Cheapest way to ship skis/bindings?

[GapersGoHome]

Went down to UPS today and the kid behind the counter weighed, measured, and told me it would be $122 to ship to San Diego from Reno. WTF?

Who should I go with, or is he smoking crack?

[dfinn]

FedEx ground always worked best for me for large packages. I've shipped skis x-country before for around $20.

[Mr. Toad]

USPS Priority is usually cheapest.

^^^ except that time when dfinn got a quote to send me skis via USPS for something ridiculously high

[dfinn]

USPS Priority is usually cheapest except when your package goes over their size "restrictions". Then the price sky rockets.

[mtskier]

Went down to UPS today and the kid behind the counter weighed, measured, and told me it would be $122 to ship to San Diego from Reno. WTF?

Who should I go with, or is he smoking crack?

he is smoking crack. sure, the bindings make the package larger and heavier, but it should only be around $30-40. are you sure he was quoting you ground prices? i would suggest packing up the skis yourself in as small a box as possible and then go to UPS. you can always print your own label and then drop if off at UPS.

[Bandit Man]

FedEx ground is the way to go. No union labor + no special handling fees for items that don't fit on conveyor belts well (won't make the turns and therefore need to be hand-carried to the truck, according to UPS) means cheaper shipping. They are also pretty liberal on what constitutes an oversized package. I have yet to exceed it and shipped lots of stuff over the past few seasons.

[SkiBumOfVT]

Alright heres another question, How do I find a cheap ski box that I can send skis in? I don't want to go to a UPS Store and buy one from them for $20... Or is that my only option?

[AsheanMT]

Alright heres another question, How do I find a cheap ski box that I can send skis in? I don't want to go to a UPS Store and buy one from them for $20... Or is that my only option?

Go to a local ski shop. Most shops have started to receive their new skis and most likely have a few boxes laying around.

[Mr. Toad]

Alright heres another question, How do I find a cheap ski box that I can send skis in? I don't want to go to a UPS Store and buy one from them for $20... Or is that my only option?

Buy new skis.

[ono]

easy way- just cut cardboard a little over twice the width of the skis in as long strips as you can get. bubble/foam wrap skis, fold cardboard over. lots of packing tape. bindings in a seperate small box (or carry with to destination if you're going there). just my .02

by the way, UPS is more expensive some times- but they have a waaaay better track record than Fedex from what i know. again, just my .02.

[alewi11]

I've actually found DHL to be the cheapest. I've shipped several pairs of skis and they're always $5-10 cheaper than even USPS.

[JakeK-T]

for what it's worth i've had ski's shipped from Montana to Australia for under 60 with usps. no box, just wrapped in bubble and cardboard. took 3 days. and yeh, bindings separately helps

[scarlet begonias]

Just got a pair of skis in the mail with bindings on 'em that shipped USPS. He only charged me ~$30 shipping.

$122 is butt rape.

[Jonathan S.]

Went down to UPS today[...]

UPS, or a "UPS Store"?
(big difference!)
Recent example for shipping a bike box across the country:
UPS Store = $200
UPS = $80

[ACHTUNG]

^^^Yes, UPS Store fucks you in da ass. Just do Fedex ground.

[Jonathan S.]

Just do Fedex ground.

Or just pack, measure, and weigh the package carefully at home, then pay and print up the label at home from ups.com, and drop off at a UPS Store (which still collects a small fee, but from UPS, not from you).

[mntlion]

the use (everyone does) dimensional weight. so even a few cm less in width = less shipping costs.

for skis and bindings, I ship with the bases out, tip to tail, so the bindings nest inside each other. that and tape the brakes down too.

[freezed]

I always use USPS. Like mntlion said - they calculate it by the volume of the box, so pack them like he said, and make sure the box isn't any longer than it needs to be.

Haha, when I lived in LA for a year, I sold a pair of skis and had to ship them...I took them to a post office in south central (a pretty ghetto area), everyone was staring at me, the cashier said there was no way they could ship them...I had to have her go get the manager of the place and convince him that yes, USPS could ship a box that shape. Strange experience. When they finally agreed to though, it was only like $25 bucks.

[avacadotoast]

Yo GGH...the fed ex place here in town is sweet. Never crowded, friendly help, easy as hell.

From my experience Fed Ex ground is cheaper than USPS for shorter distances - should be $15-20 to San Diego.

[bobski]

$122 to SD is crack-zone alrighty.

USPS.com works great for Priority or Express. If you want to send Parcel Post go the the paypal.com "multi-ship" add-on. Leave for the mailman to pick-up.

For UPS Get yourself a ups.com account & bill to a cc. Input dimensions that do not get you into large package territory. Print out label. Hand em to a driver or bring to UPS (a pick-up cost $3-4 extra).

Should be $25-30 either way.

IME USPS is pickier about sizes and weights than UPS. USPS returned helmet a I had shipped in a wine box (fits nice BTW) since it violated the "no alcohol label policy". I'm pretty sure UPS would not have cared.

Fed-Ex Ground is a franchise & most drivers do not work directly for FedEx. Thus they tend to beat the shit out of packages. Also they used to tack on an extra $11/per week when you infrequently ship.. so I quit using them.

I'm in San Diego if you need assistance.

[Mathematics]

USPS has always done me right. Almost always the cheapest for shipping to AK, I've had a couple pairs of ski's shipped up to me for under $40/pair.

[Jonathan S.]

If you want to send Parcel Post [...]

That drops the level of service way down, especially given the relatively small price increase for Priority Mail. (An economist who used to serve as an expert witness on postal rate hearings told me all sorts of horror stories about Parcel Post.)

Fed-Ex Ground is a franchise & most drivers do not work directly for FedEx.

Just to clarify, drivers for FedEx Ground (formerly RPS, a UPS direct competitor) are classified as independent contractors, although they have challenged the notion of their supposed "independence" in numerous lawsuits (i.e., asserting they are legally required to be retained as employees).

[thin cover]

30 is cheap I just paid 55 to ship to khaki, but they were pow pluses with 997's and the box dimensions were large. It goes by dimensions for sure. So make sure the box is as tight as it can be. And it is usually cheaper to ship binders and skis seperately, again dimensions. Usually the copying stores that broker to UPS or DHL are the cheapest, that is where I ship mine from and he is usually 10-15% cheaper. My buddy who owns a cycle shop uses the same store.

Just got a pair of skis in the mail with bindings on 'em that shipped USPS. He only charged me ~$30 shipping.

$122 is butt rape.

[powdork]

is it ok to remove the binders to ship even if they're going back in the same holes?

[jaredstrauss]

For a cheap box I've asked local ski stores and they have given me them for free in the past. Anywhere that sells forced hot water heating raditors might have extra boxes laying around. i've used them with success in the past.