OT - Shipping cost when using UPS Store to ship keyboards?

[RABid]

I'm getting ready to sell some keyboards ranging in size and weight from a Nord Lead 4 to a Roland JP 80. Thinking about using the UPS Store to box and ship the keyboards. Has anyone done this? How much does it cost to have the UPS store box and ship keyboards of this size?

 

Oh, also guitars. electric, acoustic and bass.

[Jazzmammal]

I can't quote exact numbers but trust me it's more than you want to pay. The last I heard it's like $50-75 to package it up and anywhere from $150-200 to ship. If you can sell to someone who has a business or works somewhere where they can handle the shipping through a corporate account it can be a whole lot cheaper. It may help to use UPS itself, not a UPS store. Most stores are like independent franchises and they can charge differently than UPS.

 

The whole concept of shipping large items is very tricky. When you consider all the costs it may be just as good to sell it wholesale to Guitar Center or somebody.

 

Bob

[Doerfler]

agree with Bob on principle, not sure about the numbers. Goods news is if they pack it and you have it insured (you will have it insured, right?) and something goes downhill during shipping (we have all have this happen to us) everything goes as smoothly as it can in a bad situation. If you box it up yourself, things don't always work out the way you might want/expect. This is definitely a "you get what you pay for" situation.

[RABid]

Yeow! I had no idea it would be so expensive that way.

[Doerfler]

Boxing it yourself and using USPS is a much cheaper alternative

[Rusty Mike]

I've not done well shipping keyboards to buyers. I much prefer in-person transactions for the larger, more expensive items.

 

That said, I've had better luck with FedEx than UPS. My concern w/ USPS is that their tracking system is not as reliable as the others.

 

But, yea, it's expensive to safely ship large and precious items.

[BluMunk]

I sold two 61-key boards recently (a D-50 and a Korg M-3).

 

I packed them both. Box and bubble and peanuts were maybe $40 each.

 

Before I knew better I brought the first to the UPS Store and bought a shipping label from them. I dont remember now, but it was something like $160..

 

The second one I weighed and bought the shipping label from Reverb, and it was $36.

 

Do not buy a label from the UPS Store.

 

 

[J. Dan]

UPS stores are often privately owned entities affiliated with UPS, but not UPS. They make their money on packaging. I wish I could get my company FedEx rate for personal shipments, but I cant. Its all about volume. I can ship a dozen oversized pelican cases 60-70lbs each next day air across the country for a few hundred bucks on the company. For the same price, personally, pack a small 49 key controller and ship it across the state.

[Stokely]

I got ultra-lucky and on a whim asked my company if they'd pack and ship my large and heavy keyboard. They would, it's a perk for employees. They use fedex, and said in their experience it is much more reliable than UPS. UPS completely destroyed a well-packed keyboard I bought from guitar center--they literally must have driven over it with a forklift to do that much damage.

 

Not only was the price lower, but when our business office asked me to pay up, the price was $100 cheaper than the already-cheap price quoted to me by the mailroom

 

Moral: if you work somewhere with a shipping dept, check with them.

[cphollis]

No good answer to "safe, reliable and inexpensive shipping" in my world.

 

I work at home, so no shipping department. The local shipping outlets are outrageously expensive, as are shipping materials.

 

So, I've been forced to sell locally. Better to drop my price a few hundred than to attempt to ship somewhere.

[Synthoid]

UPS stores are often privately owned entities affiliated with UPS, but not UPS.

 

Lots of complaints online.

 

 

[Tonysounds]

VERY EXPENSIVE. But if my keyboard sale was expensive, I build it in. They are hacks. But they are hacks with liability. As a shipper, if you have them pack it, they have no recourse when they damage your gear, and payout is pretty immediate.

 

I HATE UPS STORE.

[kbrkr]

I would NEVER use UPS to ship a keyboard.

 

They have lost 2 keyboards and I had to fight each time to get compensated for the insurance value. It took 3 months each time.

