The Shipping Thread
 

I just shipped a frame and got some sticker shock. It cost significantly more than I expected. Hence this thread.

If you would, please share tips and stories on shipping bikes, framesets and parts, including:
- How much should it cost to ship a bike, a frameset, a small part? Within the continental US.
- How do you get that price? Box dimensions, choice of shipper, etc?
- How do you pack a bike or frameset or small part for shipping?
- How do you insure, or not?
- Any bad stories of loss or damage?
- Any good stories of great packing, rapid delivery, pleasant surprises?

A smaller sized road frame (with fork removed) can be put into a custom-made box small enough to be within the Post Office max size limit. Even with over packing, the weight won't go much over 10 lbs, resulting in about a $25-35 rate.
Whole bikes are another story.

Check where you work. Many business are afforded a much lower tariff than if you were to walk directly into UPS, FedEx or DHL. See if you boss will let you use their account (get a quote) and then just pay them back. I've done this several times and our business rates are about 1/3 to 1/2 of what you'd pay trying to ship it yourself.

I have shipped frames as large as 25 inch in a 108 inch box (girth plus length). Check USPS parcel select rates, but it is in the $20 to $25 range. Cross the 108 inch size, and rate goes up a lot (like double to triple).

Bike boxes are a LOT bigger than 108. You have to cut them down in all three directions: height, length and depth. I have a before and after pic of a cut down box on my Facebook bike page.

Note, 90% of what I know about packing a bike came from Miami Jim, the other 10% from Randy Jawa. Do a search for Jim's packing thread, its worth a read!

In the 108 inch and smaller size, I find the post office has the lowest rate. From 108 inch to 132 inch, Fed Ex has the best rate (open a Fed Ex account first, through your ebay account). Over 108? Cost goes way out.

Don't forget to cut the depth of the box! A lot of boxes are 8 inches deep (measured on the outside). The girth measurement doubles the height and depth. Cut the box down to 6 inches. Because of this "Doubling", that saves you four inches against the 108 limit.

My last shipment I cut the box down shoe box style. That means two pieces, a bottom section and a lid. What a PITA. But it allowed me to fit a 25 inch frame set in, no problem. Up until then, the largest frame set I fit in a 108 inch box was a 24 inch.

I too am looking for good shipping options. A friend suggested Bicycle Shipping | Bike Shipping Company | Bike Shipping | Bicycle Travel Insurance | Bicycle Boxes-Cases | BikeFlights.com , has anyone tried this? The initial price quotes I get from this are WAY better than our neighborhood shipping store but haven't carried it all the way through.

I opened a commercial account with FedEx, rates seem fair.

If you have to use their box, the box alone costs $150…..

I used this when I shipped my sons to UT from WI. If I recall it was about $50 - my box and dropped off. I played with the size numbers after I got the box and also shipped to his work. Also looked up the Miami Jim thread for packing.

The Best Lowest Bicycle Shipping in America and Worldwide | ShipBikes

i've used greyhound twice at a bit over $40, for whole bikes shipped more than half-way across the continent.

i used fedex once for about the same distance. it initially cost about $150, but they made a mistake and only charged me a pickup fee of $12.

i get free medium-sized road bike boxes from bike shops that sell new bikes.

to pack, i remove the seatpost/saddle, front wheel, front caliper, and pedals, remove the stem/bars (and place atop the top tube), and turn the fork around.

Its seems to be a matter of how far down you want to take your bike apart - Smallest dimensions being the frame with the wheels, fork, crank, and derailleur removed - This can sometimes get you down to 30" to 40" ball park - It also might be worth it to ship the frame and wheels in separate boxes - Knew someone who did this when taking a bike on a flight and only got charged for two extra bags at 25$ each instead of an over size item at 130$...

If you can have it dropped off and picked up at an Amtrak Station, it's a great deal at around $80 boxed and shipped from any Amtrak in the US to any other Amtrak in the US. You roll the bike into a box that only really requires you to take off the pedals and rotate the handlebars around.
I had a mixte shipped from Colorado to California that way. I only had to put the pedals back on, and rotate/tighten the stem and the bike was back in riding condition.

