Shipping my guitar to France...advice Lads

Fingers Mcginty

Howdy Folks,
So it looks like I'm selling my guitar to a guy in France. Any advice on shipping ie should I go down the An Post road or DHL/UPS ?? Also what is the norm regarding payment?...Is PAYPAL the usual method? Thanks

Savman

Good luck, is all I'll say. All shipping companies are equally as bad with regard to Fragiles. Don't be shy with the bubble wrap!

darrenw5094

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

Howdy Folks,
So it looks like I'm selling my guitar to a guy in France. Any advice on shipping ie should I go down the An Post road or DHL/UPS ?? Also what is the norm regarding payment?...Is PAYPAL the usual method? Thanks

You get charged 5% or so on the sale price by Paypal.
Insured by An Post is expensive for a guitar. Think i sent one to Spain via An Post for around €70 ish. That had damn all insurance and no tracking number etc. It's just too expensive to ship guitars abroad with full insurance in this country.

Eoin Madsen

There is a % fee, but Paypal is one of the easier and most trustworthy ways of sending/receiving a payment. I wouldn't send money to some random dude in a foreign country any other way tbh. :pac:

Afaik, An Post won't insure more than one or two hundred euros. I think they have fixed limits on the weight and volume of their packages too. Any time I've had to send anything of any value I've had to use DHL, UPS, or Fedex. Times like these you really miss SDS.

Demeyes

Paypal seems to be the norm for overseas stuff and transactions where you can't meet. It's pretty quick and has some cover if you get scammed.
Make sure you pack the guitar well, use lots of packing stuff. A lot of people go for the double box method where you use 2 boxes with a layer packing nuts between them but it would be more expensive to ship that package then. Don't ship the guitar tuned up fully, it's recommended tuning it down so it isn't under full tension while shipping.

Fingers Mcginty

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

I wouldn't send money to some random dude in a foreign country any other way tbh. :pac:

I'm selling not buying

punchdrunk

check out GLS

http://www.gls-group.eu/276-I-PORTAL-WEB/content/GLS/IE01/EN/500029_gls_ireland_parcel_shop_price_list.htm

Fingers Mcginty

Cheers Punch...they only insure up to 350 though

Savman

UPS, purely because their tracking is fare superior than the others, so you can see exactly where the pieces of the guitar are

punchdrunk

what guitar is it?

are you shipping in a hardcase?

if it's going in a hardcase i'd be checking with guitar shops if you could have one of the huge cardboard boxes they receive guitars in ,
it'll save them a bin tag anyway!

Fingers Mcginty

Savman wrote: »

UPS, purely because their tracking is fare superior than the others, so you can see exactly where the pieces of the guitar are

You're not instilling any confidence Sav

Fingers Mcginty

punchdrunk wrote: »

what guitar is it?

are you shipping in a hardcase?

if it's going in a hardcase i'd be checking with guitar shops if you could have one of the huge cardboard boxes they receive guitars in ,
it'll save them a bin tag anyway!

It's an expensive hollowbody and yes I have a case for it.

Savman

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

You're not instilling any confidence Sav

It's cos I have none! It's a risky business even for the Thomanns and Music Stores, hence why we've seen threads on here before about brand new guitars arriving damaged thanks to some over zealous warehouse monkey.

Last time I sent a PA speaker with UPS the guy actually warned me that fragile or not, them boxes go up and down rollers and are stacked any which way they see fit. It's an inconvenient truth I'm afraid.

Johnny Storm

Savman wrote: »

Don't be shy with the bubble wrap!

+1

Presumeably the buyer is paying for the packing and insurance? If so, ask him which shipping company he prefers and how much insurance he wants to pay for. Then if it all goes arseways he cant complain too much.

Welease

punchdrunk wrote: »

check out GLS

http://www.gls-group.eu/276-I-PORTAL-WEB/content/GLS/IE01/EN/500029_gls_ireland_parcel_shop_price_list.htm

I would seriously avoid GLS.. they are an absolute shambles of a delivery company..

Do a search for GLS and boards.ie and see that amount of threads and complaints about them.. Avoid at all costs (and i am speaking from personal experience sadly).

Patricide

I used a company called dpd before to ship a bass to england. Wasnt too expensive and the bass got there safe and sound. Id recommend them.

Seziertisch

It is easy enough to get stuff sent to Ireland insured, sending it from Ireland is a different story. You could easily be looking at the bones of €300 (or possibly even more) to send the guitar.

Strings.ie

Try DPD, we use them for France, never had an issue.

Fingers Mcginty

Cheers lads,
Think I'll hold off then. I was reluctant in the first place. I'll hold out for a local buyer. Thanks Fingers

darrenw5094

Welease wrote: »

I would seriously avoid GLS.. they are an absolute shambles of a delivery company..

Do a search for GLS and boards.ie and see that amount of threads and complaints about them.. Avoid at all costs (and i am speaking from personal experience sadly).

Those feckers lost a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop of mine about 2 years ago.:mad:

Muppets.

NTHOM

A friend of mine in Galway sells custom guitars as a hobby. He uses Mail Boxes Etc. in Killarney to ship worldwide. They also offer insurance.

Fingers Mcginty

Cheers...Actually sold the axe locally in the end