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Thread: Best Shipping method advice

  1. #1

    Default Best Shipping method advice

    Could I ask for advice about shipping and packing a nice used Gibson A5L? It did not have a case.
    I want it to arrive unhurt. Thanks in advance .
    Dub in Sprinkeburg

  2. #2

    Default Re: Best Shipping method advice

    Are you sending it or receiving it?

    If you are receiving it, I would buy a case and send it to them with a box, peanuts, bubble, etc. And have them return it with the mandolin.

    If you are sending it and don't want to buy a case. I would would bubble wrap it, put it in a box, then put that box in a bigger box, floating in peanuts. (and cross your fingers....) the materials cost quite a bit, unless you already have them around or can buy wholesale from a box store.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Best Shipping method advice

    I am receiving it . Sorry I was unclear.
    I liked the idea of sending a case but don't know if the size would be right.
    Dub

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Best Shipping method advice

    If you absolutely have to have it shipped without hardshell: go to appliance store and get lots of high quality boxes (from expensive appliances). They're better cardboard than what you can buy at a U-haul store. Wrap instrument in bubble wrap or closed cell foam, then wrap that in 3 or 4 or more rolled up layers of the cardboard. More buble wrap/closed cell around that, and then in a high quality box.

    One thing about plastic peanuts or anything that produces fine particles, they can foul up electronics, i think the dust causes shorts when mailing synths, interfaces, etc. Otherwise works great.
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  5. #5
    Fatally Flawed Bill Kammerzell's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best Shipping method advice

    Quote Originally Posted by dub136 View Post
    I am receiving it . Sorry I was unclear.
    I liked the idea of sending a case but don't know if the size would be right.
    Dub
    I have received one mandolin without a case. But, it was nowhere as expensive as an A5L. Can't that be a $2,000.00 instrument? Who is shipping it, and why would they risk that? I have never tried anything like that and wouldn't know. I believe I have shipped in a gig bag and just surrounded it with bubble wrap and popcorn.
    BTW isn't that the shippers problem?
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  6. #6
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best Shipping method advice

    Instrument in a Box , Wrapped Cotton + Plastic? and padded within a Box
    surrounded by an Ocean of styrofoam P-Nuts,

    I had a Godin A 8 it started out in a Box but when it got to my Door all there was was a hardshell case with a shipping tag with My address on It.
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  7. #7
    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Best Shipping method advice

    If i was asking somebody to ship an un-cased mandolin to me i'd ask :- 1) Wrap the mandolin in tissue paper first. 2) A couple of layers of good bubble wrap (the tissue will prevent any possible reaction to the wrap). 3) A well made,strong cardboard box. Put a good depth of polystyrene 'chippings' inside the box (as per Mandroid above) ,place the wrapped mandolin inside the box & fill all round it with the 'chippings' & seal the box. It's the polystyrene chippings that are the most important 'shock absorbing' factor.
    It might seem a bit over the top,but it needs to be done to ensure that the mandolin arrives undamaged,
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  8. #8

    Default Re: Best Shipping method advice

    Logic tells us that a case makes shipping much safer, and this is what I would have assumed until we shipped tens of thousands of instruments without cases and noticed a pattern. Some may find this hard to believe (and I was surprised as well).... A mandolin is just as likely if not more likely to break when shipped in an average wooden case. The reason is that you only have around 1/2" of padding and then the mandolin contacts wood. Cardboard is very good at protecting against shock damage, wood is not.

    Number one most common damage is the headstock snapping off from whiplash, or it can crack down the neck from the nut. Very few cases provide any additional protection for this. If the mandolin is partially detuned, the risk of this is reduced. Padding around the headstock helps, but it is difficult to get the support just right.

    Number two is cracked tops. This one is way more common in cases. Very few cases are designed to not allow the bridge to contact the case. A gap between the bridge and case can be even worse if there is nothing to prevent the mandolin from moving.

    Past these two, the damage starts to become random. Double boxing a mandolin provides a good deal of protection. In a hard hit, the cardboard will give and take the impact, or even let the mandolin puncture through the box. This sounds dangerous, but the odds of a direct hit right on the bridge are low. An impact right next to the bridge, will not necessarily be transmitted to the mandolin.

    More often than not, when instruments do break during shipping, there is no obvious damage to the box. Foam cases (featherweight), are extremely protective for shipping as is high-end fingerless cases, though this is mostly based on the foam in them.

    In the end, mandolin are quite durable. We only have a handful of shipping damage each year. Not bad considering that we ship multiple instruments per day.
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  10. #9

    Default Re: Best Shipping method advice

    Another tip I learned years ago is that styrofoam peanuts can be compressed with your hand for better protection. In other words, if you fill a box with peanuts to the top, you can still take the palm of your hand and press them down several inches, then add some more before sealing the box.

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  12. #10

    Default Re: Best Shipping method advice

    After posting this thread, the seller sent me pictures of his packing method .{Double boxed with 4" of Styrofoam peanuts}
    It was a big box.
    The instrument arrived undamaged .
    Acclimating now . From Georgia to southern Indiana.
    Thanks for your replies,
    Dub in Sprinkleburg

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