I admit, its likely been a year since I shipped anything large like a fender or door. But recently I've got some shipping estimates that seem way too high. Has anyone else encountered this? Is it just my part of the country?

 

Plague. Affecting transportation and supply costs on everything.

 

I use to ship a lot of big heavy car parts but no more. Guys want you to pay shipping and crate/box for nothing. I have a saying,I can't help being broke but I can help being broke and tired. No more free shipping from me on anything anymore,cost too much.

 

Well, maybe I need to focus on small stuff for a while. I've always asked the buyer to pay shipping, but when the shipping costs as much as the parts I don't blame them for passing. Maybe if we have another OCA event in the western states like Reno in 2011, maybe I'll consider taking a trailer load to the swap meet.

 

It would be nice to see another OCA national meet out west. They seem to do it every 6 years or so but the last one out "west" was in New Mexico in 2017. With the skipped year in 2020, I'm guessing the next one will be in 2023. Perhaps they could do it in Medford! I'd go for that! As far as shipping costs, it seems to me that packages we mailed out over the holidays seemed more expensive than previously.

Randy C.

 

Small stuff is no better. Shipping costs have blown up. Changed the game for sure. What used to be eight bucks is easy twenty now.

 

Unfortunately we are at the mercy of a duopoly with FedEx & UPS, and until (if ever) that changes, we will continue to be gouged. Lately the ship prices I've been charged on my FedEx account are absolutely absurd. I'm always mindful of not using a box way larger than necessary, trim them down when needed, but it's still a ripoff.

 

Be careful what you ask for. I've been in on planning and execution of three. You'll have a sense of accomplishment but a Nationals will work you to death.

I'm guessing one in PNW would have to be a joint effort by Puget Sound and NorCal chapters.

 

Just to share, you may need to get a USPS account for the option. But they have Regional A and B boxes that can be selected on the web site. A little smaller than medium and large flat rate boxes and a weight limit, but almost half the price.

 

The usps flat rate boxes used to be the best thing going, now i havent used one in so long because the downsized the box and upped the price. Most times i find i can box it myself and ship priorty for way less than their flat rate box or ship UPS.

the regional boxes you mention are a better deal, but theyre only for stuff in your general area ( im not sure what the sevice area is on those) but if im shipping something any distance it doesnt come up as an option.

shipping rant on/ when gas prices went up shipping went way up and they added a dimensional fee, if its a bigger box it cost much more due to size not weight. If its a smaller box that weighs alot guess what you pay for weight not size! Then gas went to cheap and shipping prices stayed up, now covid is impacting everything, shipping will cost more once again. \rant off.

 

Unless shipping something a short distance I've found the USPS flat rate boxes to cost the least for smaller items. They cost the least for me, a retail once in a while shipper; but, the price is still way too much $$$.

Going to look into the UPS account, thanks for the suggestion.

 

UPS will charge for being an occasional shipper unless you meet a quota every month. I use FedEx which is cheaper than UPS to me. You can set up and online account backed with a credit card. You can print your labels,check rates,track your shipment. I haven't had a package damaged yet but I get packages from UPS that look like they have been run over. Just my experience.

 

Well someone has to pay for ups/fedx/usps giving amazon (and others )almost free shipping rates.
but be my guest and keep buying from them.

 

I buy zero from Amazon. I saw no less than 3 USPS delivery trucks yesterday-Sunday delivering Amazon BS.

 

Shipping is most definitely up. I just ordered a 4 x 8 sheet of carbon fiber...Shipping on this pre-pandemic from MO was always around $40, I just payed $80 shipping for this most recent one.

 

Shipping a car has doubled. Shippers blamed the fires on the west coast. Everyone there, moving things, out of the way of the fires. Was going to add another 85 Seville. Waiting now for a real good one closer..700-900 in the spring
now 1400- 1700.

 

I don't understand this. Why is the post office delivering on Sunday a bad thing? It's more jobs and more people employed. And since when is a product from Amazon BS?

I buy from Amazon all the time, and I love it that items can arrive any day of the week. Stuff gets to me that much faster.

 

Amazon ships 1.5 MILLION packages a day. You ship that many a day, and I'll bet you can get a discount, too.

Amazon is moving away somewhat from using UPS and the U.S. mail, anyway. We were on the road over both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we saw LOTS of big rigs with Amazon Prime plastered on each side. I'm surprised it took them this long. Amazon ships so many packages a day that it makes sense for them to operate their own fleet of freight trucks.

 

There's nothing I can't wait till Monday for.

 

Fine, wait until Monday. But why does that mean the post office shouldn't deliver on Sunday for the rest of us? Do you speak for everyone?

 

Can't nobody speak for you,you are the Wizard.

