UPS SHIPPING COST WARNING

[electrolux137]

I sold an old Electrolux and today took it to UPS to ship it. It was the canister only no attachments. UPS ground shipping to the Midwest was 98 f@#¢king dollars. It was not an oversized box or anything like that. Their rates just have skyrocketed. I'm certainly going to think twice about selling anything on eBay or by a private sale that has to be shipped. It's just not worth it. I basically ended up just giving the machine away.

 

[electroluxxxx]

thats really odd because when we ship rainbows they usually run about $45 to ship out and they are not light units when complete in factory carton.

 

[madman]

There are several factors for the pricing. Monetary value of the item is one, insurance, size of the box, distance, and the shipping method. If they gave me a price like that I would have asked them to explain just why it was so much money. A lot of times, they'll enter info wrong, or "accidentally" quote you for the next-higher-up shipping method.

If they continue to BS you, start hollering.

 

[vexorgtr]

UPS is usually quite competitive with shipping rates. It REALLY helps to have an account, because you get a little bit of a discount, and you avoid retail up-charges.

Everything that ships is based on weights and dimensions... sometimes an inch of dimension will change the rate drastically. If something shows a crazy price, I tweak the dimensions on the calculator, and sometimes reduce my boxes by an inch or two.

 

[huskyvacs]

I posted about this last year on Reddit's r/USPS board and nobody believed me and wanted the shipping labels as proof, which I couldn't show since this happened months after.

The shipping rates did go up, and that affected oversize boxes.

You will notice 90% of all vacuums on eBay now are set to "Local Pickup Only", or they are not listed at all. There is a lot less Kirbys on eBay I know that for sure, as I used to buy them for $40 a piece with shipping, can't anymore.

I believe over 48" or 72" in any dimension you will be paying the dimensional rate - you're paying to accommodate such a large package on their truck. So you could have a 15lb vacuum but if it's in a 4 foot tall box, it's gonna cost a fortune.

Also shipping from East Coast To West Coast or from West Coast to midwest will be around $80+ as well, just because of distance charge.

 

[huskyvacs]

Also try USPS and FedEx. Pack the box as close to the item as you can, with room for padding. UPS has high rates for short distances a lot of times.

 

[human]

If you're selling on eBay, you can get discounted shipping by purchasing your shipping through eBay. It's not a very deep discount, but every little bit helps.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

I have found that UPS is a bit of a rip off. As much as everybody is expensive, Federal Express is the best option, in my opinion. They cost close to the same as the USPS, but are far more careful with packages.