Shipping Bikes. Shipping Wheels

[Acotts]

I am selling stuff on ebay. Any suggestions on shipping wheels. Do any major shipping companies have boxes that work?

What about frames. Do you just go to a shop and ask if they have any bike boxes they are not using? I am pretty sure I can keep stuff packed like a pro if given the right box.

Any suggesiton from folks that have shipped a lot of bike paraphenalia.

-A

[gdw]

Get bike boxes from the LBS. You can cut them to fit the frame or wheels and still have plenty of room for padding.

[regularguy412]

The LBS I help out in usually has plenty of extra bike boxes. They also don't mind giving them away. Some others shops might not, YMMV. If you look around in the trash cans at the shop, you can also likely find fork end spreaders, bubble wrap, nylon straps and foam tubing insulation. It's all the stuff you need to do the job up right. Your only real expense will probably be zip ties.

As for wheels, it depends on the size of the bike box you use. It might cost a bit more in shipping, but packing the wheels in separate boxes might be prudent.

Mike in AR

[maunahaole]

Bike shops will often have bike boxes around. If the shop is small, they may not have them for very long after they build a bike, as the boxes are big and unwieldy to keep around. The cool shops will save them for you if you ask them to, as long as you go pick them up promptly when they are ready. The big Wheel boxes are easier to get now, as there are more prebuilt wheels being sold. Make sure that you get the plastic plugs that stuff into the axle ends too. These will prevent the axles from puncturing the boxes during shipping.

[thejen12]

How much does it cost to ship wheels these days? It used to cost about $15 using USPS, but their prices have gone up a lot.

By the way, I was able to ship a frame in a frame box (which is smaller than a bike box) Express Mail by USPS for something like $56. The USPS website won't tell you that. To ship it Parcel Post would have cost $125! The website said that Parcel Post was the only option for a box that big, but when I took it to the Post Office to double check, Express Mail came out as the cheapest option.

Jenn

[Erik.Lazdins]

Wait for the cologne to show up and use those boxes. :beer:

[cmg]

fedex is most always cheaper. get box from LBS trash bin or pay for the LBS to get one from the trash bin and pay them to pack it for you. Fedex wheels from tx to either coasts is $18, 52 frame or smaller to both coasts less than $30. As usual the goal is to keep the object from moving around in the box you use. Protect the rear deraillaiuer hanger lots of padding.

[gt6267a]

one thing i have done is to have a LBS pack the item and then take it with open lid to a shipping store for final treatment. this way, if there is damage by ups / fedex / etc they can't come back with the generic ... claim denied not prof packed. when the UPS store employee finishes the packaging with peanuts and seals the lid, its been prof packaged and approved by their people. i have not had a claim, but i have talked with them about it, and they have agreed ups would not be able to get out of paying.

there have been a lot of posts about shipping & special boxes ... for addl info, you might do a little searching.

[weiwentg]

I managed to Fedex a bike frame only for under $15 recently to a forum member. I had thought it was going to be around $40, and was pleasantly surprised. Fedex has hiked their rates since, though. I have a business account with them, so I measure the box, guesstimate a weight, print out the label myself and bring it to Kinkos. they give you the plastic sachet to attach the label. if you just bring them the stuff and the box and ask them to do the legwork, more $$.

in contrast, I ordered a set of fenders from Sacha. Scott, his assistant, charged me $15 for UPS shipping. I thought that was a little high, but figured that fuel costs had been going up. I get the fenders and the bill is just under $30. :crap:

[Dan Le foot]

I'm finding FedEx to be the cheapest for large boxes.
I'm actually getting ready to ship wheels to a forumite. Some additional components will get a free ride in the box.
I'm using wheel boxes I got a while ago for some high end wheels I received from Reparto. Each wheel has its own box. Both boxes are than loaded into a larger one. (Reparto shipped them the same way) The outer box messures 28/27/10 or so. And if you think about the diameter and the width of wheels with hubs you can't get much smaller.
I'm estmating the cost using the FedEx online calculator at $50 for coast to coast.
The cost is half as much if I was only shipping 500 miles. So distance has a profound effect.
Get the smallest box you can find that will fit the frame set. Remove the fork. I sent a frame/fork recently to San Francisco (fron San Diego) for $25.
Another was sent to Boston for $55. (again distant makes a big difference) They went FedEx both were a lot cheaper than UPS. USPS does not handle boxes this big.
Good luck.
Dan

[Dan Le foot]

I'm finding FedEx to be the cheapest for large boxes.
I'm actually getting ready to ship wheels to a forumite. Some additional components will get a free ride in the box.
I'm using wheel boxes I got a while ago for some high end wheels I received from Reparto. Each wheel has its own box. Both boxes are than loaded into a larger one. (Reparto shipped them the same way) The outer box messures 28/27/10 or so. And if you think about the diameter and the width of wheels with hubs you can't get much smaller.
I'm estmating the cost using the FedEx online calculator at $50 for coast to coast.
The cost is half as much if I was only shipping 500 miles. So distance has a profound effect.
Get the smallest box you can find that will fit the frame set. Remove the fork. I sent a frame/fork recently to San Francisco (fron San Diego) for $25.
Another was sent to Boston for $55. (again distant makes a big difference) They went FedEx both were a lot cheaper than UPS. USPS does not handle boxes this big.
Good luck.
Dan


I stand corrected. I got some bad information from a USPS store today. They said they couldn't ship a box large enough for wheels or frameset at a competitive rate.
I just put the numbs into their online calcualtor. Wheels would be competitive. But not the frameset.
Dan

[Sasha18]

I just shipped a frame from WA to CA. $24 Fedex. The box was 12 pounds. I cut down a bike box and stuffed the rest with paper and more cardboard. I charged $50 to ship on ebay. The extra $26 I consider payment for my time. UPS once dented a bike that came to me. They were less than helpful and I never got a dime from them. They're never my first, or second choice.

