[jms007bnd007]

So I sold my Klipsch computer speakers on ebay the other day, and I went down to PakMail...a Mail Boxes Etc. ripoff....to ship the speakers off to New Jersey. After the guy weighed the speakers, and figured the shipping he looks up and says, "That will be 94 dollars." YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!!! What the crap. I said, "uhhhh...well maybe I'll just go somewhere else, sorry for the trouble." What a freakin ripoff.

So my question is...what is the cheapest way to ship packages across country?

 

[JMT]

USPS Insured Priority Mail. Also look into Express Mail.

 

[timoteus]

USPS has very good rates for packages under say 10 lbs. or so. UPS has better rates most of the time for heavier packages. It can be very expensive shipping through Mailboxes Etc. because you have the regular shipping charges plus whatever they charge you on top of that which is where they make their money. It pays to find a company that uses UPS and let's you ship through them as a favor. Some companies let their employees ship through their shipping dept. as a kind of perk.

 

[fredpb]

Those local mail box places are very expensive. A bit better is the UPS at OFFICE DEPOT. They get their cut though.

You may have to use freight company. But I would check FEDEX GROUND. UPS is just not accessible for consumers, but local Fedex compound IS. Fedex Ground is CHEAP, but limited in size and weight of packages.

 

[Gallaine]

Through Paypal you can open a UPS account. All you have to do then is enter the appropriate information and print out the label on your computer (you can even use regular paper and tape it to your package). Then go back to that PakMail and drop it off

. The UPS rates through the Paypal accounts are dirt cheap! I shipped a 50 lb amplifier heavily boxed and padded for $24.

 

[BenG]

Have UPS pick them up at your home or work (for NOTHING).

*And USPS will give you Priority mail boxes & tape FREE. (for lighter stuff)

 

[Gallaine]

I just remembered that I have only used the Paypal UPS account to ship items purchased through Paypal. You may not be able to use it for other stuff.

I do not think UPS will pickup an item shipped Ground. I checked into it a couple of weeks agx as I needed to shipped a rather large subwoofer. According to UPS they will only pickup items shipped air (which is about twice as expensive). Though you can give your package to a UPS driver if they are dropping off packages.

 

[CaptBubba]

Or you could stop by the local UPS hub and get them to ship it from there. It is normally out of the way, but they should be able to tell you exactly what to do when you get there.

 

[BenG]

I've had UPS pick-up stuff for ground: http://wwwapps.ups.com/apps/pickup/r...so_language=en (read the bottom of the page)

You just have to call to schedule a ground pick-up.

 

[Tuberoller]

I ship with UPS and USPS everyday.For small very expensive items(tubes) I use USPS, and use UPS for the heavier stuff.UPS is really good for not showing up for pick-ups.I will never,ever use fed-ex for anything else.Priority mail is great and I use it whenever the buyer is willing to pay for it or whenever I buy something.I was using Mailboxes etc. for a while and was even considering buying a franchise but the two in the area were both shut down for criminal shipping violations.

 

[akar]

I think USPS Priority Mail is the way to go.

UPS Ground is not available everywhere in the U.S.
That only leaves 2nd Day and Overnight, both of which are very expensive.

Fed Ex Ground is also not available everywhere. It is also not truely Fed Ex. Fed Ex bought RPS, then they created Fed Ex Ground. But Fed Ex Ground does not go through the same channels as regular Fed Ex packages. It works like McDonalds franchises, you sort and deliver the packages under the name Fed Ex Ground, but you use your own vehicle and staff.

In my experience, Fed Ex 2nd Day and Overnight are cheaper and more reliable than the comparable services from UPS.

Another choice is Airborne Express, but they are extremely expensive.

DHL is only useful for shipping overseas.

The only shipper that doesn't add fees for shipping to Alaska is USPS.

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by jms007bnd007 ....to ship the speakers off to New Jersey..."That will be 94 dollars."

hey, have you ever been to new jersey? you'd have to pay ME $100 to go there for you too!

 

[andrzejpw]

For small stuff, I use USPS. For bigger stuff, I use USPS.

For HUGE stuff(like those speakers), I'd use UPS ground. Not a big fan of fedex ground. . .

 

[jms007bnd007]

well I ended up using the cheapest USPS service, and with insurance it ended up costing like 33 bucks to ship. The package weighed about 28 pounds, so I figure it wasn't too much of a ripoff. It was a lot better than 94 bucks.

 

[andrzejpw]

This is actually a good topic. Would UPS have been cheaper? What about fedex ground? I think I'll do some research. ..