Shipping an Upright Bass - It's Complicated.

An email question I commonly receive: "I find myself needing to ship a bass across the country safely - what can you tell me?" 

Oof. Yeah, that's kind of a big deal, fraught with lots of costs, a decent amount of risk, and some unknown variables.Here is some stuff to think about.

Shipping Options

To start with, you'll most likely need to ship it by truck, using a freight carrier (like Yellow Freight, RPL, and many others); unfortunately, unless you have an agreement through work or someone with a business, the "retail" walk-in customer pays an absolute fortune. Discounts of 50% and more are commonly given, applied to their "book rates," to high-volume business accounts. But a "walk-in" one-time shipper is gonna pay full boat, and that's not cheap.

For the least hassle, you are likely best served by going to one of the chain shipping companies; not the tiny little mailbox ones but those that deal more with commercial customers. A good bet might be a larger UPS or FedEx store, as both carriers have their own trucking subsidiaries. 

Going that route won't be cheap, but it may be your best bet. And while they will charge you for the packing, they will probably also provide better rates for the shipping component - making the cost essentially a "wash" and providing the better protection from liability that letting them pack it brings:

Trucking companies are notorious for breaking stuff, and they'll be all too ready to blame you for the damage - I'm pretty sure that most of them have an auto-responder at the ready for any claim form submission -- which informs you that your insufficient packaging was at fault. However, those chain shipping store locations have databases/giant binders with instructions for devising shipping crates and/or boxes, and even though you pay (considerably) more to have someone make and pack the container, if you do so, you are confidently covered by insurance. And they cannot give you the "you didn't pack it well enough" run-around that they invariably pull when there's damage or loss -- because THEY packed it. Bob once had a specific incident with UPS, and since they both built the carton and shipped it using their own line, there was no finger-pointing, the claim was paid quickly. 

Alternatively, I have also heard folks using bus lines for shipping large items, apparently at bargain rates. Again, you'll want to be sure your container is "blame-proof." I don't have personal experience using this particular method, so I can't really advise you on the ins and outs. 

Preparing the Instrument

No matter the carrier you choose, you'll want to prepare the bass per their instructions. I don't think what I'll suggest below will conflict, and this is what I do, in addition to any carrier-specific instructions. 

• Wrap bubble wrap or another non-scratchy material around the tailpiece where the string holes are, so the backs of the strings' ball ends don't contact and scratch the top of the bass when you loosen the strings.
• Loosen the strings enough so that the bridge can come off. 
• Wrap another material (long strip of rags, etc.) around the strings to keep them isolated, too, and tie/velcro something to keep them in place against the fingerboard. 
• Wrap the bridge in bubble wrap and secure it somewhere, behind the tailpiece is common, so it won't get loose and bounce around, scratching the finish.
• You may hear a wooden dowel (the soundpost) fall inside. If so, you can fish it out and wrap it together with the bridge.  
• If you do have a soft case, put the bass inside the case and keep it on, the packing company can take it from there.

I hope this helps.

Other Options

One of our customers recounts another option that he lucked into a number of years ago:

"I recently went through the trials of having an upright shipped. I bought it from a private party via eBay. The sale went well. Myself and seller didn’t know anything about shipping musical instruments let alone an upright bass. I’m in California. They are in Ohio. Shipping wasn’t part of the deal. It was a local pickup deal but the seller offered to help me as much as they could...

...you know where this is going. I started pricing shipping methods and costs... All I can say is I got extremely lucky. I posted a ride share ad on the seller’s local Craigslist. I found a gentleman who lives in Portland Oregon who offered to pick the bass up and deliver to me. He makes quarterly trips to the east coast and delivers boutique wines from Oregon to high class restaurants on the east coast. Fortunately, he and the seller were aware what was at stake. "Granny Kay" (she was born in 1954) made the journey safely.

I guess the reason I am writing this is to make other upright bass buyers aware of what I wasn’t. It can be stressful and daunting if you have never done it. It can also be extremely expensive. Can you please post an article about all of the ins and outs of having basses shipped? Thanks, Mark."   - J.G.