Shipping Tricks and General Shipping Questions / Discussion

[Tram]

[Buskraut]

pirateship.com is awesome. Currently they handle UPS and USPS, but their pricing is dramatically lower... I have seen 1/3 the rack rate. No affiliation BTW.
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Erik S
'65 Type 251 / Deluxe
'03 Eurovan MVWK

[velvetgreen]

Did yellow truck go chapter 11??

https://myyellow.com/

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/10/what-bankrupt-truc...onomy.html

[Wheelie Pete]

Same as above - I've also been using PIRATE SHIP. It's been amazing - they check all the carriers (ups, usps, fed ex, etc) find the cheapest one, give you a discount, and provide you with the label. All you have to do is drop it off at the appropriate store and leave. So easy and cheap. Works great. Highly recommend.

[Ian]

Hi everyone, just wanted to report on several shipping situations which have occurred recently.

I shipped some tools to a buyer in Poland through Meest. They generate a UPS label that allows your package to be shipped to their warehouse in New Jersey and they forward it from there. When it got to Poland the local carrier took over. The package did not arrive so I called Meest, who called their representative in Poland, and the local carrier called the buyer. The package was located and delivered and all worked out very well. I was blown away by the customer service. Within 24 hours they had the package physically located, not just some story of delivered to such and such. The Ukrainian girls in New Jersey were top notch with customer service. Big respect to this company for helping out.

Also, I have been using a website called Pirate Ship to get good rates on shipping through UPS. The address is www.pirateship.com I also have been using Parcel Monkey, but their billing is now going through a UK subsidiary and my bank has been charging me an international transaction fee for every label, quite an inconvenience.

Hope every one is well and going to have a great New Year 2024. Cheers!
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[Darla]

Searching high and low to find the class for shipping a VW engine. All shippers require the class number before generating a quote online.

[empiracer]

I just learned as of Sept 30 2022 greyhound no longer offers package shipping services , I’m trying to ship a fender to Ohio usps , ups and fedex are cost prohibited
Any recommendations , this certainly blows for buying and selling Bus middle seats!

[Wheelie Pete]

Gas went up so shipping may have gone up. I estimated 40lbs for the weight of the pallet. Detroit to LA

[TXHCBeetle]

[Wheelie Pete]

I just shipped two sets of convertible doors out on a pallet. I used Central Transport for the first set. Worst experience ever. Don't ever use them. The next set was with Yellow Truck or Yellow Freight. This experience was super easy - all on line, way cheaper and easier than Central. Never use Central Transport for Pallet shipments. Yellow Freight cost $150 for two doors from detroit to LA. I highly recommend them.

[EverettB]

[kreemoweet]

Commenting on EverettB's post above about USPS Regional Rate shipping:

That option will sometimes be offered on USPS's website "calculate a price" page, and sometimes not.
It's a mystery (to me at least) what determines if they offer to sell a RR label or not.

None of the post offices I've been in around Seattle stock those boxes. Ordering online is free, but can
take a VERY long time to show up, and in a few instances never did.
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[Tram]

I've been super pleased with shipping larger parcels using "Parcel Monkey", and it's door to door if you want it to be.

https://www.parcelmonkey.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjMDtju6v8gIVyNrICh0yGwmxEAAYAiAAEgLjvPD_BwE
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[Manfred58sc]

Greyhound update- as one would expect many routes were suspended when covid hit, some have come back but many are still at a fraction of what they were. Also I was informed only corporate stores are taking packages and the online locater is not accurate. Best bet is to call your local terminal to confirm destination acceptance. Also if you you go to drop off and there is no bus moving in that direction that day they no longer will hold packages on a "space available" basis. Rates have increased with the fuel surcharge almost doubling. Veterans Advantage card still provides 25% savings ( anyone can get one).

I've had real problems as of late, many terminals no longer answer the phone and there is literally no way to contact them to address problems (like freight being "stuck" for weeks at a location). Even the corporate phone tree will not connect you to a real person ( even though its offered in the menu). Most ticket purchases are online these days and terminal service has been reduced.

Use with caution and patience.

Also Fastenall has a weird "zone" demarcation between west and east , packages may not cross that line. Use is limited and greater packing requirements apply.
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[EverettB]

From a member who wanted people to be aware of "Regional" boxes and rates:

I sold something to a buyer in California and planned to use a free priority mail box and pay priority mail charges. I use the USPS Click N Ship app for packages. After filling in the origin, destination, weight, and size it comes back with the options. The priority mail charges were $30.65, but, the app also offered "Regional Rate A" for the same size box at $12.58. Fortunately, I have a supply of Regional Rate A and B boxes and was able to take advantage of the reduced price.

Most people are not aware of these regional rate boxes which must be ordered from USPS.com. They are under supplies and are free with free shipping. Unlike flat rate boxes, the rate is based on weight and zone as long as you can fit whatever your shipping into the specially marked box. The origin was meant for commercial use but anyone can use them.

Note from EverettB:
Some post offices have these boxes available. My post office has a shelf inside the lobby near the shipping counters where they have a selection of different random boxes other than the typical flat rate boxes. They sometimes have "Regional" boxes but it's not common.
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[EverettB]

I don't know but I have received tires that were simply wrapped in plastic with a label on them so very similar to a wheel?

With a wheel I would wonder if they would drop it at some point with nothing to protect it.
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[theastronaut]

Does anyone know if it's ok to only tape a label directly to a steel wheel when using Greyhound? I sold a set of 19.5" truck wheels that need refinishing and I was thinking I could just clean them and tape labels directly to the wheel center. There are large flat areas big enough for the label to tape to and lay flat.


I have shipped a convertible top frame unboxed through Greyhound but it was padded and stretch wrapped.


Wheels in question (tires have been removed)-

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[easy e]

I have a buddy that started a mail order business & they turned me on to a cheap shipping place.
They provide regular people postage at the top tier discounts.
https://www.pirateship.com

The people that started it are crafty. They used rewards credit cards to buy enough volume of postage to get the best pricing. Then they sell it with no markup. They make their money just from the rewards card perks.
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[satterley_sr]

Held Hostage by Paypal

Sent a pierburg fuel pump to California and weighed it in a box at 1 lb 10 oz. Sent it through paypal shipping usps. Now USPS is saying it weighed 3.35 lbs which is ridiculous. Paypal wants $6.75 and wont allow me to ship anything until I pay up. I filed a complaint with USPS but this pisses me off.
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[werksberg]

2019 shipping increases:

Dear werksberg,
UPS®, FedEx®, and USPS® announced their 2019 rate increases and the additional costs will affect your eBay business.

UPS rate changes went into effect December 26, 2018. They have increased an average of 4.9% across most services.

FedEx Express and FedEx Ground parcel movements increased by approximately 4.9% January 7, 2019.

USPS will be making the following changes January 27, 2019.

• USPS First Class packages are increasing an average of 11.9%*
◦ Note that USPS First Class Package Service pricing will change from a flat rate per ounce to zone-based pricing per ounce
• USPS Priority Mail increases an average of 5.9%*.
• Changes in weight distribution of packages will affect pricing on USPS packages starting in June.
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