geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Crake on Mon, 16 April 2012, 08:29:02
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I need to ship a keyboard back to Unicomp. I figured people here would have experience with shipping.
Which carrier is generally cheapest for shipping the weight and size of these keyboard and box plus insurance?
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Usps parcel post should be cheapest. I'd get delivery confirmation tho.
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Thanks.
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I checked, I guess Fedex is cheapest. Its quote is 11.47 as opposed to USPS at 11.17 but I think the Fedex includes confirmation and insurance, whereas the USPS would charge extra. UPS is around $13
So I am not missing a cheaper 4th option?
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Never ever ship UPS. Now keyboards aren't a fragile product most of the time. Although any way you spin it you dont want broken stems or anything in general on any board.
NEVER SHIP ANY COMPUTER HARDWARE THROUGH UPS.
I worked at UPS for over 2 years in one of their distribution centers, if you go to UPS's website they have a hidden disclaimer and it states "All Boxes are Subject to a 20 foot Drop" and that is very true. The delivery drivers you see treating boxes like crap is nothing, the facilities is where all the damage comes from. People chuck, kick, and stomp boxes to get them to fit into trucks and semis. Boxes get thrown around by "separators" on conveyor belts over 20 feet in the air which 1 out of 3 boxes are falling that 20 feet. I had over $600 worth of hardware come DOA when i shipped my old rig components through them.
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Kishy - never had a problem with UPS in the states. I hear FedEx has a worse reputation but I don't think I've ever personally had to deal with a busted package from them.
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Wow.
I have used UPS for years and had great experience. Of course, I am careful to pack my boxes very well. From Atlanta, they deliver in-state next day, 2 at most. In nearby neighboring states, it is 2-3 days, but can easily be a week to the West Coast. The prices start low and climb quickly through those increments, too.
My experience is that the Post Office is pretty good, and relatively cheap, also offering Priority "flat rate" box shipping that is a dependable fixed amount (2 boards easily fit). Delivery Confirmation is easy if the delivery is domestic, otherwise, forget it. My few experiences with PO insurance have been dreadful.
FedEx usually seems most expensive but their tracking is superb. They may be the slowest of the 3, but not by much. Too bad that they are the least convenient for me.
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We provide the same day courier Delivery services Dallas (https://deliveryservicedallas.com/). This work is challenging because we have to handle various kinds of packages. Some of them contain hard stuff but some of them have quite delicate products and this is why we have come across best methods to dispatch all of them without any damage. The staff also works to provide best experience to the customers.
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We provide the same day courier Delivery services Dallas (https://deliveryservicedallas.com/). This work is challenging because we have to handle various kinds of packages. Some of them contain hard stuff but some of them have quite delicate products and this is why we have come across best methods to dispatch all of them without any damage. The staff also works to provide best experience to the customers.
Tell us more.... :spam:
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
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This is not always the case but when it comes to retail pricing, the following is generally true:
Less than 10lbs: USPS
Between 10-20lbs: FedEX
Over 20lbs: UPS
This is not always the case but the rule is usually true for me. I have business accounts with all three but since I am not a high-volume shipper my discounts are still pretty aligned to the above.
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Honestly I don't use UPS and Fedex because USPS is usually cheaper. More reliable (anecdotally) I'd say too. Internationally I've had luck with DHL.
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I honestly don't use those. It's hard to trust and choose a quality forwarding company that ship internationally. I personally had experience with other shipping company like BRI sea freight (http://www.brint.com.au/services/freight-forwarding/sea-freight) Australia that is fast and very cheap. You might want to look for a friend that can help you ship those keyboards.
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In the past few months I had 1 or 2-off experiences with all of the following:
UPS - Timely enough, but agree with others re: care taken by deliverers. One time (2 years ago) had package lost during holiday season and then had it turn up under an employee's UPS desk or something (corporate/mgmt people contacted me about it) .. and then had to go pick it up in person from local UPS warehouse.. and then had the contents of package fail pretty early in (though doubt can attribute that to UPS vs the product itself (a laptop)). Seems like they caught a seasonal employee stealing packages and recovered mine or something - total delay was about 2 weeks though. Another time more recently (5-6 months ago), had ordered some furniture and they delivered it to my neighbor across the street instead of to me. Carrying it across the street was kind of a PITA .. not a huge mess-up for my situation but could be for others.
FedEx - Only had experience with their International Priority shipping lately their ground service is TERRIBLE also (see edit below) but their priority shipping (which is bit more expensive than budget) is amazing; from the minute I ordered something from Korea, it was on my doorstep within 3 days (2 of which were weekends, so 1 business day; ordered Thursday evening at 10pm EST and on my doorstep 7am on Monday). Can't reason about their handling since the product wasn't fragile enough to assess for issues. A number of years ago I think I remember using their domestic/budget service (?) and that was not nearly as good, though (can't remember what/why; probably delays).
USPS - No issues, reliable & fast IMO.
DHL - The package got to me eventually but was delayed by 2 days (7 instead of 5), can't reason too much about handling though (speed copper switches in a plastic bag within cardboard box - maybe a few had bent pins, cardboard box largely in its original shape tho). I disliked DHL the most due to the delay(s) and lack of info as I kept refreshing the tracking page quite frequently. To be sure, other shippers had many delays as well, but they were on the retailer's side. Reflecting after having written this, I'd probably opt for DHL over UPS though; though I have never had DHL ship anything worth more than $50 to me so I can't really give an apples to apples comparison on their reliablity for such things..
Based on this, for shipping a keyboard (aka ~$300 product?), would say FedEx >= USPS >> UPS = DHL. Tho not sure - pls take others' opinions/experiences.
*EDIT*: I take this back, supposed to receive FedEx Ground package today - marked as delivered but not there (few minutes after marked delivery time) - probably delivered to wrong address (not direct neighbors). Agree though that all priority services >>> ground/economy services.
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USPS First class is cheapest. Could perhaps arrive damaged,good on insurance. ifyou obtained it. Next expensive UPS ground, likely to kill it, good luck getting insurance. Most expensive, FEDEX, insurance no questions asked. I only use FEDEX air on something over $500USD, DHL if overseas, very good if you use a customs broker only but then $$$.
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Unfortunately you can't ship a keyboard by USPS first class, at least not in the US, since the weight limit for that is only 1 pound. I almost always send keyboards in a Priority Mail Flat Rate board game box. It's about $18, and I can use paper or something cheaper or heavier for packing material, since I don't have to worry about weight. As a bonus, when I order a case of them from the post office, I end with enough extra boxes that I don't care if my kids take a few for whatever art project or fort they want to make.
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I forgot this! How cheap do people need to be? It baffles me that people do not insure an expensive item either to save a few bucks.