Batboard

Admins and mods.... hopefully this is ok here. Thought it was best here.

How do you guys ship? Many things we sell are small... portables, speakermics, programming cables, etc. Have you found UPS to be cheapest? USPS? USPS Flat rate boxes? FedEx? DHL?

What about big pallets for heavy things such as repeaters?

Can someone that knows about USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes explain it? Pricing structure, etc? Thanks

Trying to figure out who everyone uses so I can keep my shipping prices as low and actual as possible. Thanks!

If it's expensive, like an AS3/XTS or anything else with "Astro" on it I usually go with UPS because of the tracking. I suppose FedEx as well would work.

If it's something less expensive or at least under $500 or so I usually go with USPS, they haven't lost a package of mine yet. Word of the wise; their package insurance is just a way for them to make money. Even if they *did* loose your package, and you *did* have insurance, you will only get that money back if you can furnish all applicable receipts for that item. So if it's an Astro or any other radio you got at a hamfest or from a friend, you're probably SOL.

I prefer to stick with UPS. I have gotten bit before shipping items to someone. He said he never recieved it. I checked UPS, they gave me a deliver date and signers name. When the information was provided the buyer gave me the "oh I guess it's here" story. I would have little ability to prove the reciever didn't get the item and come up with a story that it hasn't shown up and wants his money back. In today's day and age I am a little careful that I can prove I sent it, where it is in shipment, and it actually arrived. Makes me feel better that I can prove I did my job.

USPS tracking is a joke, since they usually don't scan the barcode until they deliver the item. If they lose it, their system will show that they're still waiting to receive it from the sender. However, if you're using Priority or Express Mail, you can make your carrier knock on your door and pick the stuff up for free. You just go to USPS.com and schedule it. It turns out that in this case, they scan each item when they pick it up, and their system will show that they have it until delivery occurs. Not only that, but your carrier, even if he's mad about having to do the pickup, will thank you for using the Post Office. Apparently it's in the script and he's gotta say it.

For as long as I have been selling radios (the past 9 years or so) I have ALWAYS shipped via. USPS Priority or Express mail, and ALWAYS with a tracking number. I have NEVER lost a package through them yet (knock on wood). I have shipped anything from Astro sabers, to Sp50's, all through USPS. Thus far, all my coustmers have been very happy. I have never personally shipped bigger items though (such as repeaters). Usually the big items I would sell as "local pick-up only". When I buy radios on E-bay, they generally tend to come via UPS (most of the time) and even DHL. Very rarley does a seller (that I've delt with on E-bay anyway) use anything but UPS.

Just my personal experience.

FedEX here. real tracking and one of the few who offer signature at no additional cost. FYI, if you accept Paypal, per their agreement, you MUST use a SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION TRACKABLE ONLINE if you ever have trouble and expect any chance in winning a chargeback. They will NOT accept USPS' joke of "delivery confirmation" as proof, a signature is required. I just got reminded of this recently as some turdface used a stolen credit card to buy my laptop (the loser did a BIN, Paypal caught it and froze the payment within an hour) thankfully I did NOT ship it...after calling Paypal they reiterated this in our conversation.

I have always used FedEX and been pleased with their service. USPS has lost a couple packages but their dismal tracking is what turns me away. You have to pay extra for signature confirmation with them, and even then, it's not good enough for PayFraud as it doesn't show online like UPS and FedEX does.

I generally use Priority Mail because, quite frankly, there is no comparison with Fedex or UPS when it comes to rates or delivery times. I've had packages make it from LA to NYC and Orlando in one day for $4-6. You want that from Fedex or UPS? No problem, $50 or more please!

In the last year I've probably done about 350 shipments by Priority Mail and there was only one failure that was a misdelivery but the package ended up at the proper address a few days later so all's well that ends well...

At the end of the day though, there are times that UPS or Fedex would be a wiser choice and the USPS leaves alot to be desired. Especially with heavy stuff. International shipping can be a pain because you have to stand in line, but compared to UPS or FedEx's rates it's a no brainer. For reference, I shipped a package to Ontario, Canada by FedEx Int'l Ground and they charged me $52 after customs fees.... going by USPS it would have cost about $12 but the customer insisted and paid for FedEx so who am I to argue...?

USPS does not provide tracking although I've heard the clerks at the local office call it tracking. They call it "Delivery Confirmation" because that's all it does-- confirm the package has been delivered. There are some times you might get lucky and see an update before delivery, but that's the exception and not the rule.

