Shipping costs??

[greenacres2]

I've got a few tools (2 planers and a jointer for starters--i should have been doing some selling/trading as i went along!!!) that i was going to put on CL figuring that shipping could get expensive. Was looking at e-bay pricing for reference, and i might do better on e-bay, especially with the Dewalt 733 planer. And, i've got a box that would be perfect for shipping.

So...i looked at UPS, plugged in ZIP Code 90210 (never watched the TV show, but the continental US doesn't get much farther from NW Indiana so i use that ZIP as an estimator). Box is 21 X 17 x 21 tall, and i guessed the weight at 65 pounds. UPS Ground came back at $70, which wasn't far off what i guessed in my head ($60 +/-). As a private seller, i need to recover that cost direct which really adds to the cost to the bidder.

Makes me wonder what kind of break some companies get on their shipping. CPO with somewhere between free and $7 on some pretty heavy items comes to mind. I realize they have some room in the margin on retail pricing (and that "free" isn't really free, it's more like "complimentary"!!), but even with the full 45' or 53' trailers they load up, it's hard to believe they could get billed half of $70 and still get by with charging me $7. Just wondering...

earl

[cwsmith]

I can't speak to specifics, but when I was working, my company was always in negotiation on shipping costs. Not for product (our stuff needed flat bed trucks and occasionally rail cars), but for daily parts and office-use materials like supplies, marketing stuff, etc.

Price ranges could be markedly changed from one quarter to the next. One of our "Employee Involvement Teams" was quite successful in some real cost savings for the company. But, these kinds of deals generally come because of the great volume we required.

You look at someone like Grizzly and their shipping charges seem to be a real bargain. On the other hand, several years ago I was looking for a small prefab outbuilding and one manufacturer (in Michigan, IIRC) had a flat $1400 shipping charge... no matter where in the country it would be shipped. Ridiculous from the point of view that I lived a lot closer than someone in Florida or Southern California, but the charge was still the same, thus almost doubling the overall cost.

CWS

[LCHIEN]

that Dewalt 733 planer might be more than 65 pounds...

I suspect that some merchants like Amazon for example who do a lot of shipping probably negotiate some rates or have specified discount schedules based upon the last months volume of business. Or perhaps they get breaks for slower than usual shipping (e.g. 2 weeks) where the items may ship on a space available basis. THey have the clout to do it and so when they get these big breaks then they in turn offer free ground shipping. (like Amazon says it may take up to two weeks).

[Rslaugh]

The company I just left on Thursday gets a 50% discount off of UPS rates.

[cabinetman]

I try to avoid ordering from suppliers that require shipping costs. Most of mine are local, and they call them delivery costs. Usually, if the order is large enough, they deliver free. Many have minimum order amounts.

.

[Black wallnut]

I can tell you first had shipping costs vary a bunch depending on origin and destination. I work for a west coast large truck load carrier. LTL which is what your are talking about is not as volatile in pricing but it is true that volume shippers get much better deals than we do walking into the UPS store. UPS consumer rates are nuts. In 48 state legal transportation most carriers can haul a minimum of 43,000 lbs in a single 53' trailer. The private seller simply can't compete with new sellers like Amazon. I would guess Amazon tells their carriers what they will pay and UPS, FEDEX and USPS say thanks for your business.

[LCHIEN]

... I would guess Amazon tells their carriers what they will pay and UPS, FEDEX and USPS say thanks for your business.

I'm guessing that's a good guess.

[greenacres2]

Yep, that's kind of what i figured. I still haven't gotten anything listed for sale yet, but at least i cleaned the sawdust and took pictures last week. Pics are still the same, sawdust grew back!!

earl