Will UPS do a free pickup if I buy the label through ebay and provide tracking?

[annadryl]

Their webpage is pretty vague and I don't have much recent experience with UPS but I'd need to go with them for this one (a guitar). I usually use USPS but that would be super expensive. I would like to buy the label through ebay to use the pending funds. But my connection is slow and their site is... Well, I'll just ask here. Thanks~

[greatmidwestcoin]

UPS won't pick up anything for free from my experience unless you have a UPS business account.

[wastingtime101]

No @annadryl but if you have an account with pirateship check out the rates to schedule a UPS pickup through them. Depending on your area and how far in advance you're scheduling, should only be about $4-ish. Lowest UPS pickup rate I've found so far. You can buy the label through eBay and schedule the pickup through pirateship, but you will have to provide a CC to pay for any transactions (pickups, labels, etc) done through pirateship.

[annadryl]

Thanks @wastingtime101  I just might go that way, sounds reasonable enough. There is a UPS hub in town but I don't want to lug this huge box over there, I'd pay a fee for a pick up. And I would prefer to buy the label through ebay out of convenience. I use USPS all the time with no issues but this one they would be double the cost which is too much for the cost of the item.

[wastingtime101]

No prob, let me know how it works out in the end. And if you have any other UPS questions feel free to tag me.

Keep in mind: purchasing the UPS label through eBay you'll be shown an estimate upfront but won't be billed until after delivery so if your plan is to use pending funds, you'll have to have pending funds available when that charge comes through.

If funds are sent to you on Tuesday with your payout then make sure they're available through your backup payment method in case you don't have new sales with pending funds when the charge comes through. I didn't look at your profile to check out your sales flow and volume. Just wanted to make sure you had info on the process and what to expect.

[rfmtm]

Just to add, while an on call pickup is not free, they will pickup free if they have to stop anyway to deliver something to you.   Also, unlike FedEx, you can hand the package to any UPS driver you might see stopped anywhere.  Besides official UPS stores, any shipping store that handles UPS will take it too.

[annadryl]

Follow-up and a question>

I scheduled a pickup through PS and UPS picked it up and it was shipped fast and no issues. I even got a feedback from the buyer. That was several days ago.

When do they actually bill me?

I paid with pending funds to get it out quick (it did) but now I'd like to pay the shipping off. It's been a good transaction so far, I hadn't shipped a guitar in years. I know it will be more than the measly $46 quote, I charged more than that for the shipping...

Thanks again~

[wastingtime101]

Currently UPS labels are billed after the package is delivered. I think UPS bill comes through within about 2 weeks from delivery but I'm not 100% sure. (I haven't purchased a UPS label through eBay in several years - I get them from PirateShip and Stamps.com.) Currently you should see the estimated cost on the transaction, and once you're billed the actual cost, it will be deducted from your eBay funds.

Starting this month, eBay is transitioning sellers to a different process. UPS/FedEx labels will be billed at time of purchase, so you can look forward to that in the near future.

[rfmtm]

If your PS means PirateShip, why didn't you buy the label there?  PS has upfront billing and usually lower prices than ebay, with no surprise charges later.