Is it time to compare Fed-Ex + UPS to the USPS?

amwldcoin

I just received a notification from ebay I had an adjustment to the shipping charges on a package I shipped. My bad for not weighing it! I didn't think it would go over 2 pounds which would make the shipping $10.54. Well....3 extra ounces cost me $4.29! I couldda trimmed 3 ounces off. That is insane though to bracket shipping like that! Next time if I can't get a package under the next bracket I'm going to add rocks to bring the weight up to just under the next increment!

Curious how much Fed-ex or UPS would have charged. I've never used them because of their insurance policies on coins but this was a seashell!

tommy44

All three base rates on weight and distance, sometimes USPS also bases the price on size (over 12x12x12). Have you tried using regional rate boxes? I can ship up to 15 pounds from GA to CA for $11.20, a medium flat rate box is only $14.35. Sometimes heavy packages (over 10 pounds or so) are cheaper FedEx or UPS but USPS is usually the best deal for lighter packages.

Coinstartled

Change your name to Jeff Bezos and everything ships for a buck fifty.

amwldcoin

Have you checked to see since the rate changes? 15 pounds to Ca. doesn't sound right...unless it's Parcel Post. I have used regional boxes in the past.

@tommy44 said:
All three base rates on weight and distance, sometimes USPS also bases the price on size (over 12x12x12). Have you tried using regional rate boxes? I can ship up to 15 pounds from GA to CA for $11.20, a medium flat rate box is only $14.35. Sometimes heavy packages (over 10 pounds or so) are cheaper FedEx or UPS but USPS is usually the best deal for lighter packages.

tommy44

@amwldcoin said:
Have you checked to see since the rate changes? 15 pounds to Ca. doesn't sound right...unless it's Parcel Post. I have used regional boxes in the past.

@tommy44 said:
All three base rates on weight and distance, sometimes USPS also bases the price on size (over 12x12x12). Have you tried using regional rate boxes? I can ship up to 15 pounds from GA to CA for $11.20, a medium flat rate box is only $14.35. Sometimes heavy packages (over 10 pounds or so) are cheaper FedEx or UPS but USPS is usually the best deal for lighter packages.

Yep, just checked it out on the USPS calculator. 15 pounds limit on regional size A, 70 pounds on medium flat rate.

mustangmanbob

I spent a little over $10,000 with FedEx and $8900 with USPS last year.

USPS is easy for things that fit in flat rate, but they are going after wrong weight with a passion. With ebay, you could put in 2 pounds on the shipping info page, and ship 30 pounds. I have gotten 2 up adjustments and 1 down in price adjustment.

FedEx is much more intricate, as it is a function of size, weight, distance, commercial or residential, and remote or non remote address. The same item could cost me $15 shipping to a commercial address in Texas versus $40+ to Lost in the Woods, Maine.

The real kicker is oversized packages. If you break a dimension, prices can skyrocket. For example, a large box might cost $52, but if 2 dimensions "grow" an inch each, it could wind up as a double oversized and cost $200. I always check on the big stuff, and put in an extra inch or 2 on each dimension to see if I am hitting a cliff. If so, I have the FedEx clerk validate the measurements when I turn it in, and write them on the receipt, so I am OK if the box changes dimension in transit.

I am not happy with UPS, so I do not use them.

amwldcoin

That explains it! Mine was 12X6X6.

To put it in a bigger perspective...if I was 1 ounce over 2 pounds that ounce would have cost me $4.29!

@tommy44 said:

@amwldcoin said:
Have you checked to see since the rate changes? 15 pounds to Ca. doesn't sound right...unless it's Parcel Post. I have used regional boxes in the past.

@tommy44 said:
All three base rates on weight and distance, sometimes USPS also bases the price on size (over 12x12x12). Have you tried using regional rate boxes? I can ship up to 15 pounds from GA to CA for $11.20, a medium flat rate box is only $14.35. Sometimes heavy packages (over 10 pounds or so) are cheaper FedEx or UPS but USPS is usually the best deal for lighter packages.

Yep, just checked it out on the USPS calculator. 15 pounds limit on regional size A, 70 pounds on medium flat rate.

GRANDAM

Here I go again,,,,,,

Since you brought it up,,,,, 2 or 3 months back I got a USPS chargeback for $3.29 +/- don't remember exactly how much. The e-mail said my packege was overweight by a lot,,,,,, don't remember how much it was but I looked up the tracking number. I paid $2.66 for a 4 oz package and mailed a single PCGS slabbed coin in it. It doesn't even actually weigh 3 oz but the cost is the same for 3 or 4 oz so I chose 4 oz. Sometimes a person buys a second coin and I can just throw it in with no worries.

The USPS IS out to get me.

airplanenut

For what it’s worth, every company brackets by the pound... .1 lbs over and you pay for the next full pound. The biggest difference is that the usps offers first class which charges by the oz (a few weights have the same price), while the other carriers jump right into everything being a pound to start (maybe an 8oz option for some services).

jesbroken

Every fee is based on something. If you go over it is the next bracket. How many times do you feel you have went over just .1# which place you in the next bracket. If you go 1 mph over the speed limit you are speeding, in many states if you go .1 mph over 80 you are reckless driving and the fee may triple. Any limit when broached has a fee, that's why its called a limit. JMO
Jim