Cheapest safe way to ship guitar from US?

[Chinagraf]

I've had a Gretsch sent from a store i NY and it's cost about $150 us, but this is from a friend over there and best price we can find is like $250. The length is the problem. It's a hollowbody/set neck so we can't take it off to make the package smaller.
Any ideas?
Thanks

[jkhuri44]

if u know anyone with an office job/warehouse sort of position...u can get ur guitar shipped to the same company at the US and have the g uitar come with the companies shipment...

altho, this requires alot of work...and im not sure how worth the $100 dollar saving it would be.

[Alistair]

$250 for a full sized set neck guitar is pretty reasonable unless you have a discount with one of the major companies. $150 for a full sized hollow is fantastic, that company must ship a lot of product.

It's always worth checking the mail forwarders (Myus.com and the like). Because they ship so much, it's often super cheap. Downside is that you need an account (I can help you with that if needed), but you can at least get an instant fairly accurate quote so you know whether it's worth chasing.

For what it's worth, I've found DHL to be the best.

[Chinagraf]

Yeah the $250 isn't mega bad, it's fully insured. The shop in NY ships a lot of guitars so i guess that's why it was so cheap with them. I wonder if Rick can come home via Kansas.....
Thanks

[rick]

i am not in kansas anymore

[Ausrock]

I have to agree with Alistair re DHL.........maybe not the cheapest but after shipping probably 14 guitars with them I wouldn't look anywhere else. Virtually always 24hrs surface to surface (US sender to Sydney) means minimal hours in transit means less time for something to go wrong...........good insurance. However, be prepared for Quarantine and Customs to take their time clearing.