[Frankwurst]

I've shipped more than a couple of frames and complete bikes on FedEx and have no problems so far. Boxes are generally free at the LBS and a few dollars will buy pipe insulation at the hardware store and a few more buys nylon zip ties. Pack'em like they are gonna throw'em off the truck as they drive buy. Maybe a little extreme but as my Dad always said "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." :beer:

[maunahaole]

Dont be stingy with the padding inside the box, either - as someone wisely stated somewhere on the forum sometime - count on any exposed metal inside the box coming in contact with each other.

[jmikeq]

Anyone have an estimate weight for shipping a wheelset (zipp 404)?

[dave thompson]

Anyone have an estimate weight for shipping a wheelset (zipp 404)?

Use the weight of the wheel set and add *about* 5 pounds for the packaging. That will be pretty close.

[eBAUMANN]

www.bikeflights.com

pack the stuff expecting it to get chucked on and off a truck/plane a few times.

if ANYTHING is touching anything else in the box, wrap it up really good and secure it in place.

do NOT use zip ties to hold things together in the box unless you have padded every surface that is making contact VERY well.

that is the #1 way things get damaged in shipping, in my experiences.

just my 2c, good luck with the sales!

[quattro]

I shipped a pair of wheels via Fed-X today. I picked up two single wheel boxes from my LBS, shipping cost is less than a single box because it ends up being oversized. Cost me $15 for each wheel including insurance and signature on recipient. One box was 4lbs the other just under 4 lbs. They were only going from MA to CT, so they were shipped Ground Service. Hope this helps.

[campy man]

Recently shipped a wheelset via USPS Parcel Post for +$35 after cutting the box down. Took longer than expected and disappeared via online tracking but eventually arrived in good condition.

Shipped a frame via Bikeflights(FedEx) a couple of week ago ... went really smooth and arrived as promised with no damage. Funny thing, when I walked into FedEx shipping center they wanted +$60 for same box that went via Bikeflights for +$35.

[victoryfactory]

Anyone have an estimate weight for shipping a wheelset (zipp 404)?

Guys: Bike, frame and wheelset boxes all ship by dimensional
weight. NOT ACTUAL WEIGHT. It's LxWxH divided by 166
If the second longest side is over 30" it also gets an $8.75
surcharge. (UPS, FEDEX)
As of Dec 28, ALL boxes ( not just large ones) will ship by dimensional weight or actual weight, whichever is higher thanks to new UPS rules. They will require box dimensions to be entered into the computer and will compare the dim weight with the scale weight on ALL boxes.
FedEx will probably follow suit.

A wheelset box that measures,say,
28"x28"x12" ships as 57 lbs whether they are 1000 g carbon race wheels or 30 year old clunker clinchers.

[weisan]

I know they made foldable bikes... Do they make foldable wheels?

[r_mutt]

I know they made foldable bikes... Do they make foldable wheels?


http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01658/Mark_Cavendish_1658574c.jpg

[oldpotatoe]

I am selling stuff on ebay. Any suggestions on shipping wheels. Do any major shipping companies have boxes that work?

What about frames. Do you just go to a shop and ask if they have any bike boxes they are not using? I am pretty sure I can keep stuff packed like a pro if given the right box.

Any suggesiton from folks that have shipped a lot of bike paraphenalia.

-A

Go to a shop that buys frames, like Moots, as an example and use a frame box for a frame(duh) and also a frame box works great for a set of wheels.

[cnighbor1]

Wheel boxes there is a special box for shipping wheels I get mine from Rivendell. but any bike shop must have a set of wheels shipped to them over a year see if you can get one of those

[Dead Man]

Guys: Bike, frame and wheelset boxes all ship by dimensional
weight. NOT ACTUAL WEIGHT. It's LxWxH divided by 166
If the second longest side is over 30" it also gets an $8.75
surcharge. (UPS, FEDEX)
As of Dec 28, ALL boxes ( not just large ones) will ship by dimensional weight or actual weight, whichever is higher thanks to new UPS rules. They will require box dimensions to be entered into the computer and will compare the dim weight with the scale weight on ALL boxes.
FedEx will probably follow suit.

A wheelset box that measures,say,
28"x28"x12" ships as 57 lbs whether they are 1000 g carbon race wheels or 30 year old clunker clinchers.

The dimensions are the magic to this recipe.

I've been quoted over $130 for boxed up wheels, and I've shipped full framesets the SAME distance for around $35. It's all about the box size. It's been my experience that basically all frame boxes you get from your LBS need to be modified to get under the total linear inches you need to be under to skip the oversized rate.... I will get on the USPS website with a scale, the box, a utility knife and strapping tape on the table in front of me, and just start working on it, when shipping wheels and/or frames. I've never yet had to pay the oversized rate, but I've had some framesets that have been within 1" of going from $30-40 to closer to $140-150. Gotta be diligent about it.

[Dead Man]

Also, keep in mind the costs associated with packaging- most people forget that boxes, tape, padding, and all that crap can easily run you $10-30 alone, depending on what you're shipping- you need to build some or all of that into your shipping fee, unless you just want to eat it.