How to Ship a Keyboard or Digital Piano
So, you want to install a keyboard, huh? Maybe you’re a touring musician and need to get your piano to your next gig. Maybe you’re moving somewhere that’s a bit of a drive away, and you want to transport your gear to your next residence. In any case, many people ship keyboards and digital pianos every day. This guide is all about how to ship your keyboard or digital piano, how to pack them properly for shipping, and how to save the most money. Let’s boogie!
Table of contents
UPS is the best option for shipping keyboards
Unless you’re sending a baby piano for recording purposes, keyboards are relatively large objects by their nature. Most ecommerce packages handled by the major carriers fit in your hand and don’t weigh too much. Therefore, the carrier classifies digital pianos and keyboards as irregularly shaped items. Irregular packages like this require larger, bulkier boxes… When it comes time to choose the right carrier, UPS is the best option for shipping large boxes.
A quick note about the other two major carriers in the US: USPS is the major carrier for sending smaller, lighter packages. FedEx, on the other hand, specializes in niche shipping (like frozen food packages) and commercial delivery. In general, UPS offers the best combination of affordability and fast delivery for larger boxes.
For the cheapest service, use UPS Ground
If you’re looking for the cheapest UPS service, look no further than UPS Ground. UPS deliberately keeps the price of Ground low so that the service can compete with USPS Retail Ground. If you look at the prices of the two services, you’ll usually see that they’re not much different. However, UPS Ground has one key difference from USPS Ground: It’s the speed of delivery.
UPS takes 1-5 business days to deliver ground packages, while USPS can up to two weeks Deliver similar goods!
To learn more about the difference between USPS and UPS Ground service, check out our article: UPS Ground vs. USPS Ground: Which Is Better?
Additional charges may apply for keyboards or electric pianos
Since keyboards and electric pianos are irregular packages, UPS (and other carriers) surcharge will apply In addition to the basic postage to ship them. For example, UPS adds an “Extra Handling” surcharge to packages that are larger than 48″ on the longest side… as is most cases with keyboards. There is an additional UPS handling surcharge of approximately $11, which must be paid in addition to selected services.
How to properly wrap your keyboard
If you haven’t taken the keyboard out of the box, please don’t! Keeping your keyboard or stage piano inside the manufacturer’s packaging is always the best way to ship them. Think about it: These cases are specially designed for the piano, often with custom inner packing material to fit the exact shape of the keyboard.
If you don’t have a keyboard case on hand, then you’ll want to buy one that matches the size of your keyboard as closely as possible. ULINE offers a case that perfectly fits an 88-key electric piano, which you can view and order here.
When sending a keyboard, it’s not entirely necessary to stuff the inside of the box with a lot of protective packing material, such as foam padding or packing peanuts. You can if you want, but keyboards are relatively solid objects, and if their cases hit a hard surface once or twice during shipping, they won’t break.
Save on shipping labels with online shipping software
Since you’ll face additional fees when sending your keyboard or digital piano, it’s important to keep shipping costs as low as possible. The best way to reduce shipping costs is to use shipping software to buy discounted postage online.
When you use online shipping software, you can get special discounts that carriers usually only offer to large commercial shippers.For UPS, this special pricing level is Digital Access Program. In some cases, discounts on the UPS Digital Access program can Save you tens of dollars Close out what you pay to ship the same package at the UPS store! These savings go a long way when it comes time to ship a larger case, and will help offset some of the surcharges you may have to pay when shipping your keyboard or electric piano.
Consider shipping insurance to protect your keyboard or piano
UPS labels come with a $100 built-in carrier liability that will cover you if your shipment arrives damaged or lost. However, since most keyboards cost over $100, we recommend purchasing shipping insurance for your package. As we said before, most keyboards are pretty solid; if they get knocked a few times during a trip, they won’t crack.However, sometimes the goods go lost Between point A and point B…it always hurts when it happens. It only costs a few dollars to add shipping insurance to your package, and it’s always a good idea. In our experience, it’s worth filing a claim for your keyboard if it’s lost in transit.
