To members that have a lot of shipping parts expieriance.

[Huffa]

1st of all I guess I'm on the right forum for this because it is about 3 wheel parts so here it goes?

I'm trying to figure out the most efficeint way to ship parts. I'm leaning towards UPS ground or the USPO.

I think at both you can print labels through them online and set up a P/UP date and check all the options you want on the package so you don't have to drop off. I racked my brains out trying to understand all the details with insurance, 3 day or 7 day, account set up so they can P/UP and so forth.

If someone has quite a bit of expieriance with this I'd appreciate what they found is the most efficent and cheapest way to do so and what they learned not to do concerning shipping a package.

One thing I'm not sure is if to insure it for over the value or for exactly what the buyer paid for it? If it's lost who's to say another used one might not be 5,10, 20, whatever dollars more? Would it be best to leave that up to the buyer?

This will help me a great deal in fast forwarding my thinking in setting deliveries up to max efficiency. Thanks so much!

[bigredhead]

Well.. here i am !

I work for Purolator Courrier.. in Technical Support. ( I support our internal shipping system.. for high volume customers.. i also support a dial-up type program for medium and small customers and our web based Online Shipping )

If you do ALOT of shipping.. a courrier company is the way to go, more volume means discounts.. call the customer service dept and ask for a sales rep.

This way you can organize things better.. keep track of the tracking numbers electronicaly etc.... good way to manage your shipping, even if it does not always save you time at first.. ( filling out a manual shipping slip is quicker than doing it electronically in alot of cases )

If you don't ship high volume.. consider regular post. Cheap.. fairly consistent, and you don't always get hit with DUTIES and BROKERAGE like you do with UPS.. those bastards.... :mad: The post office checks stuff at randome at the border.. if they touch it.. they charge you.. if they don't it just goes thru.

Insurance... with purolator the first 100 $ is free.. so declare it to the max possible amount... don't insure for the paid price.. price it to replace as new if possible. If you have to pay for insurance.. consider what you are shipping.

Properly packaged items, and properly labeled... WRITE THE ADDRESS DIRECTLY ON THE BOX AS WELL AS THE SHIPPING LABEL. if the label falls off, the address is still there.. INCLUDE PHONE NUMBERS WHEN EVER POSSIBLE .. at least yours.. and the receiver's when you can.

Alot of fragile things are not insurable to begin with.. so check with your shipper of choice to make sure .

there.. happy now ? !!lol..

[thedeatons]

FYI, I wanted to ship a computer tower to a friend in Nor-Cal and UPS said $37, Fed-Ex quoted the same package at $16 with the same shipping timeframe... Fed-Ex is our small parts shipper of choice at my defense contracting company. I have heard of some damage reports with Fed-Ex though, some say UPS is more careful....

[bigredhead]

No such thing in general.. most big companies use conveyer belts and packages drop one or more feet from one belt to the next.... and with the volume of parcels going thru things get rough sometimes...

Properly packaged items .. lots of foam.. lots of padding.. no free-moving parts inside the box.. means things get there in one peace..\

Mind you .. there are always execptions to the rule !! lol...

[Tri-ZNate]

use the USPS. I pack up the parts, take them to the post office, pay for shipping and away they go. Usually its just $1 to insure items so ask the buyer beforehand. I also usually use crumpled up newspaper and pack it in and that is, IMO, one of the best way to ship. No popcorns for the buyer to empty out either.

[chris200x]

Huffa, I'm going through the same thing here. Alot of buyers would email asking for usps. I put ups ground in the actions for shipping. For smaller packages I've found usps the way to go. Use ups for larger ones.


http://www.3wheelerworldforums.com/showthread.php?t=41664&highlight=shipper

[thedeatons]

I can't do the Post Office man.. unless I'm trying to be cheap, just because of the line... it's always out the door in my neck of the woods....

There is such a thing as damage, the reason I mentioned it is because I recently spoke with a Texas based mail order bicycle company, who said they have had $4000 bicycles damaged with Fed-Ex, multiple times, but have had no trouble with UPS... I myself have never had damage, but I only ship once in a while... I am more apt to take their word for it, due to the volume they are shipping....

[chris200x]

usually the first $100 is insured. after that it's not too pricey.

I took two padded envelopes to staples (ups) and neither weight a pound a peice. cost me $18 something to ship

I will offer usps anymore on my auctions for mailers and small boxes.

once you get the hang of it sometimes it's easier charging a flat rate. I lost out on money with some of my dealings.

[bigredhead]

It can also have alot to do with the origin and destination involved... the same company .. be it UPS, Fed-Ex. DHL, Purolator, USPS etc.... will have some stupid employees who jus don't give a crap and treat your packages with the least repect possible.. the time of day and the weight of the package can have alot to do with it.

Results WILL vary.

but package it like it's going to Iraq and you should be fine..... don't skimp on the padding if it's a fragile part.

[Huffa]

Hey thanks all and keep the info coming if you think of anything else.

Where I live it is unusual for me to see anyone at our post office so I like doing buissness with them. If had long lines, no sir, I have not a spec in my brain of patience when it comes to lines. 3 minutes and I start to get edgie and wonder why it's taking so long :lol:

Right aside of the post office is a UPS,FEDX, DHL middle man distrabution place where you can ship. I tried it a week ago to ship a 11.00 front fender. Said what ever is the cheapest way possible. The guy comes back and casually says 27.69 sir. I was like :eek: whaaaaaaat ??????? My customer will flip if I sent it costing that much and of course told them see ya later. Walked to post office and sent for 12 bucks or so. How can those places even compete?

I'm confused on a link on ebay concerning a % you charge according to the price of what's in the package, why would you do anything like that when it concerns the weight and size of package? I must be miss understanding it or something?

...........and I don't care where you go, accidents can happen with packages no matter what company. That same clumsey guy that got fired at fedx might now work for DHL or UPS now. :rolleyes:

[1DEADPRESIDENT]

For whats its worth here is my suggestion. For the small ticket light weight items usps is the way to go, you can add delivery comfirmation for some rediculous amount like a $1.00 and they are pretty fast and cheap. UPS is great for everything else and I agree sometimes Fedex is cheaper. I think you won't go wrong using usps and ups. The free boxes from usps are worth it for all the small ticket items .

[bigredhead]

Also cubing is a factor with big items.

L x W x H ( in inches ) devided by 1728 multiply by 10 for ground or 15 for AIR gives you cubic weight.

ex:

if a 10 lb box measureing 24 x 15 x 20 is send via Purolator.

24 x 15 x 20 = 7200 / 1728 = 4.17 x 10( Ground ) = 41.7 lbs of freight billed.

so if you call for a ship quote for 10 lbs... expect a surprise when the bill comes.

Different companies may have different cubing factors....