Interesting to read of others experiences - some strange ones out there, for sure.
At this point, for guitars I use UPS and Fedex only - mostly Fedex Ground.
Anything smaller than about 24" x 18" x 12", tend to favor USPS Priority Mail, otherwise Fedex Ground.
Over the past decade, have shipped hundreds - perhaps well over a thousand - small packages
all over the planet using USPS First Class International and USPS Priority Mail International - never
lost a single one, although probably will jinx myself now for saying so :black_eyed:
Ditto except for a BOSS Metal Zone pedal I sent to Mexico City way back when and when the buyer filed a successful claim for his $35 back, I cried to eBay/Paypal and they promptly refunded me to keep me happy.
FedEx has always been my choice for guitars and amps, never a flawed delivery.
I love the postal service, for we live way out in the boonies, and they bring your packages, every day. Floods, snowstorms, doesn't matter, they deliver.
They also pickup, within reason, but if you time it right our mail gal will stick a guitar in her Subaru and off she goes. 170 miles a day, 2 or 3 sets of tires a year...
I just had to wait a week plus weekend for UPS to deliver a pedal here, and it was a miracle they did, for the roads are covered in snow and ice, and then there's the fog.
What effin sense does it make in this day and age of a planet on fire to send a Big Brown Truck for a 1lb package, that has to make a special trip even though the mailperson's coming by anyway?
I'd like to mandate that into the system. But also, I don't want to wait 10 days for a pedal either, that totally sucked, when Priority would have had it here in two or three days.
Don't assume just because you paid $10 to get a pedal shipped on Reverb that the money will be wisely spent, you have to ask. Also, Reverb doesn't make shipping clickable, I've gone over it with "customer service", you have to contact each person and have to wait back to find out how they're shipping. Reverb doesn't want it any better than that, "it's about freedom" they say.