Shipping prices!?!?!!?

[Reef Goddess]

I have found UPS to be more expensive than Fedex and not nearly as reliable.

 

[Supreme Reefs]

yes UPS can get really expensive then its fedex and of course USPS is cheapest

 

[aquarius77]

I have not sold a coral in a long time but if the buyers were in the one day range with USPS thats who i liked to use.

 

[Cuda]

My recieving record:

UPS They seem to come late w/ beat up boxes

Fex-Ex comes mostly early / one lost box of salt
some beat up boxes

USPS Come like clock work /no damage to boxs so far.

I'm located in IL. near Chicago

 

[EliteReefs]

The most important part is to find a local rep that will work with you. You would be amazed at the discounts they are allowed to offer customers that do large volumes of shipping. You cant deal with just any guy that picks up the phone. You need your own account rep that you go to for all your needs.

The key is HIGH volume shipping. If your sending 50 boxes a week then forget about any real discounts. They will give you a break but nothing special. When you get into the 100's a week and 1000's per year that when they open up the "real" deals.

 

[fishdoc11]

I have shiped many packages over the years and Fed Ex has been the most reliable IME. The cost is what it is and people that complain just need to learn that shipping water across country on airplanes overnight is expensive:)
A lot also depends on who your particular delivery man/woman is in your area. Fed Ex was always on time when I was in Nashville but the Fed Ex delivery woman in my area in Knoxville is slow compared to the UPS guy (that doesn't really matter to me in shipping because I rarely order livestock any more).
Another thing I've learned is getting an account with Fed Ex helps. The first time I tried to ship corals was soon after 911. They asked what I was shipping and I said corals and they acted like it was anthrax or something. Needless to say I had a bad experience because I had several boxes of corals ready to ship:rolleyes: After starting an account they have never asked what I was shipping.
In short I allways just figure in $60 - $80 to ship when I'm shipping several SPS frags (I want them there fast and I don't like using heat or ice packs). If I'm shipping zoanthids or LPS I will typically use USPS. I don't use UPS unless it is requested by someone that has an account as I've had several things get there days late with them.

Chris

 

[35delivery]

Ok- I know I'm gonna catch hell for this BUT I own a UPS store in the Atlanta area (go ahead take your shots!) But I think I can help educate as far as UPS shiping is concerned. UPS takes a bunch of things into consideration when they charge for shipping.
For air shipping the first thing is the weight vs the size of the box..whichever is greater is what they will charge.
The next thing is how far it will go.....it costs less to ship across the street than it does to ship across the country (less fuel)
Next is location...if you're going to a commercial address they will charge less than a residence...they figure somebody will always be at a business and the driver won't need to try to re-deliver.
Finally ...is it in a rural location..a major city or out in the country...they will add charges just to go out farther..again more fuel. I hope this helps explain how UPS thinks (a little bit anyhow)

 

[Psychographic]

I think the thing that makes some people look bad is the volume shippers who get discounts and can ship for $35, either that or they are eating some of the actual price themselves.

Poeple see this and automatically think everyone else is ripping them off.

 

[EliteReefs]

I think the thing that makes some people look bad is the volume shippers who get discounts and can ship for $35, either that or they are eating some of the actual price themselves.

Poeple see this and automatically think everyone else is ripping them off.

This is very true. I have had several people make comments about how they use me because I don’t rip them off on shipping. I ALWAYS make sure to point out that although appreciate the business, the others ARE NOT ripping people off and my rates are only due to the amount if shipments i send and should not be considered the norm

 

[revhtree]

35delivery do you trade zoas for shipping discounts??? LOL!

 

[35delivery]

Hmmmmm...there's a thought.. Unfortunately not.

 

[reefboy]

we lowered our shipping as if we were giving you a bonus coral price wise and take it off shipping

 

[ZoaFan08]

I sold a big leather and estimated shipping at $40 and sold the leather for $20 for a total of $60 shipped... Well it cost me $63 to ship the dang thing. So I basically lost $3 and sent a coral to someone for free...

 

[H@rry]

Something else to remember when shipping - don't use a box any bigger than it has to be. If it's too big, cut it down. FedEx charges by what they call "dimensional weight" to allow for the space the package takes up on the aircraft. They use a formula of (L x W x H (in inches)) / 194 to calculate the "dimensional weight". You will pay for the *higher* of that weight rounded up to the next pound *or* the actual weight of the package.

As an example, if I ship an empty cardboard box measuring 12 x 12 x 7, I'll pay for 6 pounds!

 

[Brent Thomann]

USPS Express Overnight Commitment Calculator-
USPS - Express Mail Service Commitments
to find out if they can make it in one day.

I was glad when I found this. Had to turn around after waiting in line when i found out they couldn't guarantee it in one day.