Hi,
I am planning on selling a few frames/bikes...for those that have used "ship Bikes" what was your experience and which shipper was used?
What was the cost compared to "Bike Flights"
Many thanks, Best, Ben

I'll echo everything [MENTION=20876]hazetguy[/MENTION] said. I used shipbikes twice in 2020 with zero problems.

Dean

Ive used them for 3 bike shipments so far. The Price is good. The website is idiosyncratic. There is a specific order in which they want information entered, and going back to change something can be a little confusing.

Used several times, no problems. Most of the time cheaper than bike flights by around 20%. On a couple of occasions I’ve had “shipping label unreadable, label replaced” - each time at the transfer center in Frederick MD. I called ship bikes about one of those times and they were helpful and responsive. BTW I think the shipping label replacement is a local tactic by that center to keep up with their metrics.

+lots. Dropped bikeflights when the dropped FedEx, mainly 'cause their prices went up. Both carriers have damaged stuff for me, pretty equally, so price is paramount. I do almost always check both, and shipbikes so far has always been cheaper.

Shipbikes website is clunky. It requires you to pick a dropoff location right at the beginnin, and never finds the Walgreen's that's 2min away, so I always click on the nearest one that shows, with is 6-7mi away. That's what prints out on the shipping label as the origin/return address, but I use Walgreen's for the dropoff instead. All the scans and deliveries have been no problem. I figure it doesn't much matter what the label says, when the driver scans it at Walgreen's, that's the origin. I'm supposing that if the shipment went sideways and had to be returned, they'd return it to the scanned origin. If that's not the case, and it goes back to a dropoff I didn't actually use, well, I don't know what happens then. Uh-oh.

I've never had any problems with shipbikes that required using their customer service. I did have a bikeflights label that wouldn't scan at the dropoff a couple years ago, and they sent a label to my phone almost immediately, so my customer service experience with them was good.

Last frameset I shipped, when I plugged in the data, the cost difference between BikeFlights and ShipBike was negligible (tho ShipBike was the lower price) so opted for BF since I had used them in the past and did not know how trustworthy was SB. But based on these firsthand testimonies I think next time I'll give 'em a go.

I only use shipbikes now, most recently last week. The price is significantly lower then bikeflights, and I check side by side every time.

I have not found their website "clunky," but rather more straightforward then bikeflights.

I use their "pickup" option, which only costs $5.25. I used it last week, picking up a frame from an ebay seller in the Upper Midwest. He boxed up the frame, printed out the label and FedEx picked it up from his front door, and delivered it to mine for less than $30, including $100 insurance. I've elected more insurance on occasion, as it's about $2 per $100 increments. The pull down menu lets one choose, and going back and forth never loses my entered information.

The one quirk I've noticed about shipbikes is the ETA is usually inaccurate. They said that frame referenced above would get here tomorrow, but it arrived on Friday. It was picked up on Wednesday. Once they estimated a three day window, and it actually arrived the same day! Bikeflights seems to be all about getting it there the next day, while shipbikes is not. FedEx is very good about texting me and the other party regarding pickup, ETA, and eventual delivery, as is UPS, so it's really not an issue.

I had an item shipped from Charlotte from a CL listing, by a guy who didn't want to ship until I told him I'd have it picked up from his front door, and it was less then $20. I could not drive there and back again for that. Offering to have a package picked up from a distant CL seller has made the difference more than once. For that alone, at $5.25, they have my business. I think bikeflights offers that for $15? Five bucks and two bits to spare a seller from having to take the package to a center is an affordable courtesy.

Shipbikes' website has improved over the past two years, and especially over the past 6 months. Information entered on a transaction is saved until it's completed or cancelled, now, whether you have an account or, as in my case, not. I have been entirely satisfied with my shipbikes experiences.

I used to use bikeflights.com (used to use FedEx, now uses UPS). When shipbikes.com came along I started to use it if the price was cheaper. After bikeflights switched to UPS, shipbikes seems to be a bit more consistently cheaper, generally not by a bunch, but a few bucks. Their web interface isn't as slick, but it's functional.

Same here. Made the switch when BikeFlights went with UPS. Extremely satisfied customer.

