I have to ship out two 15 lb boxes, medium sized (est 18x14x12). Which carrier is cheapest?

Fedex Ground. Always.

I have compared. ..and usually. . .Fedex Ground (not the express services) BUT. . .

note make sure you pack it well because they seem to make you jump through hoops if you get insurance (or don't get it. . .they make A LOT of mistakes and then they denied my claim sayin it wasn't their fault since it was "internal" damage). . .

then either USPS or UPS is next cheapest. ..

I've never tried DHL since they SUCK big time. . .

go to the website for each and as long as you have the weight, dimensions to and from zip codes you can get an estimate.

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2006 01:57PM by NewtonMP2100.

...if all of your content qualifies.

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Newt, I don't know your experience, but I've never had any hoops with Fedex. You get $100 insurance automatically, but I usually cover for more than that. I've had one svhs edit deck get destroyed in shipment, Fedex covered it within 14 days. They shipped the unit back and sent me a check.

Ah, sorry, you just edited

Media mail is cheaper BUT only if time is not a concern. . .sometimes it can take 3 weeks to a month for the package to get delivered.

Also, media mail can get "banged up". . .Only use it is the ship to address is close to you. . .

If your in NY and shipping to CA it might take 2 weeks to get there.


blusubaru,

I paid for insurance for a computer and cushioned it very well. It arrived in operable. ..

they arranged for pickup to examine it. . .I waited. . .then they had to arrange for another pickup because they could not find the original report.


Most of this took over a month period. . .then they denied the claim because it was internal damage. They could see no outer damage so they said it was not their fault.

Something can't be damaged with no outside visible sign of damage? makes no sense.

I will still use them but not for "fragile" stuff or stuff that requires insurance. .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Sorry, forgot to mention that contents would not qualify as media mail.
Fedex site shows the cheapest rates. For 15lb 18x14x12 box, incl pick-up:

FedEx Grnd (I think the site quote incl pickup charge)
$9.07 (10.68 for 20lbs)

DHL
$12.46 ea (14.07 for 20lbs)

UPS Gnd
$16.10 (18.36 for 20lbs)

I'm surprised, because a few boxes of similar size/wts I've taken in to Kinko's, have been a good amount higher than what I'm now seeing on the FedEx Grnd page. Aren't they supposed to have the same rates?

They didn't say what was in the boxes. There's a lot of
restrictions on Media Mail and they do on occasion open them
and check them out.

From USPS.com: "Media Mail® service is a cost efficient way to
mail books, sound recordings, recorded video tapes, printed
music, and recorded computer-readable media (such as CDs,
DVDs, and diskettes). Media Mail can not contain advertising
except for incidental announcements of books. The maximum
weight for Media Mail is 70 lbs."

As far as FedEx, I've shipped a boatload of stuff with them
and they damaged one shipment but the idiot on the receiving
end refused to file with FedEx and wanted me to pay off, but I
refused and that's another story.

FedEx Ground is by far the least expensive ground Carrier.

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Grateful11

I'm surprised at this-- I've usually found Fedex to be more expensive than either UPS or USPS ... usually USPS is cheapest for me. Maybe it's at least partially dependent on ship-from and -to locations?

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

note that Fedex Ground is separate from the other FedEx services. ..and 99% of the time they are cheaper. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Even though they are "in family", I think Kinkos gets a pretty substantial fee on top of what Fed Ex gets. Fed Ex gets theirs, and Kinkos gets theirs, too.

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Don't ask who the bell's for, dude. It's you.

I asked a distribution Fedex employee why they are always cheapest one time, she had no idea. She did say that they do carry a lot of USPS's shipments though and for small packages (priority mail size) it is cheaper to go USPS. But like Newt said, 99% of the time they are the cheapest. I whole-heartedly agree!

just to add. . .I only use them for larger packages. . .I dont' compare for smaller packages. . .I usually used USPS for those.

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Sscutchen, I think you're right. Unfortunately I don't know where my Kinko's receipt is (that I added the box dimensions on) to directly compare, but I know the Kinko's bill was a good amount more expensive than the approx same #'s I have since punched in to the FedEx website. The Kinko's guy told me FedEx would charge the same if I carried in to their recv'g center, but I don't believe it.

I have shipped printers with similar dimentions and weight. From CA to NY. $26 shipping by UPS, $21 by FEDex ground. UPS has better tracking and is accurate most of the time. (From my experiences).

Carm

FWIW, USPS is the only carrier I've used that has never lost or damaged a shipment. One small box from Indiana to California got mysteriously delayed for a week, but everything else has been on the dot. Great prices, especially with smaller goodies that fit into one of their standard boxes. Insurance and delivery confirmation are cheap.

You can't track it in detail, and sometimes the customer service is a bit lacking, but by jiminy, stuff gets there. It's about the only option for some addresses and usually by far the cheapest/only option for reasonably priced international shipments.

UPS, FedEx, and DHL/Airborne are all package-losing-and-squashing scum, but if you held a gun to my head, I would use FedEx (never at a Kinko's, though).

You can't make too many blanket statements, because your experiences are highly dependent on the individuals at your local terminal. Bad things usually happen at the beginning or end of a journey, and a good delivery driver or terminal manager can make a big difference.