How do I move my three guitars from USA to Sydney?

Thank you for visiting Movers.com, I'll be glad to try to help you with your question about shipping guitars overseas.

Guitars are tricky to pack and ship. There is no one accepted way to pack a guitar, but I will that say a container that can ship multiple guitars is practically unheard of. You could contact an international moving company and ask for a custom crate to be built, but it may not be cost effective or possible.

Guitar boxes

Guitars are typically shipped in their cases in guitar boxes. These boxes are usually 48" by 20" by 10" and are available for about $5 each. Each box fits just one guitar. This is good because boxes larger than guitar box dimensions count as an oversize 2 shipment and will be twice as expensive to ship.

Packing your guitars

The packing process for guitars is summarized as follows:

• Use a quality hard-shell guitar case.
• Add bubble wrap or packing paper to the inside of the case around the guitar to add additional support and padding for the guitar.
• Loosen the strings.
• Close the case on the packing material, compressing it slightly.
• Place the closed case in the guitar box after adding some cushioning to the bottom of the box.
• Fill the box with more material: peanuts, packing paper, foam, or more cardboard boxes used as compartments.
• Tape, label, and ship.

The safety and efficacy of using packing peanuts and bubble wrap is open to some debate. Bubble wrap is very good at padding the inside of the case and wrapping around the neck of the guitar, but some finishes could have a poor reaction with it. Additionally, packing peanuts tend to settle in the bottom of boxes, so unless the box is filled, they may not be effective in cushioning the case.

Cost

It is hard to determine what the cost of shipping your three guitars will be. They will probably have to be shipped in three separate boxes (perhaps the boxes will be placed inside a shared crate.) International shipments can be charged on weight and/or volume, but if you keep the shipments under the oversize 2 classification, it should be cheaper than paying for a newly crafted crate that will cost more to ship.

Contact an international moving company and ask questions about your packing and shipping options to get a more accurate estimate of the cost. Ask at least three different companies to make sure you get a good price. Once you choose your company and shipping method, all that is left to do is pack your guitars safely in your cases and boxes.