Parcel shipping........

[Paul Danik]

I was curious to hear any comments on how you folks ship parcels. Not talking about frames and entire bikes, just the general sized boxes that need to be sent around the country and once awhile across the pond.

     Considerations are price, reliability, tracking, speed of delivery and what they do when disaster strikes.  Shipping horror stories are greatly encouraged

Thanks,
Paul

[Dale Sonnenschein]

I usually use the post office on lighter stuff and UPS on something over 8 or 10 pounds. It's usually more convenient for the receiver with UPS bringing it to your door. Sometimes the post office will only leave a card saying that you have a package and you have to go to the PO to get it.(not a big deal for me, I'm there everyday) I've gotten parts overnight from nearby states even being shipped UPS ground.
I bought a pair of shocks off ebay once and when they came by PO, there was a hole in the box and only one shock. Luckily the seller was a good guy and refunded my money. It pays to make sure you pack things good so they make the trip!!

74 puch 175 SD
73 Husky 360 WR/RT
75 Penton 250
10 ktm 250xc
02 bmw r1150r

[Kip Kern]

USPS Priority for small and UPS/FED EX for large Items, whatever is cheaper. Real expensive to ship engines now!!

[thrownchain]

USPS flatrate for small things, if it fits, it ships. Bigger UPS.

[Paul Danik]

Thanks for the replies...

Last year I had to ship an engine to Norway, the buyer, who does a lot of business such as this, asked that it be shipped through the USPS.  I had already gotten a price from UPS, the postal service was about 1/2 the cost, saved the guy several hundred bucks.  A few folks scoffed at using the postal service for international shipping, but it all worked fine.

Paul

[thrownchain]

I've used the USPS Interenational Priority flatrate boxes into Canada, Europe and New Zealand with no problems yet. Biggest glitch is the is no tracking outside the US, but so far everything has been delivered as promised.

[lmroberts36]

Paul,

I ship my compession tester systems--2 to 4 lb packages--worldwide using USPS Priority Mail, Insured and have never had any problems in the 6 years I've been in business. I have also shipped much heavier items that way to US addresses with no problems. The cost savings over the other package delivery services is, in most cases, very significant, although I do ship via UPS on occasion if the cost differential is minimal or if the customer insists on UPS.

However, be careful of using the USPS "Flat Rate" shipping. Unless the item is very heavy, going a long distance and it will fit into one of the FR boxes, standard Priority Mail will almost always be cheaper.

http://rotarydiagnostics.com


Larry Roberts, Mont Alto, PA
1973 Penton 125 Six-day
1991 Mazda RX-7 Turbo track car

[Doug Bridges]

I have shipped quite a few parts including several engines that I sold on ebay and shipped them all USPS with very good results. I use priority, parcel post and flat rate, depending on the item and what makes the most sense economically.
I got burned once using USPS to ship a piston to a guy in France. He claimed he never received it and since there was no tracking available I was forced to give complete reimbursement. This cost me $150 and I no longer sell to overseas buyers because of it.

Doug Bridges
73 Jackpiner
74 Rickman Zundapp
78 Suzuki PE175
82 XR200R

[lmroberts36]

Hmm, that's strange since with the customs form number I almost always get tracking info through the USPS for international shipments. Of course, I insure all shipments. See the example quote from a recent shipment below:

"LAWRENCE ROBERTS has requested that you receive a Track & Confirm update, as shown below.

Track & Confirm e-mail update information provided by the U.S. Postal Service.

Label Number: CV01 8165 795U S

Service Type: International Parcels

Shipment Activity        Location                               Date & Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delivered                GREAT BRITAIN                          11/21/11 11:58am

Payment of charges -     GREAT BRITAIN                          11/16/11  2:27am
Item being held, addressee being notified

Arrival at Post Office   GREAT BRITAIN                          11/16/11  1:30am

Customs clearance        GREAT BRITAIN                          11/15/11  1:03am
processing complete

Customs Clearance        GREAT BRITAIN                          11/11/11 10:39am

Processed Through Sort   GREAT BRITAIN                          11/11/11 10:36am
Facility

