This may be a bit off-topic, but for the past six months or so I've been shipping bicycles, frames and wheelsets using my company's corporate account.
It is a benefit that our company offers all employees. At first, I thought it was just a nice convenience--saves me a trip to the post office or UPS. After using it, I've found just how cheap shipping can be if you have a corporate rate. As an example, I can ship a frame or wheelset at FedEx 2day shipping rates at less than half what it would cost me to ship UPS ground. Given the high costs of shipping today, this can make a significant difference in the price you eventually pay for a bike. I suggest you mention
this to sellers on Ebay as many companies offer this benefit to their employees, although it isn't always widely advertised within the company. If
you also are a seller, then ask at work and at least get a quote for comparison. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL
Lou and others: I have been shipping and receiving bicycles and frames for over 30 years.
We pay the same prices as a corporation (with daily pickup service and web-besed service) as any one else. There's a pick up fee of about $8.00 we pay for the first visit of the week whether we send out one or a thousand packages. This is waived if a package is delivered to a UPS center. There's about a dollar added if it goes to a residential address.
Private shipping concerns have been known to add as much as 100% service fee, even without their boxing and materials charges. Prices can be checked on http://www.ups.com
I checked on the price to ship a frame to Lou in Orlando and it was $12.50 to
a business with $500 insurance.
>From here, Fla is three days. Guaranteed two-day service would be three times
as much for my 15lb estimate.
There are three size classifications for UPS, Up to 80 combined inches (2xH + 2xW + 1xL) goes by true weight A fiork-off, very tightly trimmed box can get by here 80-108" pays minimum 30lb or true wt, whichever is higher (this is OS) OS is most frames 108-130" is 2OS, you pay for 70lb or true wt whichever is higher This is most complete bikes.
If you fake something into 130 and a UPS bean counter at the terminal detects it's a hair bigger, you get socked with a supplemental fee of way more.
These bills aren't good things to find in the mail. (We wonder why they don't UPS the bills!)
Like Lou, my company allows me to ship bicycles, frames,and parts as a courtesy.
I am assuming that Lou pays for the shipping and just enjoys the convenience, something I do for an employee that curbstones drums and musical instruments.
If the company or employer is paying the shipping too, that's a whole 'nother game.
My big rant is potentially that the military, private corps, schools, and the gov. are paying for shipping bikes and everyone's paying for it - as a citizen of the gov, a student paying tuition, a taxpayer, a customer of a corp, I'm subsidizing this commerce.
Now, Larry, many will say..... "shut up and smell the income" Hey, these folk are taking bucks from regular folk and funneling it into the bicycle channel - and you are a bicycle merchant and bicycle merchants can get more fiscally fit.
A gremlin that creeps within me from time to time is about a report I heard many years ago. Long before the Internet got where it is now, like 9 years ago, the annual time theft figure in the US was $240Billion. Time theft? You know, the employee that punches in, reads the paper, goes out for coffee.... before hunkering down to expected tasks. At the end of the day, the employee that catches his final smoke, cocktail, java, and goes to the john and THEN hits the clock.
The $240B was way before most everybody lurked, chatted, and surfed much of the live long day on the 'net. The fone/cable/satellite line, computers, ISP fees, and time are for the most part, someone else's.
I know that ISP accounts can follow employees home as a spiff and bonus, but I scratch my scalp so often at the dot.edu,.mil,.gov.'s that come thru 9-5.
I heard a story, forgot the details, of someone running 4 businesses from a government job. He used the 'net, the mail, copy machines... you name it.
But, part of me says that if they are doing bike stuff, it's great therapy for them (compared to what might be happening on screen) and bikes make their lives better and contribute to their productivity on the job and that's why it's a good thing. So it helps the companies, schools, government, and the galaxy. Long live benefits!
Yeah, that's it. It's OK, then. I shouldn't be concerned. Ahh.
larry black
mt airy, md.