May be a great alternative for shipping

[Lynn]

From time to time I will ship something and am just flabbergasted (that's right, I am old enough to use that term) at the cost. MOST times I use FedExGround with my account, and it is pretty reasonable. But, some FedEx local store apparently have really bad service, so if the recipient says "not FedEx", then no FedEx.

I remember when I used the "UPS Store" to ship the really cool Spyder wheels to Steve (NJSteve) for the cool purple mopar (crusty cuda). Seems like it ended up costing close to $250.

One of the guys on the Opel site posted the following, and I was shocked at the difference in price. I do remember 20 years ago, I accidently discovered that it was CHEAPER for me to have a UPS driver pick up a package from my office than it was for me to physically take it to the main hub in OKC (30 mile round trip). So, I quit wasting my time.

But, after UPS DESTROYED a cross ram set up that I had shipped, I vowed never again.

Anyway, read this post from the Opel site. I am signing up with pirate ship and will give it a try on my next ship. Will report back, good, bad or ugly.

From the other site:
Yesterday, I took a little GT header to the UPS store, to get a shipping quote. The header weighed 7 lbs. I carried the header in, unboxed, with the intention of wiring a tag on the header and shipping it naked. The UPS clerk told me that it had to be in a box, and that the cost to ship it was $76 for ground, not including the cost of the box. I insisted that I could put a label on the part and ship it. The manager came over, pushed a couple of buttons on the register, and proceeded to tell me that out of a box, it was classified as "special", and would be $95 to ship it ground. I left with the header unshipped.

When I told the recipient about the issue, he told me about a shipping website that he had used for shipping parts. I went to the site, registered, applied my PayPal account for payment, and with a boxed header, gave the dimensions, weight, and ship-to address. UPS price came to $15.95. Paid for and printed the label, and took it back to the same UPS store. I was a little nervous to possibly hear that the label was fake, but he scanned the label, and gave me a receipt. The package will arrive Friday.

It will come to nobody's surprise that the member that told me about the site was Sam (Young GT Lover). Thank you Sam for the huge savings tip on shipping!

The site is Pirateship.com

AND BTW, Sam, the guy that goes by Young GT Lover, is like 15 years old. He has already resurrected three GTs with help from his "grandpa". There is hope for the next generation.

[scuncio]

That's unreal - looks like around 30-35% savings compared to my FedEx Ground account. I despise UPS too, but may give this a shot considering the savings!

[dvss1]

I've used them with excellent results. I will not ship any expensive pieces with them because they use a 3rd party for insurance.

[napa68]

I just tried it to ship an intake manifold to MO. We'll see how it goes. MUCH CHEAPER!!!!!!

[Too Many Projects]

Until FedEx decides to reinstate door delivery, I will NOT use them. They were my preferred carrier too. The drivers stopped coming up the driveways with packages around the first of December. They left a case of oil that cost $135 in the snowbank, next to my mailbox and many other neighbors packages the same way. All of our driveways are at least 200 ft long and we can't see our mailboxes at the street. I just happened to be outside when this happened and saw it, so got my package, but anyone could have been following that truck at a distance and been picking up all of it.
UPS has left a bad impression with me several times over the years too, but that low cost method for inexpensive items may be a good thing.

AFAIK, UPS does not own those "Stores". They are privately owned and that's why the cost is so high to have them pack and ship. When I chose to use UPS, I preprint labels off the UPS site and drop packages off at the store.

[muscle_collector]

UPS has proven to be the most expensive place i have ever shipped.

that is where i met my wife, she was a counter girl at the main hub and she had just started working there. i would go in everyday and ship car parts out in my salvage business. i had a 70 442 trunk lid that a guy needed really bad to get ready for a car show. i boxed it up and carefully reinforced the corners so they wouldnt get bent. this put the dimensional size over the limit by about one inch. so i showed up right before 7pm when they closed and saw her and thought i can persuade the new girl to take it. sure enough i sweet talked her into taking it. well i owed her a big favor and asked her out. like i said, they most expensive package i ever shipped. still paying for it today 3 decades later lol.

[Too Many Projects]

Originally Posted by muscle_collector

UPS has proven to be the most expensive place i have ever shipped.

that is where i met my wife, she was a counter girl at the main hub and she had just started working there. i would go in everyday and ship car parts out in my salvage business. i had a 70 442 trunk lid that a guy needed really bad to get ready for a car show. i boxed it up and carefully reinforced the corners so they wouldnt get bent. this put the dimensional size over the limit by about one inch. so i showed up right before 7pm when they closed and saw her and thought i can persuade the new girl to take it. sure enough i sweet talked her into taking it. well i owed her a big favor and asked her out. like i said, they most expensive package i ever shipped. still paying for it today 3 decades later lol.

Yeah, but if you still have her, she must be worth the "payment".
Kind of the opposite for me. My wife was looking for a renter to help pay the mortgage on a 3 yr old house after she got divorced. I'm still the most expensive wanted ad she ever placed...

[Lynn]

Just printed my first label. Will see how it goes.

[njsteve]

Similar craziness. I had a 1972 Firebird bumper that I sold to a guy in CT. My quote on Fedex ground was $230 to ship it. The buyer said he had a commercial business account with Fedex and would check his price. He plugged in all my info and dimensions of the box. The shipping label cost him all of $85 including oversize charge. So he sent me the label and off it went.

[Lynn]

Lots of craziness in the shipping world.
I am hoping this pirateship site cuts through that to get the best deal.

Steve: I am betting we could have had your wheels shipped a lot cheaper had I known of this back then.