Shipping guitars overseas

[qwerty]

Hello everyone,

I'm going to study overseas next year and i play electric and bass as a hobby. I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with shipping guitars overseas. This is as i have more than 1 guitar and i'm actually considering selling them before i leave. The idea of leaving the guitars here unused is quite "sayang" to me.

Any information or advice would be great, especially from people who have experience in such situations. thanks

 

[Guest]

Are you asking about shipping guitars overseas as in shipping to buyers overseas or shipping the guitar to yourself overseas or how to pack the guitar for when you bring it with you overseas?

 

[qwerty]

I want to ask ppl who have shipped guitars overseas with them when they leave the country. even if i sell my guitars it will be sold locally, wondering how much of a hassle and the cost of shipping a couple of guitars overseas for myself. thanks

 

[Guest]

Shipping guitars with you they're at least 2 ways I can think of now.

1) Ship the guitars via the same airline you're taking as unaccompanied baggage and pick it up when they arrive at the destination after you. You have to check with the airline for the cost per kg.

2) Get a family member to send your guitars to you overseas via the postal service. Check the Sing Post website to calculate the charges.

Bear in mind that using the above methods you may be liable for import duties or taxes on your guitars even though you own them. If you bring the guitars with you on the flight in you can get away with not paying taxes. Too many pieces of instruments arriving at the same time and the customs guys may get suspicious and think you're bringing goods in for sale/profit.

Depends on country btw. I've only got experience with Australia and the odd trip to Malaysia. I had a friend in OZ whose dad once sent him his pricey SLR camera from home via post and he was slapped with import duties for the camera. Note that customs will tend to not release the goods to you until you pay the duties due.

I'm curious about which country you'll be heading to. 'Cos you might be able to find nicer gear depending on where you're going.

 

[Ken]

I think its pretty safe to bring about 1 or two with you nicely packed in hardcases on the flight. I had no problems with that. But you may have to pay excess baggage depending on what you have and how many peeps there are travelling with you. You can circumvent that by trying to ask for excess weight which depends on the flight you are taking. I fly often for my work and we usually pack tons of gear bu we clear customs via something called carnet forms. ( But those forms areonly because we bring like 6 huge pelican cases worth tons)

Just check it out, may be simpler than you think.

 

[Guest]

That reminds me. Try asking your airline if they will give you a higher weight allowance, since you're a student.

 

[qwerty]

Thanks for all the info so far.

I'm actually going to queensland australia for about 2 years, maybe more. I have about 3 guitars now. babelfish may be right, 2 of the guitars are just normal standards from fender so selling them off now might not be that much of a loss since i have not been able to do any mods or anything yet. thanks

 

[Guest]

Np.

But just to let you know, the pricing for (most) guitars and gear in Australia is insane compared to SG. For some midrange instruments like non-MIA Fenders and Ibanezs, the price difference after discounting may be different by a couple of hundred SG dollars. There is a bigger range of instruments there and more people are willing to pay for premium instruments, but the price, esp coming from SG is prohibitive. Helps if you think of it as "paying extra" for their customer service. :wink:

That said, there is a nice market for secondhand gear, especially for out of production classics. You just have to hunt around.

FYI. The only tax you'd have to pay for "importing" if you're going to ship stuff would be the 10% GST for anything valued (according to what it says you've insured it for, hint hint) over AUD$400. Chances of them letting it go by without slapping the tax on are better if it's obvious it's second hand but it really depends on the mood of the customs officer at the port looking at your package when it comes in. :?

 

[calibre2001]

If you're bringing just one Fender, remove the neck n store it in the main luggage. You can hand carry the body. You could do that with 2 guitars!

 

[Everdying]

i shipped my Gibson SG back from US after studies there.
i managed to get one of them big boxes that stores use to ship guitars with hardcases in.
stuffed the hardcase full of old clothes, then stuffed it in the box and stuffed more old clothes and books.
important tip is to loosen your strings.

of cos if its a bolt-on, simply unscrew the neck and hand carry on.