I've shipped banjos from North Dakota to Colorado, Mississippi and to Korea (and all were also shipped back) via U.S. Postal service, insured the snot out of them and never once had an ounce of trouble.

Thank God I've never had any damage in shipping out, or receiving, a banjo, guitar or fiddle.

I came "close" to needing to file a complaint on a temporarily "lost" piece of mail I had sent. It got swiped by porch pirates, even though the Post Office reported it was "delivered to a post office box". I asked who has to file the complaint of loss, the shipper (me) or the recipient. Well it turns out to be the recipient, who has to file a complaint with police do all the paperwork, wait 60 to 90 days for police resolution or non-resolution, and then file paperwork with the post office to get the insured value. Now this case wasn't a musical instrument, it was a silver coin. The recipient decided it wasn't worth the bother and just gave up.

So you have to have this kind of tomfoolery in the back of your mind before you can make a final decision on how to ship. I don't use FedEx because their local service here is DREADFUL. I don't use UPS because the nearest official UPS shipping point is 40 miles away. My local tiny town post office is helpful and friendly. I mailed a guitar once that was terribly late in reaching its destination and my local postmistress really went to bat for me and harangued a Post Office distribution center out in Chicago-land until they found it and hustled it to its destination. I use the Post Office because I can talk to responsible folks right here in my hometown who are helpful.

Leaving the packing to any shipper is like playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded Gatling gun. It's virtually a guaranteed disaster.
Pack the instruments yourself making sure that the necks are fully supported both top and bottom full length in hardshell cases.  Pad the pegheads so they are immobile in the case.

Firstly, it's going to be an expensive hassle no matter what.
But you can save a lot of expense by getting a packing box from a music store. I stuff the case diligently with packing material, to avoid damage. I also pack around the case, so it doesn't move at all. I also skip insurance.
I often use UPS, but I can't really recommend it over any other carrier.

A suggestion.

I don’t ship banjos, but I do receive a lot of packages. In my area, UPS and USPS do a fairly good job of last mile delivery. FedEx loses stuff all the time. So I actually ask any shipper if they will use someone besides FedEx. In a few cases I haven’t ordered from a supplier because FedEx was the only option.

So you might ask the person you are shipping to if they have a preference if you don’t. If they know there’s a problem in their area they may keep you from losing a banjo.

Watch the small print. Some insurance companies won't honor a loss if you pack the banjo yourself instead of having it packed by a designated packer. banjered

Thanks folks. Sounds like things are pretty much the same as they’ve been, only a lot more expensive. Shipping costs from here have pretty much doubled in the past year.

The size of box you ship in MATTERS ! I shipped 2 banjos out not long ago, one box I had was from reverb. It was just big enough length and width for the banjo and case to fit with a enough packaging to properly ship. The other box was larger in Height, width and depth, so more packing . I apologize I can’t remember the dimension's of both boxes but just a few inches makes a world of difference in shipping costs. Check the difference in cost on box dimension . Best of luck

You could place an airtag in the instrument (not just in the box) to provide location information on occasion. I intend to do that if I ship an instrument. They are a bit expensive at $25, arrange to have the recipient send it back to you. I do this when transporting my instruments and checked baggage on airlines and works great.
Willie

I had a banjo packed by FedEx Office. The banjo arrived with a broken flange and FedEx denied the claim. I did everything I could to get it paid but just kept running into claim denied. I finally just gave up.

I had a banjo damaged by Fedex. It had $1000 insurance on it. The resonator was broken with a clear impact point on the shipping carton. It was very well packed. They quickly denied the claim even though it was insured. I called, eventually spoke to a claims rep. I told her I was retired, had lots of time free, and had no problems taking them to small claims court here in Ontario Canada. I actually welcomed the opportunity. I reminded her of the costs for having their lawyers attend court at least a couple times , travel expenses, etc that would likely go well over the $1000 insurance that I paid for. She immediately took it to the bosses, and I had a cheque for $1250 CAN in a week.

I thankfully have never had a banjo damaged in shipping. I don't trust the local UPS/Fedex to know how to prepare a banjo for safer shipping, so I do it myself and ensure I take copious pictures through the packing process in the hope this will help with an insurance claim if it gets damaged.

For cheaper shipping labels, I'd check out PirateShip or another third-party shipping provider; they negotiate bulk rates with USPS and UPS. I've gotten really steep UPS Ground discounts which then make any insurance + required signature add-ons more affordable as well. One thing to be aware of with them: if something goes wrong, UPS/USPS will say you need to go through PirateShip's support process first.

Has anyone shipped a banjo in two parts?  Neck in one package, the pot in the other?

This would lessen the people who might want the banjo but are not willing to assemble.

But, the chance of sucess in shipping without damage would increase quite a bit, I think,  and the shipping cost would surely be less.

Someone just told me about

Pirate ship

i haven't used it yet but I intend to next time I ship. Looks promising!

Warren Yates made a good video on he how packs banjos for shipping. Nicely detailed. Here’s a link: https://youtu.be/tfqT2m8Rp4I

Fed Ex and UPS "insurance" is not a promise to pay if the instrument is damaged.   It is not "insurance" as we casually think of the term.

Rather, it is an increase in the maximum liability of the shipper if the instrument is damaged AND the shipper is at fault.  The standard max liability is $100 or thereabouts.  Want a higher max liability?  Pay for the "insurance."

They don't call it "insurance," but rather something like "declared value."

And for goodness sake don't threaten revenge on the other party if you don't get your way.  Like "I'll put this all over the internet."  That type of Donald Trump stuff is mostly illegal.  

If you want insurance, then get a real insurance policy on your specified instruments.  It will cover shipping damage without having to find fault with the shipper.

Hope this helps.

Has anyone shipped a banjo in two parts? Neck in one package, the pot in the other?

We shipped banjos and electric guitars this way to Europe in the 1980s. Saved a bundle on shipping because the packages were smaller and could be shipped by postal carriers--and probably reduced shipping damage.