What in the world am I doing wrong with shipping?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

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

Got you! Just wanted to make sure.

[AjBalls]

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)

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.

[AaronP]

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.

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.

[nixer]

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

[muddoc]

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,

[Clear]

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

Never said I ship live rodents.

[AaronP]

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

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.

[twh]

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.

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.

[771subliminal]

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

[Mike Cavanaugh]

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

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

thanks,

Mike