Shipping alternatives--what are they?

[jboger]

I have read discussions on this Forum with regards to how to pack items safely and securely for shipping. This is valuable information. What about shipping options? There's the post office, UPS, and others that I know little or nothing about. Many of the items we ship are heavy. I think buyers should know up front how much it costs to ship an item, especially heavy items. What services are out there and are any cheaper than others ounce for ounce, pound for pound?

[52089]

I have generally had very good luck with the US Post Office, providing things are packed properly,

I do not recommend FedEx Ground anymore, having had 2 machines damaged by them in the last 5 years. FedEx automates things as much as possible using conveyor systems, which means that packages are going to drop at some point during shipping, unless you pay a very high "non conveyor surcharge".

I have no recent experience with UPS so I can't comment on them.

Greyhound has been recommended several times for large heavy packages, but they only ship terminal-to-terminal, not door-to-door. If you and the other party live near a Greyhound terminal, this is probably the most cost-effective method.

There is a company called "Antique transport" that specializes in moving antiques. I have not used them but have gotten quotes that were a little high but not outrageous. Probably a case of paying a bit more for someone who actually has a clue about what they're doing.

Lastly, there's always uship, which is kind of the ebay of shipping services in that almost anyone can be a uship shipper and experience and reliability varies widely. However, prices are highly negotiable and usually cheaper than other alternatives.

I know there are other companies that others can recommend and/or comment on.

[Raphael]

I used Uship.com several times last year to send big, bulky stuff such as jukeboxes, band organs, vending machines, etc. Everything was delivered OK, no problems reported. In fact, I just recommended the service to somebody at the Orlando show.

The most important thing is to have somebody knowledgeable at the dispatch end prepare the internals, such as securing a tone arm, etc. Most shippers, even the specialty antique movers, don't have a clue.

Raphael

[gramophone-georg]

I have generally had very good luck with the US Post Office, providing things are packed properly,

I do not recommend FedEx Ground anymore, having had 2 machines damaged by them in the last 5 years. FedEx automates things as much as possible using conveyor systems, which means that packages are going to drop at some point during shipping, unless you pay a very high "non conveyor surcharge".

I have no recent experience with UPS so I can't comment on them.

Greyhound has been recommended several times for large heavy packages, but they only ship terminal-to-terminal, not door-to-door. If you and the other party live near a Greyhound terminal, this is probably the most cost-effective method.

There is a company called "Antique transport" that specializes in moving antiques. I have not used them but have gotten quotes that were a little high but not outrageous. Probably a case of paying a bit more for someone who actually has a clue about what they're doing.

Lastly, there's always uship, which is kind of the ebay of shipping services in that almost anyone can be a uship shipper and experience and reliability varies widely. However, prices are highly negotiable and usually cheaper than other alternatives.

I know there are other companies that others can recommend and/or comment on.

Greyhound is quite a savings and I've had really great luck with them. As we all know, "dimensional weight" is a killer on large items such as big horns. I've saved over $100 this way on several using Greyhound. The packages, in my experience, have always arrived damage free. Last year I shipped a victor V and large victor MG horn from Oregon to Cincinnati Ohio via Greyhound... cost was $90 and it arrived with nary a mark on the boxes.

Going to the terminal can be inconvenient, but so can overspending on shipping.

[Phonofreak]

I stay away from UPS. Packages get lost or damaged. Also, their customer service is really bad. UPS reminds me of the gorillas on the old Samsonite commercials. The post office is good, at least for me. FEDEX is iffy. If someone ships by FEDEX, I ask for signature required. The package is treated a lot better. I don't mind paying the extra charges.
Harvey Kravitz

[marcapra]

I bought an Amberola 1A at Stantons in Michigan last fall and was going to ship it via Fedex to California. Fedex has a 100 lbs limit, so I had to dissemble the 1A. You would have to remove the mechanism in all cases anyway. So I removed the four drawers, the lid, as well as the mechanism. I also had a lot of cylinders and parts to ship. I boxed up the cylinders myself and shipped them through Media Mail. I had Fedex box up the cabinet and Amberola 1A parts. The mistake I made on the cabinet is I forgot to tell the manager to lift up the bottom of the cabinet so the that the casters would not hit the ground if the box is dropped. He did a good job double boxing it, but the casters worked their way down and even through the cardboard and got damaged. The boxing prices were reasonable, with the highest cost being the box they had to make for the cabinet at about $115. They used a mountain of bubble wrap and butcher paper cushion. They did not do all the boxing while I was there, as they were busy. But they did give me a quote for how much it would cost to ship the two boxes they did pack while I was there. I could tell the cost was going to be exorbitant! I had ten boxes to ship and it would wind up costing over $2000 if I shipped Fedex Ground! Yikes! So I told them not to ship, but just box the items up. Then, a friend of mine offered to pick them up at Fedex and take them to Greyhound, since was flying back to California. I asked the manager to give me the sizes and weights of the ten boxes, and I went to Greyhound Ships online. I found out that if you ask a live person for a quote, it is about twice as high than if you do the quote yourself using online tools. There is also a 60% discount!!!! if you are shipping five or more boxes. So, I got that over $2000 Fedex quote down to just over $300 for all ten boxes via Greyhound. It only took about five to seven days to get all the boxes.

[jboger]

For something heavy but not fragile, that goes in a single box, it would seem that the US post office is competitive. Would people generally agree with that?

[52089]

For something heavy but not fragile, that goes in a single box, it would seem that the US post office is competitive. Would people generally agree with that?

USPS will generally be more expensive (and on average one day slower) than FedEx ground. USPS insurance is also more expensive than FedEx. However, USPS is definitely kinder to packages than FedEx, and my claims processing experiences have been much faster and easier with USPS.