Latest advice on posting a £2k guitar by courier please

ToneControl

Need to send a £2k guitar (a 335)
I've not posted a guitar for a long time
Who should I avoid at the minute?

speshul91

Ups are the best.

underdog

Don't, would be my advice.

Fretwired

UPS .. avoid the rest.

Phil_aka_Pip

underdog said:

Don't, would be my advice.

I always say: "if you value it, take/fetch it yourself"

goldtop

I hate sending guitars by courier. I sent a £1300 guitar this week, by UPS. But it was a very well built ESP, super solid, and if they'd run it over, I think the UPS truck would have come off worse. In contrast, the SG I'm selling has the famously feeble neck-body joint, and I'd not want to risk that.

BloodEagle

UPS via transglobal express, fully insured for the 2k should come in at around 50-60 quid.

CHRISB50

BloodEagle said:

UPS via transglobal express, fully insured for the 2k should come in at around 50-60 quid.

I sent my Lowden to Edinburgh, from London this way. I didn't want to ship it but the buyer sorted it out and said he'd accept it if anything happened. It got there in one piece. 

Jimbro66

I like using UPS, usually through Interparcel, and they have mainly been OK. They did let me down a couple of weeks ago when I paid for one-day delivery of a guitar but they took two days because "We've incorrectly sorted this package". Otherwise they've been OK.

Just out of interest I weighed and measured my Gibson ES-335 in its Gibson HSC: 8kg, 114x46x11cm and the UPS charge via Interparcel with it insured for the full £2,000 was £105 within mainland UK. That's rather more than the £50-60 mentioned above but I don't have a Transglobal account to be able to compare. If Transglobal really are that much cheaper than Interparcel, using UPS, I would certainly look at them next time.

Dominic

UPS full stop

BloodEagle

Jimbro66 said:

I like using UPS, usually through Interparcel, and they have mainly been OK. They did let me down a couple of weeks ago when I paid for one-day delivery of a guitar but they took two days because "We've incorrectly sorted this package". Otherwise they've been OK.

Just out of interest I weighed and measured my Gibson ES-335 in its Gibson HSC: 8kg, 114x46x11cm and the UPS charge via Interparcel with it insured for the full £2,000 was £105 within mainland UK. That's rather more than the £50-60 mentioned above but I don't have a Transglobal account to be able to compare. If Transglobal really are that much cheaper than Interparcel, using UPS, I would certainly look at them next time.

Like I said, UPS via Transglobal fully insured for 2k it’s about £50-60. I sent something yesterday using exactly that service

Guitar_Slinger

I collected a Gretsch semi-acoustic, rather than have it posted.  Got a cheap first class return ticket from London to Glasgow...  breakfast and coffee/cake on the way there and curry for dinner with a few whiskies on the way back.

I also got a return train from London to Crewe, to collect a Martin acoustic.  The ticket IIRC cost £9.50 and IIRC, the outward journey started at 0525 and the way back stopped at every station between Crewe and Euston. Worth it though  

Alnico

My experiences with UPS in the last 12 months.

Bedford to Manchester (Guitar Tech) and back, no insurance...

Fender USA Pro Strat
Bridgehouse Telecaster
Gretsch Streamliner

Bedford to Wigan (Cottham Guitars) and back, no insurance..

Ibanez UV777BK

Bedford to Nottingham (Forum Member, Xmas), no insurance.....

Ibanez RG Iron Label
Marshall Code 25

Bedford to Derby (Classifieds sale), ....no insurance...

Fender Mike Landau Deville

Plus loads of other stuff that isn't guitar related or breakable as such but they're still my go-to Courier.

Never had anything except 100% reliable service and one guitar shipping box ended up being used 3 times, it was in that good condition after being used.

amarok1971

I've used ups about half a dozen times, including one abroad.. No probs whatsoever

speshul91

Alnico said:

My experiences with UPS in the last 12 months.

Bedford to Manchester (Guitar Tech) and back, no insurance...

Fender USA Pro Strat
Bridgehouse Telecaster
Gretsch Streamliner

Bedford to Wigan (Cottham Guitars) and back, no insurance..

Ibanez UV777BK

Bedford to Nottingham (Forum Member, Xmas), no insurance.....

Ibanez RG Iron Label
Marshall Code 25

Bedford to Derby (Classifieds sale), ....no insurance...

Fender Mike Landau Deville

Plus loads of other stuff that isn't guitar related or breakable as such but they're still my go-to Courier.

Never had anything except 100% reliable service and one guitar shipping box ended up being used 3 times, it was in that good condition after being used.

If that's the box I think it is then it's fine for a 4th too.

ToneControl

I am thinking of not paying the £40 insurance

Heartfeltdawn

ToneControl said:

I am thinking of not paying the £40 insurance

Don't go cheap. 

ToneControl

Heartfeltdawn said:

ToneControl said:

I am thinking of not paying the £40 insurance

Don't go cheap. 

I always paid full insurance etc, but £60 seems ridiculous
I can send via Pharos for £11

goldtop

ToneControl said:

I am thinking of not paying the £40 insurance

For a one-off shipment, that's brave. You just have to work out if you are OK with that risk. (No whining here next week!)

Basically, £40 for £2000 cover is them saying "a 1 in 50 chance of loss". Of course, UPS doesn't lose 1 in 50 packages. I've shipped several thousand packages (not guitars) by UPS and they've lost/damaged perhaps 1 or 2 (I can't remember the last one). So the insurance is definitely a big profit earner for them - probably a higher % profit margin than the actual shipping profit.

Of course, for me, if they lose a package, I just get another one off the shelf and ship it. I don't bother with the insurance. But for a one-off shipment, you don't have that luxury.

ToneControl

I chickened out and paid the £60 to transglobal (UPS)