To All,
Many thanks to all the took the time to respond.
Best, ben

I've received two shipments through them and sent two, found the experience painless and will use it again.

I’ve shipped and received frames using Ship Bikes, no problems to report. Good rates if you minimize the size of the shipping box.

I have shipped several bikes and frames with both shippers. I have had damage claims with both shippers as well. There has been a difference in which each handles their damages/lost shipments. With Bikeflights, I made a claim and they paid ASAP. I never dealt with the shipper (can't remember if it was UPS or Fedex at that time). It was quick and painless. With shipbikes, I had to file a claim directly with Fedex. I had to follow up several times and had to fight an initial denial of claim each time. One claim was awarded in our favor and the other was denied. We had to do much more work with shipbikes, but their customer service was top notch throughout the claims process and assisted every step of the way.

Shipbikes has been cheaper in every instance I compared. Sometimes, by a wide margin. As an aside, when selling a frame through eBay, eBay's Fedex pricing has occasionally been the cheapest of the three options (eBay has never been cheaper for a full bike).

Shipbikes wins on price.

Bikeflights wins on claims.

I have continued to use shipbikes as I feel the rate of damage is low and the added hassle is worth the overall lower prices.

Shippers do not want to pay any claims. Dealing with them directly is a hassle. The claim that was denied was for a lost package. Fedex delivered the box to the wrong address. Fedex left me a voice mail saying it was delivered to the wrong address and they would seek to retrieve the package. They could not retrieve the package and opened a case on our behalf. We provided all required documents thinking it was a formality. They denied the claim because it was not sent with signature required...despite them telling me on record that they delivered it to the wrong address. They denied the appeal as well.

This thread just turned me on to Shipbikes.com and I was also rather miffed to see that Bikeflights switched from FedEx to UPS. I have a frame I'm about to ship to Canada from California and tried to navigate he Shipbikes website but the shipping quote area does not allow me to add a Canadian address. Is this service available there yet? Thanks!

-Gregory

I hadn't even heard of Shipbikes until this week...

Used ShipBikes to send a box containing 2 complete wheelsets and was very pleased with the price, and according to the buyer the box arrived unscathed.

I'll use again.

I will point out that neither service appears to directly tell you your box is oversized. That is only conveyed indirectly, by a big price bump over what you might think reasonable. I shipped a wheelset from Evanston IL to Oshkosh WI recently. I couldn't figure out why both were quoting relatively astronomical prices (about $50). It wasn't until I went to the post office to see what they would charge that the counter person told me my box was too big. I cut it down by a few inches and magically both services' quotes dropped by more than half (< $20).

Only one experience with Shipbikes, but it was very good. $25 to ship a frameset from PA to KS.

I found ship bikes here on the Forums, there was a discussion about pricing. I will be using ship Bikes for a wheelset and have a great quote on a frame so I'll see how it works out.
I got a quote to ship wheels 26x26x6 at 20.00....L.A. to S.F.
Best, Ben

I am getting ready to ship a bike from MD. to Southern California. It is a bike I bought from a member on BF and I am using Shipbikes. I will not use UPS if I have any choice whatsoever. I closed my UPS account this year after 37 years . I used Shipbikes 5 years ago to ship a bike to R.I. for my son-in-law and it was reasonable and the bike arrived without a problem . The cost to go from the east coast to the west coast for a complete bike with insurance(1K) was just over $100. They are going to pick it up, the other member does not have to drop it off. I am just waiting to get a final weight from the seller, I have already entered in the dimensions and figured 35lbs. The bike weighs 22.5lbs. Joe* just waiting on my next bike!*

My experience is that larger bikes in oversize (more than 130" girth x height) boxes are much cheaper through shipBikes.
Example: I'm shipping a 62cm bike in a box that measures 54"x8.5"x32.5" from San Francisco Bay Area to Portland. shipBikes is $77.28. BikeFlights is $142.95.
Brent

Works well so far....

My first experience with ship bikes was when I called for an international quote. I was ready to pay big bucks and they would not take my money. They were aware of various pitfalls with my plan, especially regarding customs. In the end, I took their suggestion and checked the bike on the airline.
Since then, I have received one frame and shipped two on Ship bikes. Quotes have been lower from SB than BF and the shipping process has been easy. They are my first choice.