Holy Shipping!

[swayd]

Holy Shipping!!!!!!!!!!!

I recently sold 5 items and threw in a freebie.
Well I am definitely a noob to shipping but this was ridiculous. I had a 11"x11"x11" box. I insulated it with Styrofoam and double bagged all the coral and bagged that. I also double bagged an Ice pack and wrapped it in a piece of cloth.

All said and done the package weighed 7 pounds!!!!

So, off i got to FEDEX to find out it would cost me $140 to ship! I was like, sike no way Jose Im going to USPS. Now I am at USPS waiting in line and as soon as i come up to the window I ask for the next day overnight service. The lady asked for the zip code and I gave her all of the info. 10 minutes later she says that USPS cannot ship overnight to that location because its too far out there. The lady said it would take at least two days! At this point I was pretty down because I was already paying for the shipping supplies and now had to go to UPS to see what they could do. Long story short UPS charged me $138.22.

In the ad I listed $$$ + shipping but I made the mistake of telling my buyer I would Pay for anything over $50 for shipping. Luckily my buyer was super cool and paid $80 and I paid the rest!

I think that was a ridiculous amount to pay for shipping. The only reason I still shipped it out was that I had already committed and the buyer seemed super excited for the coral. If it wasn't for that I would have said NO to shipping! I dont think I will ever ship again unless buyer pays all of the shipping!

Anyone else have a similar experience or was it just me?

By the way Im in Northern California (Bay Area) and shipped to Texas, if that makes a difference in cost.

Sorry I just needed to put that out there!

 

[808jaymakoa]

It makes me wonder how companies like cherry corals have free ship frag packs and frag packs that are $160

 

[swayd]

Yeah exactly what goes through my mind! They must have a good contract with the shipping companies to be able to keep prices decent with free shipping.

 

[jedimasterben]

It makes me wonder how companies like cherry corals have free ship frag packs and frag packs that are $160

They take a loss in some situations.



I know it seems ridiculous, but that's just the cost of shipping sometimes, especially if you are paying retail price for shipping, like you would by going to a UPS or Fedex retail store. You're paying them for the use of their account, and they pay 30-50% of your cost on their account depending on their monthly volume. If you have your own account to charge shipping to, then you would pay a lower price, and pay lower and lower as your monthly volume increases.

 

[ritter6788]

It makes me wonder how companies like cherry corals have free ship frag packs and frag packs that are $160

Fedex gives better rates to businesses that ship more. Once you set up an account you can get lower rates depending on the volume you ship.

 

[Russellaqua]

Much of the shipping charge was likely due to box size. Shippers measure the box and have a minimum charge for that size. Anything under and and up to a certain weight for that size costs the same amount to ship. Seven pounds is very light for a box that size, so you were likely charged based on the measurements of the package. As a person without a commercial account you are also charged more. Commercial enterprises usually receive discounts based on volume.

 

[shawy2510]

Wow that is very expensive. I am in England & shipping costs me only $140-$180 from America to here

 

[Dowtish]

You gotta get a vacuum sealer and shrink everything from the box to the bags. I have received 6-8 frags from vendors that were vacuum sealed in their own bag that was no more than 4"x3" per bag and all fit in one large sized sandwich bag and were packed in a styrofoam box that was about 8"x6". Shipping is typically about $60 then.

 

[swayd]

I see what you mean. Even at that they said that my box was still considered a "small" box.

 

[swayd]

Hold on, you vacuum seal the frags?

 

[duke4130]

Overnight Shipping charges are calculated by weight. 7 lb is a pretty heavy box for coral... Normally when I ship frags it never reaches over 3 lb and if it is 3 lbs then there is a lot in there... What exactly were you shipping

 

[swayd]

5 Zoa frags and a chalice.
I just filled the bags 1/4 of the way with water if not less and double bagged them. I also added an ice pack.

Does everyone use styrofoam to insulate their boxes or was that a noob move?

 

[jedimasterben]

How big were the bags you used? For frags, you only need tiny bags. Some people use small specimen cups instead of bags.

 

[swayd]

Ahh I used the regular sized bags but I literally used less than 1/4 of the bag with water. I would say 1 cup of water if not less in each bag.

 

[jedimasterben]

Specimen cups hold around 1/4 cup of water or so, maybe up to 1/2 cup. Saltwater weighs around 8lbs per gallon. The box and styrofoam weigh very little at that size, less than a pound, so you put in a whole lot of water!

 

[swayd]

Dang it. Well I certainly paid for that! Now I know to consult R2R before making another expensive noob move again.
Where could I get a specimen cup?

 

[jedimasterben]

Amazon.com: specimen cup

Or use Kordon Breather bags and you only need to put a bit of water in, no air.

 

[ValorG]

Look up flat rate shipping!

 

[mainereefer]

sounds like you pd to ship water. I can put around 15 frags in an 8"x6" styro box and ship for around $35-$40

I used to get zoas shipped "dry" just wet newspaper so they dont dry out

 

[jedimasterben]

Look up flat rate shipping!

... look up that flat rate shipping only applies to priority or express mail via the USPS and is not guaranteed in any way, in addition to being limited in box size, especially with express.

sounds like you pd to ship water. I can put around 15 frags in an 8"x6" styro box and ship for around $35-$40

I used to get zoas shipped "dry" just wet newspaper so they dont dry out

I haven't heard of many shipping corals dry, but I know that a lot of distributors ship anemones dry.