There are 5 ways you can pay for a guitar...
1. Send a personal check and I will ship you the guitar immediatly.
2. Send a bank cashier's check (also known as bank checks and bank drafts among other terms.) I will ship you the guitar immediately.
3. Send a money order (you can usually get them at the post office, banks and credit unions.) I will ship the guitar immediately.
4. PayPal. The good part is that it is fast and I can ship the guitar out immediately. The bad part is that they charge a 2.9% transaction fee. So a $5000 guitar would have a $145. I can't be doing that and still be able to keep my prices really low. So if you want to use PayPal, I'll do it if you will split the cost of the transaction fee with me.
5. Cash. If you're in the area (central Oklahoma) and want to come and play the guitars and / or pick one up, cash is fine.
For a guitar with a value UNDER $5000, here are the options...
USPS
It costs about $25 to mail it parcel post, which takes about a week to get there. I can add, for example, $3000 worth of insurance for another $25, for a total of about $50.
UPS
They charge about $45 to ship it, plus $2.50 per $100 in value for insurance. So a $3000 guitar would cost about $75 to insure. Also, to insure it I have to pay them to pack it. For the box, packing materials and labor it runs right at $40. So the total on a $3000 guitar would be $160. That would get it there in about a week. To get it in like three days would be around $100 more.
For a guitar with a value ABOVE $5000, here are the options...
USPS
Sending it as "registered mail" costs about $60. Then $25 to insure a guitar valued at $10,000, $38 for a guitar valued at $20,000. For totals of $85 or $98 respectively.
UPS
They charge about $45 to ship it, plus $2.50 per $100 in value. in insurance. So a $10,000 guitar would cost about $250 to insure. Also, to insure it I have to pay them to pack it. For the box, packing materials and labor it runs right at $40. So the total on a $10,000 guitar would be $335. That would get there in about a week. To get it in like three days would be around $100 more.
I'm looking into Fed Ex but there isn't a drop-off place very close. Also, I'm seeing if a small business account with UPS would enable me to get lower rates there.
I used to use DHL but they went out of business. If you know of a cheaper way to ship, please let me know!
- INTERNATIONAL SHIPPPING -
At this time I don't do international shipping. However, if you have a friend or relative in the states, I can send it to them and then they can get it to you.
I have had a few people do this by bank wire transfer using Euros, which saved them money because of the exchange rate with the U.S Dollar.
By the way, I do not use those annoying Styrofoam peanuts to pack with. I use bubble wrap. However, if you want to ship with UPS, I believe they do use Styrofoam peanuts.
SHIPPING