 

That's not too difficult when you make ridiculous statements like criticizing Sunday delivery for no reason at all and call things purchased at Amazon bullshit. Real intelligent.

 

Let me try this,I don't buy from Amazon because Bezos is a douche.

 

OK, I don't necessarily disagree with this, but you have to be careful. LOTS of big company executives can be "douches." If you applied that criterion evenly, you wouldn't buy anything from anyone. After all, wouldn't you consider an executive at, say, AC-Delco a douche if he moved production of his products out of the U.S.? But we still buy AC-Delco products because we want to drive our old cars.

Bezos is picked on all the time because he is so successful. He has so much money that everyone tells him what he should do with it, and they resent it when he doesn't listen. I, for one, think he should pay his lower-level employees more. But that doesn't mean I won't buy from his company as he often has the lowest price, and one doesn't want to cut off one's nose to spite one's face. Is that a bit hypocritical on my part? Yup. But I've got to look out for myself first. Then I'll worry about the rest of the world.

 

Hear! Hear! Especially since he's gotten into publication I don't mind him being a bajillionaire, he saw a need and filled it - but when he decides what is and isn't news, that's when I've enough of his douche-baggery!

 

They are about to have their own airline as well. They just bought 767s so they will be more like Fed Ex and UPS than before.

 

Can you say Antitrust Consent Decree? Might be coming for Google and FaceBook, too.

 

Norm, there's a shipping option on ebay called SmartPost. It travels part of the way with FedEx then the USPS does the actual delivery. I didn't realize UPS is also partnering with the Post Office.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurend...h=459e29835f17

FedEx has ended delivery contracts with Amazon, while UPS looks to increase the retailer's package volume.
Have not had a package delivered by FedEx from Amazon for over a year.

 

Just saying

 

Much of what is sold through amazon is counterfeit.
A company we work with, has had more than a few that customers bought through amazon. be China doll counterfeit .
I will leave it there, as the political side of it isn't for this forum.
So when you are feeding the monster, don't complain about what it cost to ship items.
You saved a buck shopping that way, it will cost you 15 when you need to ship anything. did you save any money? nope, just moved where the debit is on the balance sheet.
But when shippers are making almost zero margin on shipping product for the big outlets like amazon, they have to make up for it somewhere, and YOU when you ship anything are the one they get the higher margin from, To keep the lights on.
The lost of brick and mortar retail, is going to hurt your wallet 10x more than you save, when the services you rely on needs to make up funding they lost from local business, You know like DPW/POLICE/FIRE/ETC.
Some can't see past the end of their nose.

 

U Haul and U Box. After moving here to beautiful St George, UT. In 2019. My girls want to return to Port Isabel,TX. Missing living on the water there. Called U haul to get budget put together. To my horror, the same size truck and car hauler. Is now over $3,300. Two years ago I payed $1,100 for the same! U Box 1,208 two years ago, now 2,265. WTF! Wish I could mark up my charges like that.

 

Another freaking reason I don't buy from Amazon.
https://thefederalist.com/2021/01/22...-takes-office/

 

Shipping costs took me out of the game. Now it is four times at least what it used to be. The shipping these days ends up being more than the part shipped.
I have shipped to damn near every country out there. Today's world? Crazy crazy prices.

 

Despite knowing about their underhanded way of doing business, I used to buy from them, because of the high sales taxes here (19%) of which I found to be even more underhanded, because of where that tax money was being spent.
Amazon, here in Europe, had a deal as to where they were somehow exempt from paying taxes, as if operating in some sort of tax haven. Which is fine by me.
They're also known for not being the most humane employer of which doesen't bother me either, since nobody has to work for them, if they don't want to. Forcing people to organize is also good for their personal charachter and integrity. It at least takes them away from the television screen long enough to make them start thinking, not to mention forcing them to spend less time playing with their cell phones.
The reason as to why I stopped dealing with them was when I ordered a liter of brake fluid, together with the rest of the order whose total sum superceeded the minimum spend which was to earn me free shipping. Assuming that this was an honest mistake on their part, they booked the brake fluid separtately which billed me for separate shipment of the fluid. As I attempted to inform them of this mistake, I had to go through a labarynth of channels leading me nowhere. If they were genuinely concerned about customer is king, they certainly would not have made it impossible to get into contact with them. Since they're now that aloof, I don't now need them either.
Amazon is not the problem. They are only a symptom of the problem In that case, most every other shipper is guilty of the same practice A couple days ago, they broadcasted a documentary on Amazon. They actually started as an on-line book store and then expanded into other items after that. Their tactic was to undercut the prices of their competitors, to the point where they couldn't stay in business selling their stuff at Amazon prices, until one by one, they started falling like domino blocks