ballpark cost to ship a mandolin in Canada?

[RickPick]

Folks here should be able to give me a ballpark idea of what is involved in shipping a mandolin -- does FedEx or whoever sell appropriate boxes? packing/padding/bubble wrap?Any good videos of how to pack an instrument for shipping? Is it always a good idea to ship in a case? And for anyone with experience shipping within Canada, any idea of the cost to ship from, say, Calgary to Toronto (or some vaguely equivalent distance)?
This sort of thing must happen all the time for anyone selling on the classifieds (except for the Canadian part). Any info is appreciated.

[rockies]

Rick, I've done a couple but not recently. I think it's best to ship in the case. Loosen strings slightly, not enough to make bridge loose. Bubble wrap the headstock and pack in a box with padding like bubble wrap ln all the empty space. All of the carriers are pretty close in price. I've used FedEx, Purolator and Canada Post (had good luck with all). Price from Calgary to Toronto used to be about $50.oo plus insurance so I would make a guess at about $80.00. You'll pay extra if they provide box and pack it. These are just guesses based on shipping I did a couple of years ago. Good Luck
Dave

[RickPick]

Thanks, Dave. I really had no idea what it might cost. It is obviously easier to buy or sell an instrument locally, but it can make for a very limited audience. Thanks for sharing your experience. It helps put into perspective the real costs of reaching out to that broader audience.