Processed Through Sort   ISC CHICAGO IL (USPS)                  11/09/11  1:59am
Facility

Arrived at Sort          ISC CHICAGO IL (USPS)                  11/09/11  1:20am
Facility

Depart USPS Sort         PHILADELPHIA PA 19116                  11/08/11  9:19pm
Facility

Processed at USPS        PHILADELPHIA PA 19116                  11/07/11 10:48pm
Origin Sort Facility

Dispatched to Sort       MONT ALTO PA 17237                     11/07/11  4:18pm
Facility

Acceptance               MONT ALTO PA 17237                     11/07/11 10:56am

Electronic Shipping                                             11/07/11
Info Received"

Larry Roberts, Mont Alto, PA
1973 Penton 125 Six-day
1991 Mazda RX-7 Turbo track car

[ALB]

As many of you already know, 98% of my orders go through the Post Office. Most of those packages go via Priority Mail, the small items under 1 lb. go via 1st class mail. In the 18+ years of using the Postal System I have had only 1 lost parcel. I have had 3 or 4 missing parcels that sooner or later show up either to the customer or back to me. Priority Mail is generally delivered in 3 days or less which is faster than UPS especially for items going to the west coast.

I ship items via UPS when they are either too big or heavy and it is more cost effective to ship with them.

I ship all of my international orders via the Post Office and the majority of these go via Priority International Mail. I can use the Customs Form I.D. number to track the shipment as Larry Roberts has shown. I also make it a point to e-mail my international customers the Customs form number so that they can track their shipment.




Alan Buehner

[Mick Milakovic]

I also us USPS for 99% of my shipping.  An added bonus is the free boxes, labels, and confirmation forms they give you, delivered right to your door.

Mick

[socalmx]

I would not trust Priority Mail unless you pay the extra for shipment tracking/delivery confirmation. A couple of years ago I sent out a holiday package to two soldiers in Iran (part of a church sponsored program). Included were some very nice Oakley milspec sunglasses (friend works at Oakley) along with the general assortment of goodies/items. Total value of each package came in at around $350 as identified on customs statement. In both cases, neither package made it to the soldiers. I followed thru with the Post Office only to be told that the packages were not traceable since I had not paid the extra fee. Some low life(s) stole the packages for the glasses and the two soldiers sat at Christmas empty handed. Pay the extra fee and protect your shipment. I learned the lesson the hard way.

[joe novak]

I attended a seminar about Ebay at the Post Office.  They talked alot about the shipping aspect of selling AND buying on Ebay.  USP has competitive shipping prices, the boxes are FREE, and they will pick up the packages at your front door (if that is what you want). How much easier can it get?   Just repeating what Thrownchain (Dan) said.... flatrate boxes are priced and anything you can fit in it regardless of weight, is shipped.  You can go to the post office and they will give you FREE a variety of size boxes and you can mark the price of shipping on each box for reference.  joe

[OUCWBOY]

I ship normal sized items via USPS using Priority Mail and pay online, because there is some discount by paying online. Additionally, you can request a pickup at your home or business. You can also order boxes for free and they will deliver them for free as well. Thus, you can track these items and it will show delivery date and time.
For larger, heavier items, I ship FedEx Ground, like for complete engines and such. I one purchased a frame and it was shipped to me via USPS. Only had one issue of a package being misplaces and it was to a PO Bax and the receiving PO put it in the wrong box.
AND one customer (not a bike rider) claimed non delivery from ebay, but I provided the tracking information to him and that was the last I heard from him. It saved me on that one.

Donny Smith
Paragould, AR

[thrownchain]

Delivery confirmation inside the US is $.70, not alot for piece of mind. There is a 20 lb limit for USPS International Priority, and you can use the customs number as a tracker. Had to do that for a Italian shipment. And unless your selling lead weights, you'd be hard pressed to meet the US weight limit which is 70lbs. The nice thing about flatrate boxes is you can quote a shipping price and the buyer is paying it anyway. Heavy or bulky stuff goes UPS and you get a tracking number automatically, just can be very expensive overseas, but then again the buyer should be paying it and as long as they are willing,.....I dont ship anything anywhere till its paid, no exceptions. Havent had a problem yet.