2. misc-audio
  3. 193745-17600

Shipping costs- WTF

I just need to vent. A couple days ago I tried to ship some Target speaker stands from Oregon to Ohio. I bought them from a guy in NJ and he paid $60 to ship them FedEx ground. Using the exact same box and packing materials I went to FedEx and they said to ship them to OH would be $170. So I went to UPS: $169. I went to the USPS: $180. Granted it's a large box (30" x 17" x 17") but weight was about 15 pounds and it's easy to handle. So yesterday I took the stands to the UPS store to get an estimate on them boxing them separately. $33 x 2 for the boxes and $104 x 2 for shipping. So $274. For $200 speaker stands. Obviously I'll only be able to sell them locally....

maprik
resistorhead
5 posts
 

A 12x12x5 flat rate box costs under $30 at USPS . Ships to the contiguous states with no weight restrictions . 

gemoody
161 posts
 

Get you own UPS account, search for an online coupon,25% easy to find.  Experiment with 1 vs 2 boxes.  You will save a lot .  Your retail store, typically a franchise, is ripping you off.

maprik's avatar
maprik OP
24 posts
 

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely check out the options you've suggested. Cane to vent and got great solutions. What a great community!

spin4cards's avatar
spin4cards
46 posts
 

There's a thing called "Dimensional Weight" that the carrier's can factor into their quotes. If you ship something that's relatively light, in a large box, your rate will be calculated based as though your item weighs much more than it actually does. As mentioned in an earlier post, this is because there is only so much room on the trucks.

socalml528's avatar
socalml528
150 posts
 

If you sell through a site like e**** and use their shipping estimate and pricing you'll see a substantial discount vs retail shipping outlets.  For returns, I have asked the retail shipper to send me their shipping label and charge me the shipping fee or reduce my return by their shipping fee.  This saves substantially on shipping but not all retail will do it. 

So yes there are multiple tiers of shipping prices depending on who's shipping and if a larger contract agreement is in place.

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