Good lord! When did shipping get so expensive?

rocko918 · Jun 15, 2012

Its been a while since i shipped anything over night. But holy cow, i shipped corals overnight earlier this week and it was 96 bucks! Box weight about 6 lbs. What do you guys do to cut the cost? That was fedx, ups looks to be about the same.

Good thing is all the corals arrived on time and in great shape.

Steelerfan747 · Jun 15, 2012

I shipped an envelope package overnight using fedex and it was like $28. Interested in seeing what others have found and recommend

turbo21 · Jun 15, 2012

usps has overnight express flat rate boxes that are $39.95. https://www.usps.com/ship/express-mail.htm

bob

laskopyre · Jun 15, 2012

If you don't ship a lot, it is pretty expensive. If using FedEx, it is cheaper to do hold at location. Just make sure it is a FedEx staffed office, and not a FedEx/Kinko place. Same goes for UPS. They can hold it at a hub. Safer on the coral/fish, and cheaper. If you plan on shipping more, it's better to pay the fee to have an account with them. You get a discount on shipping for having the account. If you ship a lot, the percent off gets bigger. USPS is unreliable in some areas. Even though it says overnight, doesn't mean that it goes everywhere overnight.
To save money, use less water. Unless you are shipping a colony, you don't need a large bag filled with water. The less weight, the cheaper. Unless the box is big. Then the weight doesn't matter, it goes by dimensional weight. If the actual weight is more then dimensional, you'll pay the actual. Hopefully that helps. I normally ship in either a 12X9X6, or a 12X9X9 box. Way cheaper for those boxes.

k2parkstar · Jun 15, 2012

laskopyre said:
If you don't ship a lot, it is pretty expensive. If using FedEx, it is cheaper to do hold at location. Just make sure it is a FedEx staffed office, and not a FedEx/Kinko place. Same goes for UPS. They can hold it at a hub. Safer on the coral/fish, and cheaper. If you plan on shipping more, it's better to pay the fee to have an account with them. You get a discount on shipping for having the account. If you ship a lot, the percent off gets bigger. USPS is unreliable in some areas. Even though it says overnight, doesn't mean that it goes everywhere overnight.
To save money, use less water. Unless you are shipping a colony, you don't need a large bag filled with water. The less weight, the cheaper. Unless the box is big. Then the weight doesn't matter, it goes by dimensional weight. If the actual weight is more then dimensional, you'll pay the actual. Hopefully that helps. I normally ship in either a 12X9X6, or a 12X9X9 box. Way cheaper for those boxes.

+1 this is correct

63vette427 · Jun 15, 2012

Even with a fed Ex account the shipping is crazy expensive. There are a few ways to lower the cost through smaller boxes, lower water volume, and even multiple corals per bag. The problem is at the expense of each coral. I think the days of overnight shipping cost of $50 are over unless the ship to address is within a couple states then it's possible.

The problem with USPS is that you can ship cheaper but who ever receives the box has to wait around all day for the box or pick it up at the post office. To me losing a day from work isn't worth it to me when i buy corals.

I know so many people want to know where the cheap corals are but when your shipping, it's just not possible. I know some vendors are doing a great job shipping some at great prices. I would be very surprised if they make a cent on them. I think this site is very lucky to have vendors that will do it for people here.

Reefpestsolutions · Jun 15, 2012

If you have a fedex account every six months you can qualify for better rates depending on how many boxes you ship a week. I just got my first 20% off and I spent about 6k in shipping 1st quarter. Look at spending 20k a year to get a fair price on overnight.

rocko918 · Jun 15, 2012

i don't think i will ever ship out enough to get an account. I also dont trust usps to get the package there overnight.

Will try smaller box with less water for now.

ColaAddict · Jun 16, 2012

Don't tell them it's a live coral/animal, coz you get charged more. Just say perishable goods for overnight delivery.

Young Frankenstein · Jun 16, 2012

its almost not worth it

Ace25 · Jun 16, 2012

Last time I shipped corals I took the same box to all 3.

FedEx = $175 for overnight
UPS = $100 for overnight
USPS = $40 for overnight

I picked USPS and everything went smooth.

tropicaltrav · Jul 28, 2012

rocko918 said:
i don't think i will ever ship out enough to get an account. I also dont trust usps to get the package there overnight.

Will try smaller box with less water for now.

it will arrive there overnight on time if you get the box there before 3pm.. thats when all the regional offices are picked up.. most people get them there around closing but thats not when the truck gets filled up.. truck gets filled up just after 3pm.. so they cannot gurantee it next day if its not there by 3..

KJAG · Jul 28, 2012

Luckily have a business account. I dont know how/why people attempt it without one. Went to ship out a chalice colony with a decent amount of water at a Fedex/Kinkos last year and they wanted 150 bucks!

m and m · Jul 28, 2012

Any one can open a FedeX account it's free and doing everything online I believe you can save 16 or 18%, but like stated above you have to move alot of box's to get any good discounts.

GrouperStupor · Jul 28, 2012

Fedex used to offer big discounts for airline workers. I assume they still do. Might have trouble getting the discount at Kinkos, but regular fedex locations would do it. So if you know an airline worker, get them to ship your frags for you. Of course this won't help you guys running a business, but it will work for people that don't ship often.

agame2021 · Sep 2, 2021

Yeah shipping is expensive. I am getting 4 BTA’s from cali to arizona 8 hour drive(just don’t have the time or AC to drive myself) but it was $123.98 shipped! Let’s hope it gets here by noon or I am screwed!!!