The cheapest way to ship anything is:

First you must box it yourself.
Second FEDX ground if you have a depot in you town.
Third USPO ground
Four UPS ground

If you must ship it Priority the USPO is the only way I go.

Yes the buyer always pays the shipping unless you have it figured into
the cost in the start.

Yes talk the Power Supply out of the MS-4 or the buyer won't be to happy.

Also double box the item and pack it real tight so it won't mover around
in the box.

Yes it is more work to double box but is almost better than buying the
insurance.

I never buy insurance unless the buyer want it.

I have never filed a claim on over 500 items shipped.

Last never go to the rip off places to have them pack and distroy you
item and end up paying through the nose for it.
Happy shipping

Ron


K5DH wrote:

Funny you should mention shipping Drake 4-Line gear...
I just shipped a C-Line station (TX, RX, PS, SPKR) to
a buddy in Pennsylvania from my home in north Texas.
He requested that I use the US Postal Service rather
than UPS or others. The cost, including insurance
and delivery confirmation, was about $18.00 per piece.
UPS and FedEx Ground would have been cheaper, but my
friend was paying the shipping costs, so he got to
pick the shipper.

I do my own packing using recycled boxes, bubble wrap,
etc, which I scrounge at work. I refuse to pay some
clerk at MBE or other vendor a lot of money to do what
I can do in 10 minutes at home.

I'm not offering any opinions on which shipper is the
best or fastest or most careful or anything else. I
am just sharing my recent experience (last week).

As for the cost, yep, it is getting high. I always
have the buyer pay the cost, and the buyer always gets
to choose their preferred method of shipment. If the
buyer doesn't want to pay the shipping, I find another
buyer. Simple as that.

73,
Dean K5DH


In article , says...


Hi, Everybody,

I have been shocked to learn recently how expensive shipping can be.
What do you guys all do when you have to ship equipment?

I am selling a Drake station and took the AC-4 / MS-4 to the local
Mailboxes, Etc. store to get an idea of how much it would cost. They
told me that UPS Ground was $36.86 to ship from California to Michigan.
And that was not including the packing! And there would be two more
boxes to ship (for the receiver and transmitter)!

I had to give my buyer that sad news that, at these prices, I can't
afford to ship!

What is the best practice to follow when needing to ship equipment
across the country?

Thanks.


Regards,

Al W6LX