Shipping a large tail light assembly

[mprokop87]

I am trying to ship a large tail light housing from Cleveland GA to Rochester NY and I am having a problem trying to find reasonable shipping. The dimensions are 87.5"x 11" x 17" and the package weighs no more than 10lbs. Its just a plastic/fiber glass tail light housing from a Arogsy trailer. I figured that I could get it shipped for $50-60 but UPS ground wants to charge me $140 which seems really expensive.

Any suggestions on how to ship this thing cheaply?
Thank you!

[Argosy Heir]

Fedex is more reasonable on larger packages. I have also shipped some awkward packages via Greyhound bus lines but there is no home delivery.

[AWCHIEF]

That does sound a bit high, but unfortunetly that is going to come out as an over sized package after you box it up. You might try a freight company. Keep in mind that shipping it to a private individual can be much cheaper if it is shipped to the local freight depot and picked up by who ever you are shipping it to.

[SteveH]

An item like that will have to be packaged well to prevent damage in transit, no mater how you ship it, but I've found the absolute cheapest way to ship a large item is by bus.

Greyhound goes everywhere, and is just as fast as any other ground service. The only down side is it must be delivered to a bus terminal, and must be picked up at a bus terminal.

[mprokop87]

I think I am just going to have to bite the bullet and pay Fedex. They came in about $10 cheaper. Hopefully there is a Fedex location near the guy that will pick the item up!

[jm2]

UPS is, in our business experience, generally more expensive for ground service than Fedex. UPS is even more expensive if you use a "UPS Store" rather than a "staffed UPS" location. and, heaven forbid that you have to pay them for packaging, the price zooms even higher. thus, we pack our own stuff and use Fedex most of the time.

to get the lowest Fedex price, try doing it this way -

wrap that housing well, but make your package as small as you can. it may be very light, but at that size, you get charged for the "dimensional weight", not the actual weight. the "dimensional weight" for your 10x17x88 package (presuming that my math is correct) is 99 pounds!

your combined length and girth is 10+10+17+17+88= 142 inches. if you can get it down below 130 inches, I believe that will lower the price by $55. (you may still pay more for the extra length.)

see http://images.fedex.com/ca_english/c...onalWeight.pdf and here http://images.fedex.com/us/services/...nformation.pdf page 11 of 12.

ask the seller if they will drop the package off at a Fedex Office location in GA, so that their is no pickup charge. ship it "hold for pickup" to a Fedex Office location near your home, so there is no residential delivery surcharge. though, home delivery is probably worth the $3 !

ymmv.

good luck!

[Inland RV Center, In]

FEDEX aka FEDUP will not deliver to many zip codes without charging additional fees. Their fees also vary for the same size package, for the same class of service, with the same weight, with the same parts, to the same zip code.

UPS aka United Parcel Smashers loves to increase the size of packaing and then charge additional money.

UPS also charges for "NOT USING CARDBOARD", when sections of Zip Dee awning tubes are used, which are many many layers of paper tightly glued and wrapped, that also burns, just like paper. Hello small claims court, which takes time and money, but will most often get you your money.

UPS will also throw away a package so damaged that it cannot be returned, and then deny your claim. And finally when an issue is resolved, it can take a couple of months to get your money.

Bottom line is beware of which ever one you use, as they all have pluses and minuses.

And then, holy moly, should you have a claim with them, they will always claim improper packaging.

Having a business that makes daily shipments, is no fun, as they are always wrong. Then you have to deal with your account rep, and start all over, because you will get no where on the phone.

Most folks have seen on TV, the ad by USPS, "If it fits, it ships".

A person would normally think, "look out, since it's the FEDS".

BUT their service is great, they supply the boxes free, their prices are better, AND should there be a claim, you have your check in less than 2 weeks.

Unfortunately, for large items, such as the above tail light bezel, in spite of not much weight, the cubic inch size of the package dictates the cost.

An empty large size box, will cost a lot of money to ship, becaue it also takes up space, which is limited regardless of the shipping method, be it truck, container or aircraft.

Lets all face it, instead of our world becoming simpler because of technology and inventions, it's getting more and more complicated and difficult.

Having a business today, has many challenges that come from different governments, up to the point that some even say, your success is because of them.

HUH ???

Andy

[Protagonist]

Because of the size, try shipping FedEx Freight Economy rather than FedEx Ground. May cost less; I haven't competitively priced Freight vs. Ground, but they certainly handle oversized packages. I recently received an electric bicycle by FedEx Freight, fully assembled except the hadlebars.

FedEx Freight is not usually available at the normal FedEx stores. Go to this webpage, where you can select residential pickup and residential delivery: https://www.fedexfreight.fedex.com/r...nSecureForm.do.