How do I ship things that are too big to ship with USPS?

[coonscuriosities]

Hello,

I have two items I would like to put up for sale that I believe may be best shipped through a service other than the USPS because of their size and weight. I am not sure where to begin in planning my shipping strategies for these items. I tried calling FedEx to ask questions about their shipping services but both places turned me away and refused to answer questions. So on my own I tried calculating FedEx and UPS shipping costs on their websites and came up with shipping rates that were between $200 and $300 which didn't seem right. My biggest packages is about 28x28x6 inches and 25 lbs. Which services are best for shipping these somewhat larger items?

Thank you for your time!

[richard1rst · Accepted solution]

UPS and FedEx web sites will quote the "retail" price unless you have a log in account with them.

I just got a quote using both UPS and FedEx for a 28x28x6 package weighing 25 pounds off of eBay's site and it came back as $35.00. I was using 890xx to 453xx. Not exactly cross country.

Then I went to Pirateship and pulled a quote for the same box going from 890xx to 021xx a (more of a true cross country shipment) and got a quote of $40.00.  PS doesn't offer FedEx.

If it is going to a P O Box which lets out UPS and FedEx then Parcel Select was $85.84 and Priority Mail was $95.28.

[nobody*s_perfect]

For large packages, all carriers have a "dimensional weight" formula.

If you ship via USPS Parcel Select Ground, the postage cost will be $25.48 - $85.84 depending on distance.  If you can't figure out the cost to ship via another service, then you should go with that.  Have you tried eBay's shipping calculator?

http://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

[a_c_green]

---

@coonscuriosities wrote:

I have two items I would like to put up for sale that I believe may be best shipped through a service other than the USPS because of their size and weight.

---

You didn't say what these items are, but you might want to consider whether Local Pickup Only would be a better option. If you ship them and they arrive damaged, you may be on the hook for a full refund, plus return shipping costs if you want to get the item back first before refunding the buyer.

[stainlessenginecovers]

Sounds like a Tire w/ Rim; Shipping from CA to NY would be $95 (retail per USPS website). They will ship that size. USPS 'Parcel' or 'Ground' shows $77 (not avail on line)

[nobody*s_perfect]

If you use the eBay shipping calculator (see link above) rather than the USPS web site, you can check online prices as well as retail prices.

Yes, the proposed package at 28x28x6 is not too large for USPS; it's even within the size limit for Priority Mail, which is considerably lower than the limit for ground services. USPS ground shipping is available online.

[stainlessenginecovers]

I believe you; I just always check anything with the real deal as we all know ebay never has issues

[nobody*s_perfect]

Except the USPS web site is the retail deal.  

The new USPS rates that went into effect on January 9 have substantially  reduced prices for Parcel Select Ground but not for Retail Ground, so it's important for a seller to investigate the services that they would actually use. I've never known the eBay shipping calculator to make an error, probably because it plugs directly into USPS data on rates.

[soh.maryl]

There are some things that are better to be listed with local pickup only.

You haven't told us exactly what these things are, so that's about all the advice I have to offer.