bdeclee said:
And here's what UPS did to my F-412:
Hey folks...
Some friendly shipping advice:
Whenever possible
PULL THE ENDPIN OUT before shipping! An acoustic endpin is a nicely tapered little wedge, and a drop on the tail can split the tail and endblock inside, or worse (as with Barabara's). I know you can't do that with an endpin jack... but on an acoustic, it's usually pretty easy to do. Seeing pics like Barbara's 412 make me want to cry... It's possible that, had its endpin been pulled and placed in the case pocket, Barbara's 412 might have survived it drop completely unscathed.
Sometimes they can be in there pretty tight... if it doesn't just come out with your fingers, try wearing rubber gloves for a better grip, or wrap the endpin's neck/waist with an elastic band until it is even with the widest part of the pin... then try again. The elastic (rubber) band will give you a better grip. As a last resort, I have twice used a heavily padded claw hammer to pull pins.
Surprisingly, of the 5 guitars I have bought and had shipped to me, NONE had the pin pulled for shipping... even those shipped by dealers or individuals experienced with shipping guitars.
One more: ff there are items (endpin, extra bridge pins or strings, allen wrenches, etc) in the case pocket,
TAPE THE POCKET CLOSED! before shipping. I know of at least three examples (two of mine) where pocket items escaped during shipping (to me, or in a past life), and damaged the guitar.
Dave