1.  Pack it yourself! 
Avoid drop shippers like "Mail Boxes, Etc."  If you use them it will cost at least twice, often 3 times as much, as packing it yourself. Further, significant problems can develop if an item they pack and ship gets damaged in shipment or gets lost. (Sorry if this upsets Mail Boxes drop shippers. Some of you may be great at packing, shipping and handling claims but some of you are downright disgraceful.)

2. How to pack. 
a. A good cardboard box is a must. Music stores will usually give you one as a courtesy. If not, make one out of cardboard boxes salvaged from behind stores. The insurance folks insist that there be at least 2 inches of space between the guitar and the cardboard shipping carton. Therefore most cardboard shipping boxes will need to be about 8 inches deep X 21 inches wide X 51 inches long. It does not have to be pretty but it needs to be solid and strong.

b. If your instrument does not have a case it's best to wrap it with 3 layers of bubble wrap as a minimum. Don't use the little styrene peanuts as they move around and the guitar can shift over against the cardboard with a little jiggling and rough treatment. Wadded newspaper is better than the styrene peanuts if you don't have bubble wrap. The object is to make sure 2 inches of padding separate your instrument from that cardboard box and that it can't move toward the ends or sides of that cardboard box no matter how rough the shippers treat the box!

c. If you are shipping the guitar inside a case there are important steps to follow. Damage to guitars inside cases typically results from the guitar moving around inside the case. End pins can act like a ram if the guitar gets slammed down on end. Therefore wad up a couple of pieces of newspaper and put one on each side of the endpin  They will serve as a cushion for the body should the shipper slam it down on the end where the end pin is located. The next area of damage is broken necks. Wad up some newspaper and stuff it in the space behind the neck of the guitar at the neck joint. The object is to make a good cushion for that neck/body joint in the event the guitar gets slammed down on it's backside. Then stuff wadded newspaper behind the headstock to serve as a cushion. Finally place some wadded newspaper on top of the headstock and on top of the strings in the center of the body of the guitar and close the lid. That wadded paper on top of the headstock and on top of the strings serves to gently squeeze the guitar securely inside the case when the lid is closed thus preventing any movement.

d. Contrary to what you may have been told do not loosen the strings on a guitar that has a 'floating' or movable bridge.  If the bridge slips or moves the recipient has to have it set up again. It isn't necessary to loosen them on other guitars if you have packed as instructed above but you can if you want.

e. Place the secured case inside the cardboard shipping box and stuff bubble wrap or wadded newspapers on both ends and around all sides so that case cannot move inside that cardboard shipping box. Remember, insurance companies are not going to pay for claims if you don't have that 2 inches of padding separating the item that is insured from the cardboard surround! Once the guitar is boxed and secured it's time to seal it. Do not seal it without putting a copy of the TO and FROM shipping information inside the cardboard shipping box! Once a copy of that information is inside the cardboard carton tape up the box with scotch tape, masking tape or duct tape if you prefer. Make sure it is securely taped throughout.

f. Labels containing the name and address of the one doing the shipping and the intended recipient should then be taped securely to the box. I like the clear wide scotch tape that allows me to cover the shipping label completely. It's not likely to come off. It's always a good idea to mark the box "fragile" in several places. Put a "do not stack" notice on both sides of the cardboard box so the drivers won't stack heavy item on top of them.  I usually put my shipping label and a "this end up" notice on the end of the box where the guitar's headstock is located. It's better the guitar travel on end with the headstock stuck up in the air. The shippers will probably put their own label on the box but it pays to put your own as well.

3. The actual act of shipping! My favorite method is to have UPS come to my house and pick the item up. It's as simple as calling 1-800-PICKUPS and punching the phone buttons till you get a live shipping clerk on the line. A call today results in a UPS driver showing up at your door next business day and picking the package up. Here are some things you must have ready when you call to ask them to make the pickup!

1. Your phone number including your area code!  (They will use that phone number to obtain the name of the phone owner and their address from the phone company database. If you are the owner of the phone and you live at the address where the phone is located you are in business.)  They will ask if there are any special instructions the driver needs to know how to get there.

2. The box will need to be weighed and measured before you call. The measuring part is easy. It's simply length ..width... and height in inches. The weight factor is simple too but can be tricky on smaller packages. I rarely actually weigh a guitar that is boxed and ready for shipment. I tell them the box weighs 29 pounds knowing they are going to charge me the same as if it actually weighed 30 pounds since the box is of a size they classify as being an oversize box. Small boxes holding gear and  instruments like mandolins need to be weighed. If you can't weigh them guess as accurately as you possibly can and add at least one pound to the total should something happen that results in the box getting actually weighed by someone at some point.

3. The Name, Address (including suite number if indicated) plus the Zip Code it goes to. (It should be exactly the same as it is on address label you have on the box.)

4. Insure the package fully. The first $100 worth of insurance is free and only 35 cents for each $100 in additional insurance after that. I insure items at their current Blue Book value even though I may sell for less. It's worth the extra dollars to go through the hassle of collecting insurance if the shippers trash the instrument or it gets lost in transit. A Xerox copy of a page out of the current Orion Blue Book is usually all the "expertise" they require to be convinced that the item is in fact worth what it was insured for.

5. It use to be that you could pay cash if you had exact payment in hand. No more. Now you have to have a personal check or money order made out to UPS for the exact amount when UPS makes the pickup! They will ask how you are going to pay shipping when they take your pickup order. I always pay them with my personal check made out to UPS in the exact amount the clerk specified at the time I placed the pickup order.

6. There is no way of predicting the time a UPS driver will arrive to make the pickup. Therefore you need to arrange to have the pickup made at a location where someone will definitely be there to give the driver the package and accept your copy of the shipping invoice with the tracking number on it.

FAIR WARNING!  Be sure to completely remove all old bar code tags and shipping addresses from used boxes you ship instruments in. Shippers use scanners and your instrument can easily disappear forever should their scanner focus in on some old barcode or address instead of the one you intended!
 

How to Adjust Necks and set Intonation for proper playing action.
How to Set UP electric Guitars.
Taking Care of Guitar Finish
Fretboard care and Treatment (Fret Polishing, etc.)
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