wow, im shocked at how much cheaper fedex is

[Boomerang]

Ok so i shipped two forged cranks out back to back, SAME box, SAME weight, since fedex is about 12 miles away, its a pain to drive down there, and i have no car now :(
needless to say i like the friendly service at my local UPS store, i shipped the first crank out there for 63 bucks i think...ouch

so i went to the kinko's/fedex....29 bucks with 300 dollars of insurance! WTF!
i been using UPS for about two years and didnt even realize its that much cheaper...not only is it cheaper, it gets there in THREE business days instead of 5 or 6 from UPS.

Is there any other cheaper way besides this that i dont know about? anyone have experience with DHL? Also it would probably be in my best interest to find out about having fedex come to my house to pick up packages for convenience and make it more trusting to the buyer.

oh and i shipped an ECU fedex...just as fast as USPS priority...but 4 dollars cheaper, i was always told the little things are cheaper for the post office but damn did i hear some bad advice.

What are your experiences with cheaper shipping? is fedex really THE best bet?

Thanks for your input!

[MR 325]

I'm in the same boat as you. UPS is closer, the people that work there are awesome but FedEx is just simply cheaper! Something I also recently discovered. Now I pretty much do FedEx or USPS.

[Jean]

I try to stay away from UPS where possible, and use fedex or usps or even dhl when I can. I've shipped a front valance from Ca to Fl and it arrived fine, cost me about $9x for shipping, they came over and picked it up from my house.

Question on the crank for you, how did you package them ? I need to ship one out to Canada and have no idea how best to package it ??

[Mastrcruse]

I also got raped by UPS. So I switched to Fedex. They are cheaper and seem to treat packages better. USPS if it is a smaller package has sometimes proven to be cheaper but overall Fedex is the way to go.

[AndrewBird]

FedEx here is about the same as UPS. I prefer FedEx though. Much more intelligent people (from my experience).

For small stuff, I do use USPS Priority though. Basically, anything that will fit in their drop-off box used with their self serve kiosk.

[StereoInstaller1]

I am a dealer for Exile Car Audio product.

One of the three owners of Exile, Brian, has a wife who is a corporate muckety-muck at UPS. Got him "the best rates we can possibly give".

Brian had a hassle with UPS, damaged product, late product, pissed off customers, etc., decided to try Fed-Ex. Nearly 50% less cost, quicker, no broken anything. 3 years later, still with Fed-Ex.

Still married, too.

Luke

[europeanplates]

I used to use soley UPS however they have raised there prices to the point where we use FEDEX for anything heavy and USPS for anything under 4lbs (plates) If you use FEDEX make sure ot chekc your account there shipping fees will vary even when shipping the same items to the same place. If shipping international if you buyer does not pay the vat and duties you will be stuck with the bill.

Tyler

[Boomerang]

I try to stay away from UPS where possible, and use fedex or usps or even dhl when I can. I've shipped a front valance from Ca to Fl and it arrived fine, cost me about $9x for shipping, they came over and picked it up from my house.

Question on the crank for you, how did you package them ? I need to ship one out to Canada and have no idea how best to package it ??

here is what i did, i bought from WAL-MART, 5 boxes that are 6x6x6, they are 77 cents each, and buy the bubble wrap, its long and not too much, its about 1.75 each, so 3.50 for that.

So it costs 7.50-8.00 for packaging materials, i also buy the cheap tape, its only a buck but i use nearly the entire roll to double up, i take no chances!
So 9 bucks for packaging material. You tape the ends of two of those boxes to act as the end. I have someone else help me so its faster but i wrap the crank in all that bubble wrap, its super thick and makes the crank invincible to most UPS shippers if they decide to play soccer with it or something, so you set the crank in one of those tiny boxes, and you keep stacking the boxes on top of eachother to cover the entire crank, 4 is too few of boxes, 5 is just right, just make sure to push the box you are sliding on gently over the others. That probably dont make too much sense but if you buy them you understand, that is by far the most effective way to ship a crank out.

[thectrlguy]

I love FedEx.... they rock! We ship everything via FedEx