Secrets to reasonable shipping rates these days?

[70SWT]

I am in the midst of clearing out a stockpile of mostly 911 items before I move (see my ads if interested). It seems that the shipping quotes I can get from UPS and FedEx for ground service are ludicrously high due to dimensional weight charges.

For example, I need to ship a couple of ducktail decklids from IL 60115 to one end of the country or another. The items only weigh about 13 or 14 lbs and measure say 44 x 30 x 18. The quotes on these ducktails are running over $150.

One fellow who is interested in my fiberglass doors claims a package including two of them can be shipped most of the way across the country by UPS for $40. I am unsure how he obtained such a rate.

For these reasons, I am recommending folks use Greyhound, from which I have received good, cheap service for years. But, is there a secret formula by which an average guy, not a business location, can get good rates from FedEx and UPS lately?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Greyhound is money for big stuff, in the last few months I've shipped a full cage as well as a racing seat through them. Anything large is just a fortune through UPS or FedEx.

[stomachmonkey]

Some people have an impression of rates based on what they see when using their discounted corporate/business/employer rates.

I was once told by FedEx that there is a difference in which dimension you place in which field.

Something like the price was affected if you input the longest dimension as length vs width.

[GG Allin]

I have a secret, talk to me next time you need a quote. I work for a company called R&M Trucking. I've been able to ship things personally across the country fairly reasonably through our networking division. Example: LS6 long block NJ to Chicago $125. We have a few trucks in Dekalb daily.

[vmb]

I have found that having an account with FedEx saved a good 20-30% over a non-account transaction. You don't need to be a business, I just registered for an account as a regular person on their website and then re-entered the same data and got a much better rate.

[cashflyer]

I have a corporate account with FedEx, and this is what I know:

Having an account and completing all the paperwork online will earn you a discount.
Being a high volume shipper earns you a greater discount.

When entering your parcel dimensions, enter the largest number first.

[Rusty Heap]

Greyhound lost a front fender of mine for 6 months..............even on declared $500 insured value, they wrote me a check for $100 and said bugger off.


I "think" that 7-8 months later the fender arrived going west coast to east coast, but I'll never use greyhound again, but UPS/Fedex/USPS do have maximum LxWxH limitations

the big stuff really needs to be on a pallet and sent Yellow Freight Trucking or other........shipped a 1000 pound 911 engine/tranny cross county that way. Pallet and Crate

[70SWT]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

I have a corporate account with FedEx, and this is what I know:

.....
When entering your parcel dimensions, enter the largest number first.

Yes, I agree, I discovered that tip via trial and error.

[70SWT]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

Greyhound lost a front fender of mine for 6 months..............even on declared $500 insured value, they wrote me a check for $100 and said bugger off.


I "think" that 7-8 months later the fender arrived going west coast to east coast, but I'll never use greyhound again, but UPS/Fedex/USPS do have maximum LxWxH limitations

the big stuff really needs to be on a pallet and sent Yellow Freight Trucking or other........shipped a 1000 pound 911 engine/tranny cross county that way. Pallet and Crate

Sorry to hear that. I wonder if a small claims court summons would have been met with a larger check.

My father and I had a great experience with ABE freight recently. They shipped a rare hardtop for his 57 T-Bird in a massive crate weighing over 300 lbs from IL to VA for $400 or so.

[red-beard]

I ship all sorts of stuff all the time. Smaller, lighter stuff is FEDEX ground. Larger stuff, under 10,000 lbs and less than 20 feet long we utilize LTL (Less than a Truck Load). But I also have a forklift and the ability to strap things to pallets.

Forward Air was pretty helpful in the days before I could do it all my self. I shipped hoods, motorcycles, etc. They had banding equipment and pallets.

If you can get it strapped to a pallet and can start it from a commercial site, I can hook you up with my LTL freight group.

[cashflyer]

[QUOTE=Rusty Heap;7141379UPS/Fedex/USPS do have maximum LxWxH limitations[/QUOTE]

They do for their regular service, but they also have a Freight division.

I found that the ABF published rate for shipping a particular item was pretty much the same as the FedEx Freight rate, however I also found that I could call ABF and negotiate a better rate over the phone. FedEx would not negotiate their rate.

The ABF negotiated rate ended up around half the FedEx Freight rate.

[LeeH]

I ran your numbers through my account. With a FedEx account the price for ground goes from $149.03 to $131.16 to ship from your zip to Los Angeles.

[RWebb]

BTW - Fedex is raising rates in January.

also, anyone can get a FedEx online acct. for a bit lower rates

one more tip - try to ship to a biz address; they all hate delivering to a home and will jack up rates for that

[70SWT]

Originally Posted by LeeH

I ran your numbers through my account. With a FedEx account the price for ground goes from $149.03 to $131.16 to ship from your zip to Los Angeles.

Maybe its just me, but those seem like crazy rates even with the discount, as in multiples of what I paid for shipping similar items not long ago. Overall, I am not seeing anyone here doing anything revolutionary when dealing with the big two for non-freight items.

I guess most are cool with it, as I don't see any outcries in the classifieds here over shipping rates. But I am not sure I would buy a $200-300 item when the shipping will increase the price by 50%.