Twice now I’ve been charged a $5.00 ‘additional charge’ by UPS for shipping things in wooden boxes. Both were by UPS Ground and weighed less than 35 lbs.
Nothing is said about such an additional charge in their 2004 rate and service guide.
Am I being ripped off or what? Anyone else experience this? FedEx never tacked on such an additional charge.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
Replies
Plane, Were the boxes longer or wider than standard allowable sizes? Stein
24" x 13" X 4"
1x4 pine sides, 1/8" masonite front and back with recessed screws. Edges wrapped with packing tape.
I will call them again tomorrow. First time they refunded the $5.00.
I'll go back to using FedEx if this is their standard policy. Screw em!
Funny, but when I was paying cash at the UPS store, they never charged this. Once I got a UPS account, they started adding this charge onto the credit card later.
The nice thing about using UPS was in preparing the mailing label on the internet then just dropping the box on their counter and leaving. No waiting around. Plus the UPS Store is a lot closer than FedEx.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
If this is a routine shipment for you, why don't you buy some cardboard boxes? There must be a not-insignificant labor cost to make the wooden crates.
My labor is cheap! and the lumber and masonite is scrap. Plus, cardboard is not sturdy enough and costs to much.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
As you found out the scrap wood boxs have an associated shipping cost.
Wayne, I don't know how much shipping you've done in your career but believe me, UPS is hell on merchandise. It's one thing if the merch is something bought from a wholesaler, easily replaced with $$ received from insurance. It's a whole other ballgame when it's something hand-crafted with an impatient and hopefully repeat customer waiting on the other end.
Mike's been around enough he probably has distinct reasons for wanting to ship with wooden crating. Personally, I went almost exclusively to Priority Mail for lighter items because the boxes are free, without me having to go dumpster diving to get them. But when you get to heavier items, sometimes UPS is way cheaper.
One thing about the Post Office, though, they don't get too bent about odd packages. I once dressed up (padded) an old Dunlap (?-Sears essentially) lathe leaving it looking like a cross between Snoopy and a dachsund, middle part bare to serve as a grasping point. They shipped it with a smile, no extra charge.forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hey Mike,
The cardboard boxes for my flag cases are 26x15x5, I pay less than 2 bucks a piece for them, something like $1.76?? to my door. Yes I've got to purchase 20-25 at a time. The flag case ships for about 8-10#. Write me if you want the name of the company that I purchase from.
Dale
Are they delivered by UPS? :)
I've been using Paper Mart on the Internet for my smaller boxes.
By the way Dale, I've been sawing 2x2's out of that cherry. I first cut out 6x6's with my chain saw then bandsaw from there. That 6x6 walnut I got at Colcord is slabbing out well. Still a little wet inside and the slabs are bowing a little. But, when the maximum length used is 4", bows don't matter!
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
I use veripack.com and yes I have shipped UPS. I normally use USPS due to closeness. UPS cost less, but it's a long story. I still use the post office, priority mail. On the USPS web site you can use instant pay and label. I only use their label. Living in rural American I generally walk in the PO and get waited on, that is subject to change as I hear many of rural PO may close down, : ' <
Edited 1/13/2004 2:35:37 PM ET by Dale
I never read the service guide, but it did happen to me. I thought the charge was $10, though.
The shipping company rep said the reason is that items not packed in smooth packages often get tangled in the automatic package moving equipment. UPS didn't just decide that wooden crates were troublesome, they learned that they were through long experience. The same charge applies to things like luggage. I asked the rep, "so, you mean that if I wrapped the wooden crate in cardboard, and taped all the corners/edges so they didn't pop open, it would cost $10 less to ship?"
"Yes," he said.
So, next time I did.
Mike
Ditto Wayne... The company I work prt time for ships about 2000-3000 packages a day. Something else to note it Over-Size 1 & 2. We ship pacakage trays (the interior board that goes under the rear window in older and some newer cars).
They don't wieght 3 lbs., but because of lenght and girth combined in inches when packed properly you are charged for 70 lbs. as Over-Size 2. Over-Size 1 is 30 lbs. The airlines have used this for years. Even though a package is light, it can occupy more space in an aircraft belly hole. This necessitates a pro-rate to get back on-line with smaller, heavier packages as say a Caterpillar part.
Regards...
sarge..jt
Proud member of the : "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Back when I would use UPS, they would charge a $5.00 fee for wooden crates. I found that the wood crate made a tempting ( apparently a too tempting ) target for the UPS handlers, and nearly everything I sent this way was destroyed. I now use Craters and Freighters for nearly everything I ship. They pull up to the door, blanket wrap the work, and I never have to see it again, since nothing ever happens to it.
Rob Millard
Hmmm, well that hasn't happened to me, yet.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
I hope it doesn't happen to you.
When I first started out trying to reach beyond local sales, I made and sold several small federal work tables, and candle stands. Of the those only one arrived undamaged, the others were either total write-offs
or suffered some damage. I took what I thought was sufficient care in packing, but took even more care with another batch only to have the same results. I have successfully used UPS for small items such as pipe boxes, light house clocks and lap desks, using oversized outer boxes, stuffed with wadded up newspaper, with the item packed in an inner box, also stuffed with newspaper. The amount of labor expended in packing up boxes, is astounding .
Rob Millard
Just used fedex to ship a 55 pound box to the west coast from the east coast. Fedex 30% cheaper than UPS. Box size 27x20x19. made from 1/4" plywood left overs. $35 total cost.
Yeah, that'd be about $55 with UPS. The problem is that the nearest FedEx drop is 5 miles away. The UPS Store is 1/2 mile away.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Well, I finally found it in their rate and service guide.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Have you tried FedEx Ground? You can create the barcode label on-line at FedEx.com and print it using your laser printer or good quality inkjet printer. Drop-off at the FedEx pick-up location or call for a local pick-up...Ground requires one-day advance scheduling.
Also, check the service guide for surcharges on residential pick-ups or deliveries.
Rob, I've heard others say good things about Freighters and Craters with regard to shipping furniture. That's reassuring to hear it again from someone else.
tony b
FedEx Ground and UPS Ground are all that I have used other than the US Post Office. I have accounts for both and use the internet to create shipping labels. It's just that here, the UPS drop off is more convenient.
But, UPS charges for wooden boxes and FedEx doesn't.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Mike, how long would it take you to drive the extra distance, and between the lower per-lb charges and lack of surcharge, how much would it save you?forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG -
Not what it would save me, but what it would save my customers. If I go to corregated cardboard boxes, then I'll have to pass that charge onto them. As it is, the wooden crates don't cost anything as I salvage the wood from scrap at nearby building sites. Have you bought a large corregated cardboard box lately!
I guess I'll go back to using FedEx. Just don't like taking the additional time to drive there.
UPS only started doing this after I got an account with them and started charging to my credit card. Before, the people at the local store was only charging a rate for weight and distance the crate had to go. Basically, they are unaware of the UPS policy for wood crates. The only downsides to that are that I have to pay cash and have to wait the extra time while they weigh the crate, figure out the fee, and slap on the label. Also the waiting in line time.
But, to conclude this thread, I just want everyone to be aware of the UPS policy on wooden crates.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Mike, I was (in my last post) hinting that it might be worth it to switch to FedEx Ground. As far as CB boxes go, I never, every buy them. Outside of using Priority Mail boxes for most stuff, I have several reliable sources for boxes ranging from small to giant. In my eBay selling days that was one of my major contributions to recycling! <g>forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
i get my boxes at my local costco store. i look for the ones that are not cut up.
I have sent at least 4 dozen pieces with Craters and Freighters, without any damage. I recommend them highly.
Rob Millard
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