We ship 60% out UPS Ground and 30% DHL Ground and the rest USPS.Tracking numbers and delivery confirmation on anything over $100 value shipped.Automatic email of tracking number to customer ( or respective sales rep if customer does not have email) lets them track the progress themselves instead of calling us every other day if they are on other side of USA.Proof Of Delivery has saved our butts a few time with bigger agencies who has separate Receiving Dept.Also being able to intercept shipments mid route to re-route them is a nice feature.
We do DHL online and UPS Worldship standalone program.
If you going for volume UPS Worldship is nice.Also the fact that Motorola usually uses UPS for sending stuff to us we already use UPS so being onr egualr route helps a bit,instead of calling for a pick up.
And doing call tags to return stuff from customer back to us is easier with DHL and UPS.
We have found UPS ground faster than DHL Ground,but DHL Air faster than and cheaper than UPS.
Both have regional account reps who can come visit you and offer discounts if you can meet thier Net 15,Net 7 discount timeline.A saving of sometimes %5 or so.
Wayne

USPS is a joke. They're a pain to deal with, and their joke of a "tracking number" won't be accepted by neither Paypal nor a credit card company if a dispute or chargeback occurs. NYC to Orlando in one day, Priority Mail? Yeah, right... if you believe that, I've got some property you might be interested in... The only reason I'd use USPS is for international shipments... and, I very, very rarely capitulate to doing international shipments as they're a giant pain in my arse.

I ship FedEx. I have the flexibility for either cheap Ground service or more expensive Air services. I print the waybills online, attach them to the box, and drop the packages off at a Global Service Center less than 10 miles from my home. I've shipped about 300 packages so far... only one (a pickup tailgate) was ever damaged, and they paid up fairly promptly. They're also cheaper, in my experience, than UPS/DHL.

I've had poor experiences with UPS (lost a complete X9000 setup in a local warehouse... claimed it was "in the system" but they couldn't find it... finally made enough calls to force a *manual search* of the warehouse until it was recovered) and Airborne Express (now DHL... not sure if things have changes), generally with repair/replacement parts coming from Dell.

As always, YMMV.

I ship around 2000 packages a year (mostly non radio) and use UPS for most. USPS gets my international stuff and stuff going to PO Boxes, and I maintain a Fedex account just because UPS left me high and dry once with a strike so I have a backup now.

Advantages to UPS:
Real Tracking
They actually pay damage claims
Automatic $100 insurance no charge
They come by every day
The shopping cart program I use has UPS shiiping built in, so it figures actualy shiiping, adds it to the invoice so my customer can see it, then prints the label for me and emails a tracking number to my customer once I ship.
Free boxes and supplies.

USPS is much easier and cheaper for international.

UPS are bastards.

I don't send much, but I receive a lot of stuff from the USA (I'm located in Australia), and I have most of that sent via USPS.

I have used UPS once, and only once. Never agan. UPS are total c*nts. They charged $60 for my fairly small and light item to be sent to Australia (a board about 6 x 6 inches), and when it arrived, they witheld the item until I paid $80 "customs brokerage", and $13 Customs duty. I have no issues with the Customs duty, but I sure as hell resent paying $80 for some lacky to fill out a form.

With USPS/Australia Post, no such bullsh** fees are charged, and I get my item in the same amount of time, a lot cheaper. My only complaint is USPS's tracking sucks, I generally see nothing on the system until the item lands in Sydney, and Australia Post takes over.

Thanks for the responses so far. W2W... whats this about free boxes and supplies from UPS? I have a business acct and searched around the site real quick and didnt see anything. Care to enlighten me (us)? Thanks!

The USPS "flat rate" boxes come in a few sizes and shapes.
The boxes are free with the understanding that you use them for the intended purpose of shipping them USPS.
It seems to me that they are $8.40 no matter how heavy they are and no matter where in the country they go.
I use them a lot for those items that are under about $100.
I usually add the delivery confirmation which it seems is a buck or two more.
Other than that I use UPS.

I receive ALOT of packages.UPS is by far the leader,USPS is a joke,and FedEx is second to USPS.
Based on that,I ONLY ship UPS.
Price is not an issue with me but prompt delivery is!
I have noticed UPS has routes,and I always have the same driver.
FedEx always has a different driver,and sometimes has to call for directions
mod

Our Domestic shipping breaks down as follows:

1-11oz - USPS First Class (2-5 days)
1lb - 10# - USPS Priority Mail (2 days to 99% of US from WI)
10# - 70# UPS Ground (Kinda Slow, and not the cheapest).

