A couple of additions.
There is now a size above 130" and up to 160" that allows the shipments of tandems at reasonable rates. DHL does this and I think Fedex ground. My one example: $63 from IL to NJ.
My experience with and opinion of Fedex is much higher than Greg's.
I totally agree about collecting on insurance. It is a royal PITA. With Fedex at least, they won't even talk to the recipient, yet they want the recipient to ship the item back to them right off the bat. I did manage to collect on a damaged bike this year but it took hours of work and diligence. The shippers self insure, then serve as the customer interface and sole decision maker. They make it a pain at every step. The only thing worse is Paypal or Ebay. Trying to run a misrepresented item claim through Ebay is an experience not to be missed. I doubt they have ever paid out anything.
Joe Bender-Zanoni
Great Notch, NJ
> We've discussed this many, many times, but there are a few things
\r?\n> that you can do (in summary) to avoid getting hosed. In general,
\r?\n> complete bikes should currently cost about $20-60 to ship via
\r?\n> Ground methods inside the USA, depending on the weight, size, and
\r?\n> distance the package is shipped. (Postage costs only, not
\r?\n> including packaging, packing labor, or Insurance).
\r?\n> 1) Keep boxes under 108" length plus girth (not likely for a
\r?\n> complete bike, but do-able for most framesets). The three
\r?\n> important cut-off points, size-wise, are at 84 inches, 108 inches,
\r?\n> and 130 inches, BTW. You definitely don't want to ever exceed 130
\r?\n> inches. Your options are severely limited (and expensive) for a
\r?\n> parcel that large.
\r?\n> 2) Pack things to resist a low-level nuclear blast, and being
\r?\n> dumped in a river.
\r?\n> 3) Make sure you know what size your box is before you head to the
\r?\n> UPS or Fed-X or USPS office. Fed-X, in particular, will measure
\r?\n> each of the three dimensions separately, and then round UP
\r?\n> generously to the nearest inch in each case. I have frame boxes
\r?\n> that are an honest 105" but Fed-X will sometimes try to call them
\r?\n> 109" which can double or triple the shipping charge!
\r?\n> 3) For large items such as framesets or complete bikes, Fed-X
\r?\n> Ground (which used to be Roadway Package Service) is generally the
\r?\n> cheapest method these days - if you can stop them from cheating
\r?\n> you. UPS Ground is an option as well, but those folks can
\r?\n> sometimes be pretty rough on packages. I use USPS almost
\r?\n> exclusively, with excellent results, although I almost never ship
\r?\n> a complete bike....
\r?\n> 4) Hope to God* that you never have to try and collect on
\r?\n> "Insurance." Personally, I insure almost nothing. This "saves" me
\r?\n> about $2000 per year. If a package gets lost or totaled (which has
\r?\n> thus far never happened), at least I have a "fund" to cover it,
\r?\n> and will still be far ahead overall, the way I see it.
\r?\n> 5) Stay the hell away from Fed-X; they're too erratic. (YAMMV).
\r?\n> ;-)
\r?\n> Greg Parker
\r?\n> Ann Arbor, Michigan
\r?\n> *or whatever thing or being or entity you do or do not choose to
\r?\n> hope to....
\r?\n> Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 18:10:32 -0800
\r?\n> From: "dddd" <dddd@pacbell.net>
\r?\n> To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
\r?\n> Subject: Re: [CR] Sending a bike in a standard cardboard box
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I doubt that the location of your UPS matters, but how about
\r?\n> distance, exact
\r?\n> size and weight of box (packing materials, tires, etc can add
\r?\n> substantial
\r?\n> weight), tipping the clerk, seasonal demand, etc.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Don't they have a printed rate chart? FWIW, the shipping
\r?\n> calculators online
\r?\n> for USPS has never given me rates close to what the P.O. actually
\r?\n> charged,
\r?\n> but I didn't make much of a study of it as the available shipping
\r?\n> options
\r?\n> were also different. I've also had to take stuff out of small
\r?\n> boxes to fit
\r?\n> into their overseas envelopes, but I'm gradually smartening up and
\r?\n> fabbing
\r?\n> up my own suitable packagings, especially to Japan.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> David Snyder
\r?\n> Auburn, CA usa
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> ----- Original Message -----
\r?\n> From: "Bianca Pratorius" <biankita@earthlink.net>
\r?\n> To: <>
\r?\n> Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 5:48 PM
\r?\n> Subject: [CR]Sending a bike in a standard cardboard box
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> >I sold the Rigi this last week, and when I put in the dimensions
\r?\n> and
\r?\n> >weight, the Ebay Calculator gave me around $40. When I called UPS
\r?\n> for a
\r?\n> >pickup the price seems to have morphed into $66 to Utah. How is
\r?\n> this
\r?\n> >possible? Do I have to know some secret. In the last 12 months I
\r?\n> have
\r?\n> >purchased 4 bikes and no one has charged anything like $66. Last
\r?\n> week there
\r?\n> >was a thread on the list that stated that Fed Express charges
\r?\n> different
\r?\n> >rates depending on how the wind blows. Any ideas about the
\r?\n> discrepancy?>
\r?\n> > Garth Liberman in Miami Fl.