Winter shipping anxiety

[t_byrd]

Hi all,

Just pulled the trigger on a JF30-12 which will be shipped to me in NJ from CA. Discussing the shipping with the seller and they do not have the original hard shell case and are thinking about shipping it with no case. I said I don't think the guitar will be safe shipped without a case and he said he would see if he has a case it will fit in, but this could be tough since its a jumbo size guitar. Any thoughts/experiences having an acoustic guitar shipped in the winter with no case? It was purchased through Reverb so I am confident that any shipping issues would be resolved by them but I would obviously prefer a guitar that is not destroyed in shipping. The shipping price was very high but the price of the guitar was reasonable so I figured it evened out, I just don't see the high shipping price being justified without the weight of the case. We've agreed to have it shipped at the beginning of the week to avoid it sitting anywhere for too long.

Another question, I have seen it mentioned that the finish can be damaged/checked when you ship a guitar in the winter and open the case without it acclimating to the inside temperature. If the guitar is shipped without a case, is there a higher chance of this happening? Or is there a different way to approach opening the package when I receive it? Should I just let the box sit inside for a few hours before opening it (how am I gonna do that! lol)? The pics of the guitar look very clean and I want to avoid any checking from shipping.

Hope to be able to post some nice pics of my new guitar soon if all goes well!

 

[dreadnut]

I would be more concerned about shipping it not in a case. Depending on what you paid for it, it would be a good deal if he could find a new carry case that fits it and ship it in that. $100-$150

 

[awagner]

Not ideal, especially in winter, but here's a solution:

Acoustic Guitar Shipping System for Guitars Without Cases - StewMac

Never worry about damaged guitars again with these rugged boxes and custom padding for safely shipping acoustic guitars.

www.stewmac.com

 

[fronobulax]

The advice for avoiding thermal shock with a cased guitar upon receipt is to

• Let the entire package acclimate for several hours.
• Open the box and let the guitar in the case acclimate for several more hours.
• Open the case and hope.

That advice assume some thermal "protection" from the case which would presumably be absent if there were no case.

If a case is not an option the Stewmac airbag would be better than an improvised solution and would also have some insulation.

But this is a case where you are just playing the odds, IMO...

 

[donnylang]

I've shipped and received plenty of guitars without cases, so I don't think that's a major issue if done properly- which is a big if. I've received more guitars in cases that were not packed properly (including one in which there was barely any padding and the case had come open w/ guitar partially falling out). So this is to say: the lack of case is less of a consideration than how well its packed IMO.

RE: winter- I think this depends on where it's coming from and where it's heading. Here in CA along the coast or nearby states, I would not personally be concerned at all.

 

[geoguy]

Thermal shock shouldn't be an issue if you let the unopened carton gradually warm up overnight, prior to opening it.

By the way, tell the shipper to NOT put bubble wrap in direct contact with that guitar's finish. There are numerous examples on-line showing circular defects on a guitar's finish caused by the little bubbles.

Bubble wrap would be ok if the guitar was first wrapped in something non-reactive.

Maybe the seller could buy a generic jumbo-sized case at Guitar Center, etc. prior to shipping?

 

[t_byrd]

Thanks everyone! This sort of confirms what I was already thinking:
Shipping with no case = probably bad
Shipping with no case in the winter = probably worse

I would definitely feel better if it were shipped in a case and will try to make sure it is packed properly, in a case, without bubble wrap touching the guitar to ruin the finish.

I've found a few links/videos about packing a guitar to ship in the case that I was thinking of sharing with the seller, does anybody have a tried and true shipping method I could easily send him a link to?

 

[geoguy]

If by "shipping method" you mean instructions for packing a guitar, this link has the approach that I use:

frets.com guitar-packing advice