Better shipping prices, USPS or FEDEX ?

[MAJOR METAL]

In your experience which of the two has the better shipping prices, USPS or FEDEX ? Thanks !

[Kwesi]

Depends on what you're shipping. If it's small, let's say less than 6-8 cubic inches or so, then USPS any bigger and FedEx beats everything unless you're going international where HL takes the cake. All that said, 'round where I live shipping is expensive as hell! I was just sent a double gig bag (in a full sized box weighing 20lbs in total) and shipping was $20 from North Carolina. To send it back would be triple that from my end. I just don't get it...

[cheezewiz]

USPS tend to be lowest on most things. They are BY FAR the lowest when shipping international...and by "by far", I mean like 1/3 the price.

[fenderhutz]

I have gotten the best rates from FedEx for guitar sized stuff, USPS for everything else.

Don't ever go to a UPS store unless you want to get trounced by fees.

I have found the USPS Priority and FedEx have done the least amount of damage to anything I have shipped.

[Dirk Diggler]

USPS no doubt. Plus if they damage a shipment they actually pay, and quite quickly and easily. You can't say that for Fedex.
Dirk

[SoonerMatt]

USPS for small items, FedEx for larger ones. And FedEx actually tracks their packages thoroughly, whereas USPS' tracking won't update until after it's been delivered.

UPS and DHL can piss off as far as I'm concerned.

[Bassamatic]

FedEx GROUND Home Delivery is the BEST for shipping guitars and other largish items by far. Price, service and tracking.

[L-A]

Originally Posted by cheezewiz

USPS tend to be lowest on most things. They are BY FAR the lowest when shipping international...and by "by far", I mean like 1/3 the price.

Absolutely! As someone who often buys internationally, I've had several bad experiences with DHL (the worse), Fedex and UPS (both usually deliver well but can cost upwards of 50% of the item's price in brokerage fees on delivery).

USPS never lost me a package, and they do way less damage to the boxes than DHL (again, the worse) and UPS. I don't remember Fedex delivering beat-up stuff, so there's that. DHL's "customer service" pickup location has no phone number and is at an airport three hours away from my home. And I live in a capital! On top of that, they're expensive.

So, USPS is usually a smart choice. Delivering in-country, I'd say Fedex has the best track record in my personal experience.

[Unrepresented]

If I am paying for shipping and I am shipping a small item of limited value and limited priority, USPS would be a likely candidate.

As a consignee for receiving shipments, they're lower on my list. Either UPS or fedex express are preferable, moreso when deadlines, higher value, or larger size are involved.

Fedex ground is cheap and their service and quality reflect it.

[MAJOR METAL]

How has USPS treated your basses ?

[UnsungZeros]

USPS by far.

For some reason they have a bum public reputation, but I don't get it at all. Always the best prices and best service. Never had a problem with them. Just wish they had better tracking.

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by cheezewiz

USPS tend to be lowest on most things. They are BY FAR the lowest when shipping international...and by "by far", I mean like 1/3 the price.

depends on the size.. it cost me close to $100 to send a bass to canada USPS..

USPS for big packages i think usually costs a bit more. usually $40-50 conus. on the flip, i just sent a bass UPS from new york to california, insured and all, for $32.

[Funky Ghost]

As a person who uses DHL, EWCS, CEVA, FEDEX, USPS, UPS and SCIN on a daily basis with bulk orders I wouldn't hesitate to use USPS for most of my personal shipping. I would NEVER use UPS (if you saw the way they handle packages or how often I've found small packages in their shipper bags they give to us to pack our own 1 lbs or smaller units in... yeah) OR how often they will unload a truck of goods here, and put them in our trailer because it's going to the airport at the end of the day. We are honest here, but that is a security breach to my mind. They are unattended in my place of work for up to 7 hours. If they do that here, chances are that is standard practice.

[kserg]

I missed the questions...

[DigMe]

Remember that tracking and a limited amount of insurance is automatically included with Fedex and costs extra with USPS. USPS tracking can be pretty spotty too.

bc

[Kwesi]

Lol, USPS tracking being spotty is putting it mildly. I've yet to have an actual problem with any service though.

[cheezewiz]

Originally Posted by groooooove

depends on the size.. it cost me close to $100 to send a bass to canada USPS..

USPS for big packages i think usually costs a bit more. usually $40-50 conus. on the flip, i just sent a bass UPS from new york to california, insured and all, for $32.

I just sent a bass to Germany USPS for a little under $100. The UPS and Fedex quotes were b etween $300 and $400

[DigMe]

Only problem is that once it leaves the US it's then in the hands of the other country's PO. That is probably just fine in Germany but there are definitely some countries whose POs I would NOT trust!

Just curious - does the US postal insurance cover any damage that may have been caused by the other country's PO?

bc

[kserg]

Originally Posted by DigMe

Just curious - does the US postal insurance cover any damage that may have been caused by the other country's PO?

bc

I believe so...

Otherwise they can just damage stuff and blame it on some other PO...


My bro been sending **** via USPS to Russia, so far i have not heard any problems... And yes, i am pretty sure insurance covers any damage before it reaches the recipient...

[MAJOR METAL]

I am starting to get nervous as I sent the first bass 2 weeks ago via USPS ground and it has yet to arrive. I insured the basses but knowing the way their tracking system works I thought it was pointless to get tracking on them.