What in the world am I doing wrong with shipping?

I have made a couple frozen ASF shipments now thru FED EX. Each time I use a small styrofoam cooler in a box with dry ice and the frozen Vaccuum sealed rats.

The box I use is 12" X 12" X 12". I always ship 2 day delivery.

I am in Jacksonville, Florida. So far I have sent this same exact size box to Miami, W Georgia, and Alabama. The weight varies by the number of rats, but usually the total including everything is 6 to 10 lbs.

The actual shipping (not counting the cost of the cooler, box, and dry ice) has been between $25 and $35 in all of my previous shipments.

So here is the problem. I have a customer that wants a shipment sent to MN. Same cooler as always, same box as always, 2 day delivery as always. His box will weigh a total of 6 lbs (lighter then my previous shipments.) Both Fed Ex AND UPS quoted me prices of over $60 just for the shipment!!!! WTF?

What can I do to get better pricing?! What am I doing wrong? I know I obviously must be doing something wrong because the frozen rodent sellers claim to be able to ship anywhere for less!

Please help. Very frustrated.

Go on UPS website to get a quote, they might actually be cheaper.

Serious? It's farther away... :weirdface

Ship USPS :D

Don't think there's anything in their rules that restricts frozen rodents from being shipped.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

Nothing you can do about it, they have been hacking up the cost of shipping since 2005.

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Originally Posted by AaronP

Nothing you can do about it, they have been hacking up the cost of shipping since 2005.

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Since 2005? I noticed a significant hike right after 9/11. I used to be able to ship snakes cross country for around $25 and sometimes less. Now I pay a minimum of $50. I used to use UPS exclusively, but Fed Ex is far less now. The last couple of UPS shipments I made were near $70 for the same shipments I get through Fed Ex for $50.

As for shipping to MN, yeah it's going to be more because of the distance. From Jax to Miami, it usually doesn't even get put on a plane. When you are within a certain distance it travels by semi-trailor from hub to hub. Jax to MN is probably 1500 miles or more. Look at the delivery zone map and see what ground shipping transit times are. Sometimes you can ship ground and get it there in 1-3 days. I'm sure it's not going to affect the temp of the rats in the northern regions. I'm in southern Indiana and our highs have been in the low 20s and upper teens for the last couple of weeks. I've shipped from Indiana to Texas by ground and it has arrived in 1 day.....much faster than I expected.

I would advise against using USPS. They're delivery history is horrible and they do not guarantee arrival. I've had things sit on a USPS vehicle for more than a week.....luckily they were not perishables.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by RKO

Ship USPS :D

Don't think there's anything in their rules that restricts frozen rodents from being shipped.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

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That would be more if anything, to get it there quickly there is no way standard service would cut it and 2 day delivery will likely be a similar dent in the pocket - mind you it doesn't hurt to check. (I ship A LOT of junk...from Canada to the US and vice versa)

Buy some boxes from uline they are awesome! Anways i dont ship rodents yet but I ship all my live feeders with USPS not one single one has been lost and everyone no matter where i have shipped arrived in 2 days.

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Originally Posted by Clear

Buy some boxes from uline they are awesome! Anways i dont ship rodents yet but I ship all my live feeders with USPS not one single one has been lost and everyone no matter where i have shipped arrived in 2 days.

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Since when does USPS allow shipping of live rodents? :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Since when does USPS allow shipping of live rodents? :rolleyes:

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I think he may be referring to crickets & such. I've received those via USPS from Fluker's.

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Originally Posted by MuzeBallPythons

I think he may be referring to crickets & such. I've received those via USPS from Fluker's.

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Got you! Just wanted to make sure.

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Originally Posted by missi182

That would be more if anything, to get it there quickly there is no way standard service would cut it and 2 day delivery will likely be a similar dent in the pocket - mind you it doesn't hurt to check. (I ship A LOT of junk...from Canada to the US and vice versa)

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USPS is the cheapest method of shipping. I ran a quick calculation from Jacksonville zip code 32219 to a Minneapolis zip code of 55402. Total is just over $15. From the same zip codes, it would run just over $49 FedEx.

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Originally Posted by Brandon Osborne

Since 2005? I noticed a significant hike right after 9/11. I used to be able to ship snakes cross country for around $25 and sometimes less. Now I pay a minimum of $50. I used to use UPS exclusively, but Fed Ex is far less now. The last couple of UPS shipments I made were near $70 for the same shipments I get through Fed Ex for $50.

