Trouble with UPS

[toaster]

I want to ship a wheelset in a box that is 44"x26"x7" that can hold two wheels. The last time I went to UPS to ship a single wheel in a box approximately 30"x 30"x 8" they tried to tell me the charge was something like over $20. Funny, because the week before I shipped a single wheel in a similar sized box from the same UPS office for less than $10!!

When I complained the clerk could offer no explanation. I told her I had to leave and go directly to the Post Office and give them my business. That should indicate a problem to the clerk and if she's doing her job she would investigate why the charge is so different. Maybe she's never been trained in customer service and I'm one who walks into her store just to lie and save a buck.

Now, this shipment is starting in SoCalifornia and going to North Carolina. I have estimated $30 and don't want any surprises. What should I expect shipping to be?

[gdw]

I've had to ship several wheelsets over the past couple weeks and have found that Fedex ground is the cheapest. I always pack the wheelset, weigh it, measure it, and check out the USPS, UPS and Fedex's websites before driving to the shipping office. Fedex rates for wheelsets general are $18.00 or less while their competitors are over twenty.

[EPOJoe]

Both UPS and FedEx give you the option of entering your package weight and dimensions from you home computer via their web sites in order to get a shipping cost, even without a personal account. The reason for the discrepancy is more than likely one customer counter person charged you an oversize fee and the other did not. When I shipped via UPS this was a common occurrence. I've since switched over to FedEx ground, as UPS was having a good time damaging a high percentage of my shipments. If you start an online account with either UPS or FedEx, you can print your shipping labels from you home computer, and just drop the packages off at a FedEx/Kinkos or UPS/UPSStore location. It saves you the hassle of having to deal with the counter folks.

[shinomaster]

UPS uses both weight and volume and distance to figure out the cost of a package. I ship with UPS at my job every day and it can be confusing. A box that is 16*16*16 inches in volume will be $10 to ship to the midwest from Oregon. A box that is 17*17*17 inches in volume will be $20. Just a few inches can make a box fall in to the oversize class and much more expensive to ship. Check out their website for more info.

[Too Tall]

Use the online calculator to find a happy medium and than call it in vi their 800 # for residential pickup. In all the yrs...I've NEVER had UPS actually measure a box. It's their don't ask don't yell policy. Just be reasonable.