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Author Topic: eBay shipping cost question John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-11-2009 01:57 PM                     I expect you can do a bit better. (I'd made a note to come back to this thread when I had a chance to run numbers; I'm glad Mike did and got to the numbers first!) For qty 12 of 24x24x24" packages from 50301 (Des Moines) to 97501, no insurance (bad idea), residential delivery, no pickup: For UPS I agree with Mike's number ($746.40). But for FedEx Ground I see ($493). And those are the undiscounted rates. If you find someone with a good discount (local volume shippers), you may be able to shave off 20% off the FedEx number, and probably something similar off the UPS number (but you're better off going with FedEx because of dimensional weight). You are also (for UPS) losing badly here on "dimensional weight," where shippers charge you by the volume of the package if it exceeds a certain density. Your dimensional weight is 72 lbs each! (24x24x24/194 => 71.26). FedEx Ground does not charge dimensional weight like FedEx Express and UPS Ground do--the analog only kicks in for FedEx Ground under their oversize rules, which seem to say it doesn't apply if your package has no single dimension exceeding 7 feet. Without dimensional weight, your UPS rate is $360. I expect you won't be successful in knocking down your dimensional weight down by repacking, but if that's an option... Mike is also right to suggest LTL freight services (less-than-truckload). I'm not sure where to get online quotes for those...www.freightcenter.com says Yellow will do it for $330 (depending on a lot of variables). It looks like they won't even require you to palletize your boxes. Oh, also, since DHL is going out of business (excuse me, "exiting the domestic shipping market") this month, I would try to avoid them... I know these things because I, umm, sometimes ship films around? --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-11-2009 05:43 PM                     I'd have to run it on our Worldship to see what it would cost that way...note too...there is also hundred-weight class which is actually a discount applied when all shipments are going to one address and they exceed a weight threshold, combined. I know for us, UPS has not proven to be very expensive, as compared to other methods. Also, in the DC/Baltimore area, the UPS packages tend to survive better than the FedEx ones. That said, we have really good drivers for BOTH UPS and FedEx. Steve  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-12-2009 09:54 AM                        I'm surprised that FedEx Ground is so much cheaper-- I thought all the non-postal service companies used the same dimensional weight rules. We have a "daily pickup" UPS account but JHawk is right - there are definitely better discounts out there for higher volume shippers.  |  IP: Logged Robert Minichino Master Film Handler Posts: 350 From: Haskell, NJ, USA Registered: Dec 2005 posted 01-12-2009 11:18 AM                        FedEx Ground does charge based on dimensional weight; they didn't in the past, but they started about 2 years ago.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-12-2009 11:31 AM                     Doing a 12 package shipment with 24x24x24 (inches) boxes of 25lbs each...I had a range from $283.44 to $576.24 using UPS, depending on how far I shipped and to what area...with cross-country being at the top end. Steve  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-12-2009 03:17 PM                     Robert said, "FedEx Ground does charge based on dimensional weight; they didn't in the past, but they started about 2 years ago." Umm, are you sure? That's not what the FedEx link I posted says, and it's also not what the FedEx online quote tool shows -- it gives me a dimweight -based price for the FedEx express shipment but not for the FedEx ground shipment. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Robert Minichino Master Film Handler Posts: 350 From: Haskell, NJ, USA Registered: Dec 2005 posted 01-12-2009 04:28 PM                        They've charged me based on dimensional weight recently, so I'm pretty sure. I don't think that page you linked to is a current calculator (and if not they really should take it down). Try with this link instead: http://www.fedex.com/ratefinder/home?cc=US&language=en  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-12-2009 06:45 PM                        quote: John Hawkinson was the last to post FedEx Ground does charge based on dimensional weight; they didn't in the past, but they started about 2 years ago. They probably started at the same time UPS did -- previously they only used dim-weight for air shipments. They recently replaced the "oversize" designation with dim-weight. This of course allows them to make more $.  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-12-2009 06:59 PM                     Hmm, that's the same online tool that I used. Though today it seems to be behaving differently, insofar as it gives me $493 for FedEx Ground only when I don't check Residential delivery, and when I check residential delivery, it instead offers FedEx Home Delivery at $519 (still way better than UPS!). [I had kind of wondered why it didn't do that for me before, but...] But you're certainly right, for 6x6x6" packages, the same shipment costs $255. So I guess it's just discounting that makes FedEx cheaper, not dimensional weight. *weird*. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged

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