DO NOT assume the shipping company shall compensate the shipper for any damage even for an INSURED accordion because they will try extremely hard to prove the damages were caused by YOUR poor packing job.  We heard numerous terrible stories about priceless accordions destroyed by not laying enough pads INSIDE the hard case, and the shipper never got a penny back from the shipping company. 

 Instructions For Accordion Shipping

1.     Remove the back-straps from the accordion to allow more room inside the accordion CASE.

2.     Put the entire accordion inside a plastic bag and seal it shut.

3.     Put light and soft packing material in bottom of the accordion case.

4.     Put the accordion in the bag into the CASE -- keyboard side first, and then bottom side (when you take it out from the case, bottom first) and fill the space inside the case with light and soft pads as shown in the pictures.  Do not allow the accordion to move around inside the case.

5.     Put the straps in appropriate place in the case if it has enough space.  Fill in around all sides of the case – top, bottom, and all sides with as much clear plastic bubblewrap or foam as you can, except switches and keys.

6.     Close the case and secure it with tape if necessary to keep it closed.

7.     Choose a shipping BOX that is 2 inches larger than the CASE in length, width and height.  Usually, a shipping box of size 27x25x16 inches is big enough for the largest accordion inside a hard case.   If the shipping box is too large, cut and fold to make it smaller.   Then, put some packing material in bottom of the shipping BOX before putting the accordion CASE in.

8.     Put the accordion case into the shipping BOX, and fill-in all the remaining five sides -- front, back, left, right, and top -- around the accordion CASE with shipping material.

9.     Mark the outside of the BOX with an UP arrow in the same direction as the accordion-CASE handle.

10.  Put the straps in there somewhere (if there is no enough space in the CASE), along with any pertinent documentation.

11.  Finish packing the BOX, close and seal it.  Mark the outside with FRAGILE and with UP arrows.

12..  You don't have to go to FedEx or UPS to find the rate.  You can go to www.fedex.com or www.UPS.com  to open an account, find the rate for Ground (and other too) shipping, then print a label on your own printer, and apply the label to the shipping box, then drop off the box to a nearby FedEx or UPS Center or authorized Shipping Outlet - usually a Mailbox Etc store, and you can find the locations by telephone (1-800-GO-FEDEX or 1-800-PICK-UPS) or from their websites.

DON'TS:

1.     Don't use "peanuts" or Styrofoam inside the accordion CASE because they just create dust that is hard to get out (wadded-up paper works best).

2.     Don't "jam" the keys and switches with packing material.

3.     Don't use Styrofoam inside shipping BOX unless isolated from the accordion CASE, e.g. putting the entire case inside a plastic bag...because the Styrofoam sometimes "marks-up" a textured accordion case.  

Fill the space inside the case with light and soft pads.  Do not allow the accordion to move around inside the case.