100#+ Freight Quote.com - https://www.freightquote.com
We have a great rep we work with, he gives us a ton of options (tailgate pick-up, etc) and they maintain accounts with all the major freight carriers.

~~ Disclaimer, FreightQuote is simply a good vendor of ours, we have not affiliate relations with them.

Our International is as follows:
under 4# - USPS Global Priority (never lost a package yet, no customs hassles like UPS/FedEx)
over 4# - USPS Global Express (kinda expensive, but the lack of customs hassles on our end make it a easy choice).
over 4# CANADA - UPS Standard (they get ground packages to Toronto in like two days, fairly cheap too).

We have done a ton of research on this subject and my business manager looks at this subject constantly as one of the few ways we have to manage costs.

Craig

I see that most comments on this subject are from shippers.
I would like some input fron the recievers of all these packages. What ever happened to "the customer is right"
mod

I'm in Australia and get about 3 parcels a week from the USA. both radio and other items.

I ALWAYS request USPS Global Express, anything else is totally a headache and usually costs me more money in hidden costs.

USPS is always quick and none have gone missing yet.

Fedex has got to be the worst freight company for usa to aus shipping, copped a $105 fee for fedex sending a xts3k a few years ago.

Problem is that for some reason, people have issues sending internationally t australia, no idea why, especially on ebay were you have hundreds of positive feedbacks and are paypal verified etc etc. its not like we are iraq or some tiny island no-one has heard of.

Code3Response wrote:Thanks for the responses so far. W2W... whats this about free boxes and supplies from UPS? I have a business acct and searched around the site real quick and didnt see anything. Care to enlighten me (us)? Thanks!

http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resour ... index.html

the express pad packs are bubble wrpa inside and make great radio wrappers inside other boxes...

I ship LOTS of stuff with the Post Office.
Mainly I use the boxier Flat Rate Box.
It is free (you can set up an account and have a carton of them delivered to you address).
It is $8.10 to ship anywhere in the US (and possesions), no matter what weight. (up to 80 lbs)
They did loose one out of hundreds, and since I did not buy the extra insurance, I am Shxx out of luck, so buy the insurance.
The tracking sucks, they usually only scan it when delivered.

So far.... I use USPS Priority Mail with the Flat Rate Boxes for lower value stuff that I'm willing to self insure 'cause you know that a damage/loss claim is PITA. I have NOT had a loss in about 20 shipments or so. If I need it tracked, I will use UPS and insure it anyway. I've sent 4 or 5 big ticket items ($2K+) via UPS and that worked OK. I won't use FedEx because of a local friend's experience with a big ticket McIntosh audio amp. Here is a link...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... B:EF:US:11

I'm not advertising this, he listed it more to bring attention to FedEx and the response he got trying to file a damage claim. Just replace his equipment with a Quantar or something simular in ORIGINAL FACTORY shipping material and you get the drift.

The key here is pack, pack, pack and double box if you want a chance for it to survive, no matter how you ship!

Dave

USPS Priority always. Their tracking sucks, but they are fast and cheap.

I have had bad luck with all of them over the years. Not one stands out as being particularly great, but most are good. DHL/Airborne is probably the worst carrier out there.

I ship most of my stuff by fedex as I can usually abuse work's discount without any issue. They also show up and I don't have to wander by a post office or lug a box home on the train to the PO. I have gotten priority mail overnight before - but I also have a post office box, and I find that causes delivery of my mail to be about 1-2 days ahead of when I would expect it to show up outside my door.

UPS has also worked rather well for me, and I have minimal complaints about their service. I tend to use them when ground shipments will only take 2-3 days. Any other instance, Priority Mail when I am not feeling lazy and the pile of fedex lables are calling my name.

I've had fedex "misplace" and also break a chain of custody on a piece of work hardware. Like Terry, I was able to make them (except in Terry's case I think he said UPS) search an entire warehouse in Oakland after I threatened to meet someone up there with corporate security and whoever else wanted to come along and manually ensure they are looking themselves. They called the apologize after the event.

Fedex has also forgotten about a 100lb Pelican case - when an 80lb pelican case shipped out on the same day, from the same location, on the same truck. Why one made it first overnight and the other one didn't is beyond my understanding. It took an extra 1.5 days for the 100lb case to appear, and it was special delivered by a supervisor at the local sort facility. This was after I had conversations with the supervisors at 3 different sort facilities in the error, the package was traced, and fedex was extensively bitched at.

Regardless - Every company has it's positives and it's negatives. However, it's good to learn from this thread that PayPal requires signature verification. I'll make sure I start doing that if I ship USPS.

-Alex