Touring - shipping rates WAY up?

The last time I had a bike shipped FedEx it was around $35 and the last UPS ship was aroun $50. I went to try and ship a bike on Saturday and got rates of $82 and $118 respectively. The prices were the same on-line and in local stores.

Now, I know fuel prices are up, but this seems pretty extreme. Are rates really this high now or is there a secret handshake to get a special rate that I haven't discovered? BTW, these rates were for a single bike in a used bike box from a retailer.

The last time I had a bike shipped FedEx it was around $35 and the last UPS ship was aroun $50. I went to try and ship a bike on Saturday and got rates of $82 and $118 respectively. The prices were the same on-line and in local stores.

Now, I know fuel prices are up, but this seems pretty extreme. Are rates really this high now or is there a secret handshake to get a special rate that I haven't discovered? BTW, these rates were for a single bike in a used bike box from a retailer.

Those rates seem a bit high. I shipped a bike from NJ to Seattle, WA a couple weeks ago for $55 with FedEx. Of course, it just squeaked by their 130" dimensional limit (L + 2H + 2W). First measurement, I was quoted $95. After asking for a remeasure, I was given the 130".

Hmm. Maybe it's the dimensional limit. The box is slightly less than 55 x 30 x 7 in each dimension, so it's right on the edge. If they're measuring as exactly 55x30x7, then that's the problem.

UPS recently changed the way they calculate the cost of oversized boxes. In the past, it was based on a series of catagories (Oversized 1, Oversized 2, and Oversized 3), and for each catagory you would get a price increase. They have gone to a "Demensional Weight" system, where the cost is based on the actual size of the box. If you are shipping something which is in the low end of one of the old oversize catagories, you actually save money with the new system, but if you are shipping something closer to the large end of one of the oversized catagories you end up paying quite a bit more. Bike boxes are in the higher end of the old Oversized 2 catagory (if the boxes sides aren't buldging), so you are going to end up paying quite a lot more for most bikes.

Not that it makes much difference to anyone here (nor to me, as I ship guitars all the time which used to be exactly 1" under the Oversized 2 catagory), but the new system IS more fair to the people shipping smaller boxes.


Gabriel

try cutting the box smaller

I measured again and found the box is 7.5x29.5x55 which brings it in at 129. The on-line rate calculator rounds up any measurements of .5 or greater. I'm going to try the retail shipper again tomorrow and see if I can make my case. It's a bike box and it's designed to ship under 130" for just this reason.

Unfortunately, it's a 61cm road bike and there's no where to cut it smaller.

UPS has gone up. I noticed that when I shipped a frame from Indiana to Portland Oregon.

I wanted to take my bike from Ottumwa, Iowa to Green River, Utah on the Amtrak that goes from Chicago to San Franscisco (the California Zephyr) and was told "no way under any circumstances---boxed or unboxed---it doesn't matter". Checked into several ways to get me and my bike to Green River. Finally settled on the bus lines. Much cheaper and just as fast as Amtrak. Got a ticket for me to Green River for $73 and a ticket for my bike for $15. I'll have to box it but I'll be with the bike all the way and personally responsible for putting it on the bus and getting it off the bus at GR.

I wanted to take my bike from Ottumwa, Iowa to Green River, Utah on the Amtrak that goes from Chicago to San Franscisco (the California Zephyr) and was told "no way under any circumstances---boxed or unboxed---it doesn't matter". Checked into several ways to get me and my bike to Green River. Finally settled on the bus lines. Much cheaper and just as fast as Amtrak. Got a ticket for me to Green River for $73 and a ticket for my bike for $15. I'll have to box it but I'll be with the bike all the way and personally responsible for putting it on the bus and getting it off the bus at GR.

Amtrak's policies are on their web site. Whether you can take a bike depends upon the train and the station. Some trains have racks that let you roll your bike on, others do not. You can only ship a boxed bike (using an Amtrak bike box) to and from stations that have baggage service. The list of stations with service is on their web site. If you do your research and plan accordingly, there will be no problems.