Steve

My most recent bike shipment was a 24" Centurion Diamondback (no wheels) west coast to Ohio, and the cheapest I could get it out was $46, but ONLY by "selling" it through eBay. The guy that bought it from me here on our For Sale forum agreed to re-buy it from me again for a dollar on eBay, and from there I bought shipping on FedEx ground, with the built-in eBay sellers discount. Adding the wheelset would have made the box bigger and probably $10-20 more to ship.

By contrast, the bike shipping website quoted me $63 for the box I had it in and USPS was a rather absurd $132. This was a little over a month ago.

http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...ike-101-a.html

As a buyer, if a seller told me he was going to ship a bike via Greyhound or Amtrak I'd tell to forget it. I'm not driving to the bus terminal or train station...NFW.

As a seller, if a buyer told me to ship a bike a via Greyhound or Amtrak I'd tell him to forget it. I'm not driving to a bus terminal or train station...NFW

For complete bicycles FedEx is the way to go. If properly packaged it will get there safely and in a timely matter.
For framesets that fit in a 108" box it a toss up between USPS and FedEx. Expensive frames that need insurance go FedEx, lesser frames go USPS.

Maybe 2 boxes on an airplane for travel but not for routine shipping. A frame barely fits in a 108" box and wheels barley fit in a 79" box. Those 2 boxes combined will cost more than a single 130" box.

I routinely ship bikes from Tampa to the west coast for $85 via FedEx. If anyone is shipping a bike and it costs more than that your either doing it wrong or shipping a tank.

+1. My wife works at a school that's big enough to have a mail room with two full time employees. They can send stuff out by UPS for remarkably cheap; they get a different rate from UPS because they do all the hard work of entering packages into the system. I can send a frame for ten bucks or so.

If your employer has a mail room, befriend the people who work there. It's worth it!

Paying off someone in the mail room...what a concept. No thanks, I like my job.

Oh, no, I think you misunderstand. I'm not suggesting anything illegal, unethical, or surreptitious. No bribery, no baksheesh, unless you count a plate of cookies around Christmas or something like that. In my case, the mail room sends packages for students and faculty as part of their job. Granted, I am a member of the greater community and one could argue they have no obligation to help me out in this way; so I make it a point to be very nice to them. But then again, I'm nice to pretty much everyone.

+1 I fired two guys for using the company UPS to ship personal items (at the company's expense). So be careful with this one. Note, I am not suggesting that was the recommendation.

I'm surprised at how cheap you people in the USA can move velo around the continent. International shipping — and I am think of stuff shipping via Postes KanaDuh in particular — appears to have jumped over the moon!

I just shipped a vintage mountain bike to New Zealand with bike flights.com and was very pleased. The buyer is a collector and was willing to pay his usual $800 for shipping from the US, bikeflights got it done for just over $600 and I dropped it off at a Office Max and he received it at his home in 5 days!

How about to England? Fed ex ground or USPS? My package is 40x23x8, is that too big for usps? I have a fed ex account and normally just ship fed ex continental. I believe I read somewhere that usps is cheaper over seas. Thanks

Boxes? We don't need no stinkin' boxes!

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4c70e64a.jpg

^Shared by a member of the CR list: https://www.flickr.com/photos/makfre...7638044964926/
--
+1 to checking with your employer. We have forms and a policy of allowing it. I don't abuse it (you'd be surprised how many pairs of Zappos pass through my office), but once in a while I will take advantage of the low rates. For whatever reason it is impossible to get tracking info for USPS packages where I work, so I send packages via UPS Ground through my office. A little slower than USPS if going across the country, but very reliable. I paid less than $10 to ship my Speedwell frame from CA to NH, but we do a lot of shipping and probably negotiated very good rates.

About ten years ago I shipped a heavy three speed Columbia bike. UPS wanted $120. I decided to drive over to fedex, and got the same bike shipped, same day same box, For $42. Definitely shop around! I have found that fedex is generally cheaper most times.,,,,BD

I did ask about shipping my flathead water pumps to a rebuilder, through my work. They had no issues with it, but it still cost $23 to ship them from Houston to FL. It was a 25 pound box though, so not that bad I guess.

If shipping a frame, flat screen TV boxes work well and be found on trash night!