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I didn't really do much shipping till 2004 and I saw the biggest rise between 2005-2006 but from what I can tell it's steadily been rising every 2-3 months. :taz:

some places wont allow you to ship dry ice. its classified as hazardous

I am not sure about UPS, but remember that FedEx also does shipping rates by Zones. The country is split up into Zones, and depending on which Zone you are shipping to, it affects pricing. This goes back to the distance thing that a few people have mentioned. Also, FedEx applies dimensional weight to all packages (it used to be only on packages that had a dimension over 12 inches). If you have noticed that your actual charges were higher than the quote, it is probably because you didn't enter in the correct weight in the quote. Find out the dimensional weight for each box size you use, and don't worry about the actual weight (unless it is greater than the dimensional weight).

Hope that helped,

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Originally Posted by Clear

Anways i dont ship rodents yet but I ship all my live feeders with USPS

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Never said I ship live rodents.

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Originally Posted by muddoc

Also, FedEx applies dimensional weight to all packages (it used to be only on packages that had a dimension over 12 inches).

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This is a good point, one of the companies I used to work for got reamed everytime we shipped a computer because the box was large so we automatically got charged like the thing weighed 80lb.

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Originally Posted by Mike Cavanaugh

I have made a couple frozen ASF shipments now thru FED EX. Each time I use a small styrofoam cooler in a box with dry ice and the frozen Vaccuum sealed rats.

The box I use is 12" X 12" X 12". I always ship 2 day delivery.

I am in Jacksonville, Florida. So far I have sent this same exact size box to Miami, W Georgia, and Alabama. The weight varies by the number of rats, but usually the total including everything is 6 to 10 lbs.

The actual shipping (not counting the cost of the cooler, box, and dry ice) has been between $25 and $35 in all of my previous shipments.

So here is the problem. I have a customer that wants a shipment sent to MN. Same cooler as always, same box as always, 2 day delivery as always. His box will weigh a total of 6 lbs (lighter then my previous shipments.) Both Fed Ex AND UPS quoted me prices of over $60 just for the shipment!!!! WTF?

What can I do to get better pricing?! What am I doing wrong? I know I obviously must be doing something wrong because the frozen rodent sellers claim to be able to ship anywhere for less!

Please help. Very frustrated.

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how many pkgs are you shipping? when you ship large amounts of pkgs.you qualify for volume discounts,that's how the bigger companies can ship for less.check with your fedex account rep for details on volume discounts.if you just ship a few you pay full retail.

also if you add dry ice to a pkg. you must declare it,each pkg. with dry ice needs special markings and possibly extra paper work depending upon the amount of dry ice in each pkg.this is a safety issue as any carrier of air shipments must keep track of the total amount of dry ice they can put on a plane.this is a legal requirement.hope this helps.

try and get a bit smaller box 8x8x8 box is 39 2nd day and 28 3 day

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Originally Posted by 771subliminal

try and get a bit smaller box 8x8x8 box is 39 2nd day and 28 3 day

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How are you finding these prices? do you have a link?

thanks,

Mike

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Originally Posted by 771subliminal

try and get a bit smaller box 8x8x8 box is 39 2nd day and 28 3 day

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The only problem with going this route is, even if it gets there in 1 day, they wait until the 2nd and 3rd day to deliver. Check the zones for delivery times and you'll see that sometimes ground shipments will arive in 1 day. Most locations have a map posted.

Mike, if you don't mind me asking, what are you planning on shipping?

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Originally Posted by Mike Cavanaugh

How are you finding these prices? do you have a link?

thanks,

Mike

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here you go

just make sure you click on detailed time and cost and it will let you put in the size and weight of your box

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Originally Posted by Brandon Osborne

The only problem with going this route is, even if it gets there in 1 day, they wait until the 2nd and 3rd day to deliver. Check the zones for delivery times and you'll see that sometimes ground shipments will arive in 1 day. Most locations have a map posted.

Mike, if you don't mind me asking, what are you planning on shipping?

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was just going off him sayin he always uses 2nd day for delivery and i have got frozen this way and didnt have a prop at all

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Originally Posted by Brandon Osborne

Mike, if you don't mind me asking, what are you planning on shipping?

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Frozen Affrican Soft Fured rats.

Most of the time if you do the click and ship online they give you a small price break. Are you going to the store and paying or online?

Clear is absolutely correct. You will get a decent discount if you prepare your shipment online and print your own shipping labels. You might also be able to check arrival times for ground, 3 day, 2 day, and so on. As I mentioned, sometimes ground shipping will arrive the next day or 2nd day and save you a little more on shipping. By selecting 3rd day, even if it arrives the next day, they will wait until the 3rd day for delivery. Check your zones and do your research. If you are shipping to a cold destination, just pack your dry ice enough to get through the warm. Pack tight and try to keep air from reaching it.

Another option is same day airline shipments. U.S. Air, Delta, Northwest Air, all do same day shipping and rates from $50-100 for up to 99 lbs. It's a little more of a hassle, but when you are shipping bulk weight, it's usually worth it.

Good luck.