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Shipping is Expensive!! How do you do it??

climb

climb

May 1, 2007
648
23
Baltimore, MD
#1
I have a bunch of bass boxes in my garage, and peanuts etc. To save costs, I pack the instruments myself. Parcel Plus is right near my house, and I usually go there. Tonight, to ship an instrument from Baltimore to Seattle, it cost me $93.00 without insurance! To ship US Priority (and they have size limits) 2 day express with full insurance has cost $82 to go from Baltimore to LA.

What am I doing wrong? How do all the bass shops manage to ship their basses for $25 shipping? It's getting pretty friggin' pricey...!
 
#6
I generally use FedEx also. Even so, if the destination is somewhere off their beaten path, the cost is higher than to a major metro area. Plus, you just shipped what is usually designated an 'oversized' box from coast to coast. That's gonna run ya. If possible, NEVER go to one of those 'Mailboxes R Us' type joints. They tend to charge up the yang for everything.
 
#8
There are a few things that can help.

For UPS go directly to a Customer Center, skip the UPS "store". Open an account there for discount.

For Priority Mail be sure your box measures less than 108" to avoid a nasty surcharge. If shipping more than half-way across the country, don't use Priority Mail, as the rates seem to climb exponentially.
 
#9
ClassicJazz said:
Open an account with Fedex and you'll save even more! ... Any of the packaging stores are a BIG rip off. They charge through the teeth!
Click to expand...
TOTAL co-sign here!

Plus, if you open a FedEx account you can create the airbill from your computer and it's just a whole lot easier. As someone who has sold/shipped a a whole LOT of basses, I can tell you that this is the best way to go.
 
#11
question to you fedex guys...

i opened a fedex account so i could create a shipping lable and drop the package off. they gave me the option of the "standard" account or some "saver" account that gives you like 16% off (as they were claiming). i was in a hurry and didn't read and just went with the standard. did i miss something? should i change the kind of account i have? what did you guys setup?
 
#14
I'm flabbergasted at all the people recommending Fedex here. They might be able to ship cheaper, but they have the worst service I have ever seen of all the shipping companies. Truly nightmarish Kafkaesque failure to serve.

Granted shipping prices peaked dramatically earlier this year due to the cost of fuel, but shortly before that I have had no trouble shipping a bass in a hardshell case in a good-sized and well-padded box for as little as $55 by UPS, including insurance, across the country.

$93 means you were ripped off by going to a pack'n'ship place.
 
#15
bongomania said:
I'm flabbergasted at all the people recommending Fedex here. They might be able to ship cheaper, but they have the worst service I have ever seen of all the shipping companies. Truly nightmarish Kafkaesque failure to serve.
Click to expand...

There are plenty of nightmare stories about UPS, too, not just Fedex. I personally have had worse luck with UPS, after they chipped then end off of a headstock--it was impossible to get any response on the insurance claim.

Mike
 
#18
BillyB_from_LZ said:
My local FedEx customer counter tells me that when you ship FedEx Ground (or FedEx Home Delivery) you can't insure a musical instrument for more than $100. Because of that, I've used the USPS to ship via Priority Mail the last few instruments I've shipped.
Click to expand...

I've insured instruments for up to $5k with Fedex. $100 is just the standard amount that you get if you don't declare/buy insurance for and higher value.

Mike
 

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