Shipping with USPS
- Thread starter Denny
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adorshki
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There are folks here who believe it's superior option to UPS/FedEx. The USPS already works with Fed Ex.
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I've never shipped with them, but have had a number of bad experiences when people used them to ship to me. Unreasonable long shipping times, convoluted shipping routes (shipped from Houston to Nashvillle, then somewhere in the midwest then finally to Colorado), non-functional tracking numbers and severely damaged boxes (but only once was the guitar damaged). I've checked their prices and they seem more expensive, especially is you use a discounted shipper like ShipNerd (my favorite) or PirateShip (used by many folks around here), who both generally use UPS. I recently shipped a Gretsch Jet from Denver to NJ, insured with sig required for $58. USPS will not be able to beat that! 
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I ship with UPS via Pirate Ship. I would not ship a guitar via USPS these days.
Wilmywood
Senior Member
I have had many things get lost for a time, or forever, some delivered to the wrong address, with USPS. I would never ship a guitar with them.
thanks everybody, I am contemplating buying and the seller will be using USPS, just wondering if that would be a deal breaker, I haven't verified yet but I assume it would be insured
Wilmywood
Senior Member
Make damn sure it is insured, and let the seller know if it comes to you damaged, the deal is off, his issue, not yours. I would pay the extra on Venmo or Paypal to have recourse.
fronobulax
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chazmo
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@Denny I have only had good luck with the USPS shipping guitars. They are expensive these days, and they take a long time. I would go with what GAD suggested earlier in the future, but as a buyer I wouldn’t be worried at all. Stuff happens, of course. It’s a crap shoot. All of the vendors have problems once in a while. Good luck.
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As a buyer I will request the seller not use USPS. If the seller insists on it I will require not using the modern equivalent if Parcel Post (ai forget what it’s called).
I once had a guitar rake three weeks to go 60 miles because of Parcel Post. Never again. I will not buy if the seller uses cheap USPS service.
IIRC the only service that is really recommended is registered mail but most don’t want to pay for that. IIRC Registered mail is the only service from the USPS with chain of custody.
I once had a guitar rake three weeks to go 60 miles because of Parcel Post. Never again. I will not buy if the seller uses cheap USPS service.
IIRC the only service that is really recommended is registered mail but most don’t want to pay for that. IIRC Registered mail is the only service from the USPS with chain of custody.
Wilmywood
Senior Member
As a seller I will only use UPS with UPS store packaging, full insurance. I will insist on the same as a buyer. Of course, my local UPS store owner is a friend.
davismanLV
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I only used USPS to ship one time to Steffan to ship a D25 from here in Vegas up to Canada. It was quick and reasonable and insured and it got there just fine and so my one experience is good. The only other was UPS through Reverb, and that was fine too. But those were my only two experiences.....
twocorgis
Venerated Member
Guitar boxes are big, big enough that with all couriers, you get charged by dimensional weight rather than actual weight. The USPS's dimensional weight for Priority Mail is significantly more expensive than that of UPS/FedEx.
I'm with @GAD, and use Pirate Ship exclusively. The savings are real, and I'm skilled enough at packing guitars that I am confident they'll arrive in one piece, unless something truly extreme happens.
One thing I'll never do is trust some kid at the UPS Store to pack a guitar properly, and they charge an arm and a leg for it, anyway.
I'm with @GAD, and use Pirate Ship exclusively. The savings are real, and I'm skilled enough at packing guitars that I am confident they'll arrive in one piece, unless something truly extreme happens.
One thing I'll never do is trust some kid at the UPS Store to pack a guitar properly, and they charge an arm and a leg for it, anyway.
davismanLV
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Also, remember if you're not going through a company like Reverb who has accounts and special rates, you go to UPS corporate central location place..... all the little UPS stores in mini-malls are all privately owned and they can charge anything they want. So be warned.
I would not ship a guitar USPS. I will use FedEx or UPS.
Pro tip: When I buy a guitar my preference is to have it shipped to a local FedEx customer center store for me to pickup. It greatly reduces the risk of misdelivery or mishandling by the last leg driver, especially if they are a temp or new to the route. You can do the same to a UPS Store, but sometimes there is an extra $5/10 charge from the Store.
Pro tip: When I buy a guitar my preference is to have it shipped to a local FedEx customer center store for me to pickup. It greatly reduces the risk of misdelivery or mishandling by the last leg driver, especially if they are a temp or new to the route. You can do the same to a UPS Store, but sometimes there is an extra $5/10 charge from the Store.
I've shipped with all three carriers with no problems. On the receiving end, a few issues that were related to personnel and not corporate. Fedex drivers service is spotty around here, both good and bad. USPS only had one issue, and that was when the "Evil ----" left a note that said nobody home, when we were all home. I chased her down the street and dragged my guitar back myself. She was called the "Evil---" by coworkers to distinguish her from another carrier in the same PO with the same first name. She was called that by both her co-workers and patrons!
I've been retired for a year from the USPS, but a lot of the "service" changes were made far above a letter carrier's pay grade. It seems like Dejoy did not like the mail handlers or clerks to unload a less than full truck. The many instances of packages bouncing back and forth between facilities can't be explained by someone's incompetence. There are too many examples of delayed parcels for it to be anything other than an implementation of policy.
Fortunately, if you complain to your congressperson, they can do something about it, if enough people are complaining. Unlike a private company, the PO has to answer to their patrons, ultimately.
No situation in life gets better by ignoring it.
Fortunately, if you complain to your congressperson, they can do something about it, if enough people are complaining. Unlike a private company, the PO has to answer to their patrons, ultimately.
No situation in life gets better by ignoring it.
Wilmywood
Senior Member
Every issue I have ever had with USPS has been branch or carrier related. One was a gift my mother sent me one Christmas that did not arrive and was traced to my local branch. In February of the next year it mysteriously was delivered without explanation or apology. Another time I had an item from Amazon that never arrived. Turned out it was delivered to a retirement home around the corner. That time someone from USPS called me and told me, they apparently have a GPS and time stamp on their signature pads.
thanks for all of the input, I really appreciate it, I'll keep you posted
Was the February delivery the first year of covid?