place the smooth side of the pad against the guitar top.
Position the pad along the bass side of the soundboard, on the opposite side from the pickguard, as shown. Once you have padded the guitar, the case lid when closed should just enough gentle pressure to keep the guitar from rattling around in the case. Be careful not to pack too tightly, as too much pressure on the guitar top can result in compression damage in transit. Latch the case and shake it gently. If the guitar is still loose in the case, add padding until it is completely stabilized.
Get a shipping box made specifically for an acoustic guitar. Most
music shops will be happy to give you a box from their recycling bin for
free. Use a rectangular box for dreadnought (D) size guitars or larger.
Boxes from Taylor, Gibson, Martin and Guild are all just fine. Do not use
the flimsy trapezoidal boxes of import guitars, as they are not sturdy enough
to protect your valuable instrument. Don't try to use a bike box or other
container either, as it will cost you dearly in excess freight charges.
Needless to say, vintage instruments should never be shipped without
a case. Here's why: 
(The photo at right is a closeup of a parcel received by us from the US Postal Service. The parcel handlers managed to pierce the shipping carton (in background) and crush the new hardshell case inside, smashing all 5 wooden plies of the case shell right at the peghead. The instrument inside however, with replacement value of $7500, emerged unscathed. Had this instrument been shipped without a hardshell case, the headstock would have snapped like a matchstick, and we'd be sweeping up a nicely lacquered pile of kindling. Any questions...?)
If for any reason, the instrument is lacking a hardshell case it must be double boxed, using an inner box inside the main container. Shippers will not accept or pay damage claims on instruments shipped without a solid case or double boxing. Finally, please do not try to make your own box, as it can be ruinous to your delicate instrument. (See bad examples, below.)
Excellent new guitar boxes may be purchased here: http://www.uline.com/ProductDetail.asp?model=S-4922 Boxes and packing peanuts are also available in most areas from any shipping supply house. To locate your nearest dealer, enter "Shipping Room Supplies" in your Dex Online directory here: http://www.dexonline.com/ As freight charges are based on the size of your carton, your ideal box dimensions need not exceed 21" in width, 9" in depth, and 48" in length to provide adequate protection for most guitars. Boxes over 108" total length and girth (width plus depth) will incur extra shipping charges from commercial shippers, and will not be accepted by most postal services.
Cushion the bottom of the guitar
box with an inch or two of padding. Bubble wrap is best for this, but
newspaper will do fine too. Lower the guitar case into the box, bottom (wide)
end down. Then fill the box around the case with packing beads, bubble wrap,
kraft paper or wadded newspaper.
We especially recommend the biodegradable cornstarch peanuts here: http://www.uline.com/ProductDetail.asp?model=S-1564 , which are also available from your local shipping supply house, above. If you do use foam packing beads, please do not mix them with newspaper or other recyclables. (It's a terrible mess to separate them, so please use one or the other only.) If you pack with newspaper, use a broom handle or short stick to tamp the padding down evenly around the guitar case. We suggest extra packing on the top (soundboard) side of the guitar case, as it is the most vulnerable area to damage in transit. Do not pack too tightly, as your parcel needs a little flexibility to resist damage from compression in transit. Before sealing the box, check it by shaking it to make sure the case doesn't rattle around in the box. Add more padding if necessary until the case is firmly stabilized.
Important: Ship your guitar by air service only. Ground shipping is extremely punishing to delicate instruments, and poses an unacceptable exposure to major structural damage from impact, road shock and the temperature extremes of uninsulated truck beds. (We can assure this with the certainty of hard experience, as our most badly damaged parcels have invariably been those sent by ground, especially Fedex Ground, which is to be avoided at all costs.) The small extra charge paid for air freight shipping is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy for your guitar. Don't cheap out.
You can register your parcel and print your shipping label at the UPS website here:
https://www.ups.com/myups/registration
If you already have a password, click here to ship immediately
Complete the online forms with your name and address, and ours. If you can't weigh your parcel easily, 25 lbs. is about average for a guitar in a hard case and guitar box. (As long as the parcel is less than about 40 lb. the actual weight doesn't matter. Your charges will be based on the "dimensional weight" of the parcel, which is calculated by size of the box.)
The cardinal rule for safe shipping is: the less time in transit the
better. The shorter the interval your shipment is out of your hands,
the fewer opportunities the freight gorillas have to drop, crush, bend,
fold, spindle or mutilate your precious cargo. For shippers outside of the
Western US, we recommend shipping via UPS 3 Day Select service as most cost-efficient
air service. Shipping on a Monday or Tuesday is recommended, so the parcel
doesn't languish in a hot warehouse or freezing truck over the weekend.
(If you are located in the West, use Second Day Air, as 3 Day Select will
travel to us by ground.) For delicate or extremely high value parcels, UPS
Next Day Saver service is highly recommended and surprisingly affordable.
Make sure to insure the parcel for its full value, and check the box to
have UPS send us an automatic confirmation to our email address. (To ensure
promptest delivery, please do not specify "signature required for delivery"
on the waybill. 
You'll avoid an unnecessary
extra charge, and UPS will confirm delivery for you on the web anyhow.)
Print the label form and shipping receipt. If you do not have a printer with your computer, UPS will print the label for you at their customer counter. Using wide, clear packing tape, attach the label to the top lid of the shipping box, with the top of the label facing up toward the narrow end of the carton. It is very important to put your label on the top flap only, as you want to do everything in your power to encourage the shipper to ship the carton in its upright position. (The safest shipping position for the box is sitting on its bottom end as shown, with the label side up. Boxes that are laid flat in transit are likely to wind up at the bottom of a heavy stack of other boxes, and we believe that compression damage is the most common cause of cracked soundboards.)
Tape the top and bottom flaps securely with the tape. Make sure to write your name and address, and ours elsewhere on the parcel with a marking pen as well. Finally, draw some long arrows along the four long sides of the box, pointing up toward the top lid, with the words "Fragile: This End Up".
Online shippers can request a UPS driver to arrange a pickup at your location at a time of your choosing. Or you may deliver the parcel to any UPS Customer Counter or UPS Store. Your nearest location may be found here:
http://www.ups.com/dropoff?loc=en_US
Again, shipping 3 Day Select on a Monday or Tuesday will minimize transit time for safer shipment. (West Coast shippers use 2 Day Air). Bring the shipping receipt, have the agent sign off on it for you, and keep it for your records. Then email us with the tracking number when you get home, and you're all done. We'll confirm delivery as soon as your parcel arrives.
If you follow these instructions, you will maximize the safety of your parcel, and minimize the cost and transit time. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch by email at joev@archtop.com, or call toll free 877/850-1978. We'll look forward to seeing your parcel on our doorstep safe and sound.
Finally, here are two actual "parcels" we have received, textbook examples of how never to pack a guitar. Miraculously, both of these ludicrously packaged instruments actually arrived undamaged, which can only be proof that God has an excellent sense of humor. If you are tempted to try any similar stunt, run, don't walk to your nearest UPS Store or Kinkos and they will pack it for you. Thanks, and may the parcel dieties be with you.
Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends / Selling Your Guitar