 

FedEx is the way to go and yes it is very expensive and yes, you better pack i really well and have it over insured.

[I-missRichardTee]

Big 88 yamaha CP5 shipped by UPS , where THEY made a custom box, to NY.

A little over $500.00 Not bad if you are John Getty, or something like that.

[Koverland]

Does anyone know how to track a parcel from aliexpress?

[EscapeRocks]

Does anyone know how to track a parcel from aliexpress?

 

Have you gone to the Ali Express site, and clicked on their "how to track your order"?

[KuruPrionz]

I've been buying and selling on eBay since 2000.

I try to avoid UPS, they've left expensive items at my front door and ran away multiple times. Once, they threw a package out on my front deck (not private) in the rain and drove off.

 

With FedEx you can go to either a FedEx station or a FedEx Office (used to be Kinko's) and you can have the package delivered to either of the above with ID, tracking number and signature required.

 

In my area, the Post Office will only leave a package if it doesn't fit in the mailboxes (we have secured PO boxes at the condo and USPS can leave a key for the box your package is in. They have to "unlock the lock" with another lock to get the key back.

 

If the package is too large for the boxes, USPS typically leaves a notice in my mailbox that I can pick up the package at the Post Office.

 

If you pack yourself, pack for war!!! Bubble wrap, double box with double thickness cardboard, protect the corners with extra everything and NO PEANUTS!!!!

 

Shipping is expensive. I always try craigslist first. If your town isn't too big, consider putting an ad in the nearest large city. Some folks will drive to get something really cool. Price fairly, consider offers.

I've had buyers drive up from Seattle before, that's an hour and a half each way if you don't get stuck in traffic. They wanted what I had, at the price I was asking.

 

Sure makes it easy, I'd try that first for at least a couple of months. Remember to check your craigslist ads and bounce them up to the top often. If the "renew" option is there, click it.

[El Lobo]

DO NOT USE A UPS STORE

[Docbop]

I've moved around the US a number of time over the years and the delivery services take turns on who sucks depending on the city. Over the years FedEx has changed the most, going from the model for others to achieve to just another delivery service. Where I live now USPS is the best.

[RABid]

I've learned that the UPS store is a rip. Avoid at all cost.

 

In my town UPS delivers packages to my front porch. FedEx likes to leave them in front of my garage, very close to the road where they can easily be stolen, and can be ran over if I was to pull out of the garage and not see the package. Their website says they will leave a package in a secure place out of the weather. In practice, they don't.

[Mark Schmieder]

What RABid said. Truth!

[Outkaster]

I've been buying and selling on eBay since 2000.

I try to avoid UPS, they've left expensive items at my front door and ran away multiple times. Once, they threw a package out on my front deck (not private) in the rain and drove off.

 

With FedEx you can go to either a FedEx station or a FedEx Office (used to be Kinko's) and you can have the package delivered to either of the above with ID, tracking number and signature required.

 

In my area, the Post Office will only leave a package if it doesn't fit in the mailboxes (we have secured PO boxes at the condo and USPS can leave a key for the box your package is in. They have to "unlock the lock" with another lock to get the key back.

 

If the package is too large for the boxes, USPS typically leaves a notice in my mailbox that I can pick up the package at the Post Office.

 

If you pack yourself, pack for war!!! Bubble wrap, double box with double thickness cardboard, protect the corners with extra everything and NO PEANUTS!!!!

 

Shipping is expensive. I always try craigslist first. If your town isn't too big, consider putting an ad in the nearest large city. Some folks will drive to get something really cool. Price fairly, consider offers.

I've had buyers drive up from Seattle before, that's an hour and a half each way if you don't get stuck in traffic. They wanted what I had, at the price I was asking.

 

Sure makes it easy, I'd try that first for at least a couple of months. Remember to check your craigslist ads and bounce them up to the top often. If the "renew" option is there, click it.

 

Good points