Incoming Shipments from UPS Stores-Anyone Else Experiencing Problems?
We get a lot of our inventory items from online auctions. We are seeing serious problems with shipments from UPS stores. Two major shipments had gross overstatements of package size charges and overstuffing packages with bubble wrap to further inflate sizes.
8 comments
gatafish
·9 months agoI almost never buy anything anymore through on line auctions especially if it involves the UPS Store to ship items out. 2 years ago I got 12 rare airplane engines which I resell that were on a on line auction. Only 2 1/2 hour drive away so about $50 of gas to pick items up and told auction house I would do pick up. 4 engines were a little bigger but I could still have put all 12 engines in a 18"x18" box and shipped Fedex anywhere in the main U.S. for around $50 or $30 in surrounding states and about $5 of packing material. I spent $1,000 on the engines and with auction fees and taxes my bill was around $1,350 with no complaints there. When I went to pick them up from the auction house they said they made a mistake and had already sent them to the UPS store. He called the UPS Store and they had already boxed up the engines and they had $200 in packing materials. The auction house said since they made the mistake they would cover the $200 packing fee. I thought surely that $200 had to include the shipping fee too but it didn't. When I went to pick them up at the UPS Store they carried out 4 big 20" by 20" boxes that were double boxed with a 1" air space between the boxes. I wanted to make sure auction house had paid packing fee and asked if owed anything. They said no the packing fee was paid and since I am picking the boxes up I don't owe the $500 shipping charge it would have cost to ship them 150 miles. $700 for 12 items that I could have put in a single 18"x18"x18" box and shipped for under $50. The great thing is that I had enough bubble wrap to last me for 3 months. Unless its in house shipping or I can pick items up I will never buy anything ever again on a online auction.
shire123
·9 months agoThat is certainly a great example of how high UPS store shipping can be. Had a similar instance a few years ago of about 8 larger model airplanes that cost as much to ship as the planes actually cost.
kibble-net
·9 months agoYes it's going to cost more to have the UPS Store pack your items for you, than if you were to do it yourself.
The flipside is that if you DON'T pay them to pack your shipment, UPS will refuse to pay any insurance claims that are damage related.
Solution? Pack it yourself, and use a third party insurer i.e. ShipCover
slati_2013
·9 months agoI also use UPS stores for shipping of auctions I have won. First thing I consider before even bidding is the potential weight of the items and distance from me. It has to be worth it for me to bid. Closer to you the cheaper it is. Further away from you, the more expensive it is. The heavier the items, the more expensive it is. More boxes, packing, more expensive.
I have been doing this for so long now, I know when to bid or pass up auctions simply because the shipping does not make it worth it. Got to ask yourself after all bills have been paid for the auction and shipping added, will you get your money back? If not, then pass up on the auction. And yes, the prices can be reasonable to out right scary. Once they have picked up the items, you have no choice but to pay.
Also, it does not hurt to ask if shipping is available. Sometimes you get lucky.
shire123
·9 months agoI'm in the same boat. I also see that if a UPS store is the primary shipper, while they do a great job packing everything their charges are much higher than they need to be.
But as in all things sellers need to factor in ALL costs in acquiring items. While I prefer auction houses that do in-house shipping or use shipping saint, sometimes the items are so desirable that I just have to realize that shipping the items is going to be more than "usual".
tobaccocardyahoo
·9 months agoI hate some of the auctioneers on live auction sites who do not do in-house shipping. The quality of the shipping stores they use varies greatly, and some of them have a limited number of box sizes, and you pay dimensional pricing through them,
I no longer buy from auctioneers that are not doing their own in house shipping or using Shipping Saint.
slippinjimmy
·9 months agoWhat kind of online auction house ships from a UPS store and not from their own account with their own printed labels?
wmsakalaucks
·9 months agoQuite a few do now. About 60-80%.