Hi Tom, I'd add a couple more comments to that:
UPS now owns what used to be Mailboxes Etc. and as of Jan 1, 2004 there is supposedly no premium to drop off at a "UPS Store" versus going to the UPS Depot (which now saves me about 20 min. each way when I need UPS, which has been rarely up to this point). MBE used to charge about 150% of what UPS charged the public at the UPS Drop-off (plus any boxing, etc. fees if you went that route). Now it should be cost-transparent to drop off at the nearest UPS Store (we'll see, I guess...).
Also, keep in mind that the Post Office will still send anything up to 112" of girth + length by weight. I send well-packed framesets via Priority Mail for as little as $15 that way. Just make sure you don't exceed the 112" dimension and you'll be fine.
Fed-X Ground is also a good service, but the Depot where I live is goofy - sometimes they wanted $15 to ship a bike to the West Coast, sometimes $60 for the same thing (and they weren't measuring the boxes, so it's not a size issue). I gave up on them a while ago, as they are far away from where I actually live (like the UPS Depot is), and were inconsistent in their degree of helpfulness as well.
My local Postal employees are always helpful and pleasant, and USPS has never, ever damaged or lost a single item that I've sent or received. UPS went through a pretty bad adjustment period IMO after the employees bought the Company, and really beat the stuffing out of a lot of packages for a while, although that does seem to have settled down now. Just don't ever try to make a damage claim to UPS from what I've heard....
Regards,
Greg "chief shipping clerk" Parker Ann Arbor, Michigan
P.S. FWIW, I never do C.O.D. and I almost never Insure anything. Zero losses so far, tons of savings from not paying many hundreds of Dollars in Insurance fees.
> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2004 09:53:27 -0800
> From: "Tom Martin" <tom@wilsonbike.com>
> To: "wspokes" <wspokes@penn.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: [CR]UPS shipping
>
> Hello all:
>
> As of Jan 1 2004, UPS has raised their pricing for all services (as they do
> every year). A COD tag now costs somewheres around $9.00. This is the cost
> of the tag alone- the privelege of UPS accepting your check- exclusive of
> the freight rates. UPS Adjusted their dimensional weights a couple of years
> ago, so now there is a standard box size (anything under OS 1 size), OS 1
> size and, and OS 2 size. OS 2 is anything larger than a box that would fit a
> 26" mtn bike wheel without a tire. UPS charges anything at or above this
> dimension the same as 70lbs. The OS 1 size is charged the same as 35lbs.
> This makes it very expensive for bike dealers to have stuff shipped to them
> and now must add freight to their selling price in some fashion. (I am
> guessing their suppliers are not marking up their UPS rates to their dealers
> like mailboxes etc does). For mere mortals, going to the local UPS dropoff
> location (like mailboxes etc), you will probably get reamed.
> FedEx and all the others follow suit as UPS is the Big Daddy and basically
> sets the price for this stuff.
> This is a daily battle we have where I work, trying to keep the freight down
> for us and our customers. Invariably we look like the bad guy cuz the
> freight bill always seems to get larger and larger.
> But the costing of the freight shouldn't prevent sellers from just dumping a
> frame or wheels or parts into a box and sending it on its way. Packing
> materials cost money too, and the time to wrap the parts needs to be taken
> into account. It may seem excessive to the buyer, but most of the cost is
> going to UPS and not to the 'greedy' seller.
>
>
> Tom Martin
> Oakland CA