Guitar packing & shipping Hall of Shame

Bonneville88

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I've been misadventuring in Guild world for long enough that I've
begun to believe there's a special place in hell for folks who don't or won't pack a guitar right for
shipping, and I think it probably looks something like the inside of what's in
the following photos, if it was on fire!

Indeed, I may well have laughed the laugh of the damned when I saw this in all its glorious WTF awfulness,
even while considering the high likelihood of damage during transit.

Perhaps the seller, who seemed like a mostly normal person,
was actually a slightly deranged, frustrated architect?
Look at that striking asymmetry!

Guess I gotta give some points for creativity, he did stitch several boxes together,
but that probably took more effort than putting the guitar
an actual guitar shipping box.

So - have decided to start photographing these ghastly guitar nightmares as
they roll in. Did the instrument survive? Read on.
Presenting tonight's tattered tale of packing gone wrong...


3GigIZL.jpg

ZaYM7oq.jpg

2ugH1od.jpg

dU4RS8V.jpg

KXqX4a9.jpg



cjrgvOl.jpg

XHyDkYf.jpg

ac5HHvv.jpg
 
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GAD

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Sadly, I've seen worse. I wish I'd photographed the X3000 box when it came in.

I will say that those are some of the best pictures of bad packing I've ever seen! :)
 

davismanLV

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I will say that those are some of the best pictures of bad packing I've ever seen! :)
OMG!!! I'm laughing so hard right now!! Those ARE the BEST photos of BAD packing EVER!!

I didn't even know that was a category....... JEEZE!!! :stupid:
 

fronobulax

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Everything I know about packing a guitar well, I learned at LTG. If I hadn't been here, that would be me.
 

walrus

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LMAO! Creativity run amok!

Beautiful Guild, BTW!

walrus
 

The Guilds of Grot

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You did get lucky! The neck joints on that model of guitar are somewhat fragile. Mine came in a Goya Rangemaster case and the neck separated twice. After gluing it the second time my luthier told me to get a new case! It's good that you have the Guild case.
 

chazmo

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What is with these people?

What's really interesting about this case, and I agree with you Bonneville, is that this probably took a lot of time to construct. What people don't seem to get is that the box is supposed to isolate/insulate the case, not just put a skin around it. Whatever. This guy gets points for effort, but negative points for effect.
 

merlin6666

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I once received a fairly high end guitar that was not boxed at all but wrapped in many thick layers of bubble wrap and packing tape. It looked like a cocoon and I had to cut it open to get to the case. I think it was actually UPS or whatever the shipping company was that did the packing and not the seller of the guitar. I think this actually worked very well for protecting the guitar and I kept it for potential re-use.
 

richardp69

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I once bought a D 40 on Ebay from a guy in Montana. His shipping cost was $25. When he found out it would cost him close to $100 he freaked. Sent the guitar in just the case with no tape, no padding, nothing. Luckily the case contained the guitar perfectly and it actually made it to me unscathed. The funniest part though was that rather than ship it by any of the usual characters, he put it on a Trailways bus and it drove all the way to Michigan bouncing around in the underneath luggage compartment. Then of course, I had to make the 2 hour round trip to get the guitar. What a mess but the guitar turned out to be a good one. I wouldn't buy anything else from him ever again though. Sometimes luck is on your side.
 

Kitarkus

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Gawd! I just shipped a guitar. Bubble wrap beneath neck and headstock. Old dish towels taking up any/all vacant space in the case. Tuned down 1.5 steps. A roll of bubble wrap at bottom of a cardboard guitar box....guitar case wrapped in plastic....and styrofoam peanuts packed within the box. All of this .... and I'm still worried until the Buyer receives the guitar in 100% as advertised condition.

If I were to ship a guitar like the examples illustrated on this thread....I wouldn't sleep a wink during the entire transit time. Sometimes I wish that I could be as laid back as others.
 

GAD

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Gawd! I just shipped a guitar. Bubble wrap beneath neck and headstock. Old dish towels taking up any/all vacant space in the case. Tuned down 1.5 steps. A roll of bubble wrap at bottom of a cardboard guitar box....guitar case wrapped in plastic....and styrofoam peanuts packed within the box. All of this .... and I'm still worried until the Buyer receives the guitar in 100% as advertised condition.

If I were to ship a guitar like the examples illustrated on this thread....I wouldn't sleep a wink during the entire transit time. Sometimes I wish that I could be as laid back as others.

For future reference, don't put bubble wrap in the case. It can react with lacquer finishes:

BubbleWrapGuitar-1.png


BubbleWrapGuitar-2.png
 

davismanLV

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It's like Goldilocks and the three shipping boxes. Each one was "just right" for that particular section of the guitar!! Still chuckling on this one.....
 

GAD

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Oh boy.....geez....I hope this doesn't happen.

Depending on where you live I wouldn't worry too much. I'd think heat would make that far more likely. The biggest worry for lacquer in the cold is not letting the guitar acclimate before opening the case.
 
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