Thread: Shipping

Help! I've got a buyer (Possibly) for a Twinsonic 12X 55" light bar. The hold up is the cost for shipping. USPS wants almost $90 for shipping based on weight and size. What is everyone else doing to ship light bars cheaply? Also, how are you packing them securely? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Last one I received it had tag on the box of 55.00 and came from NY to WV via fed ex .Ryan or Eric could give you a better idea as both do a lot of shipping of bars

Dont use USPS for nothing!

I shipped an MX7000 for $60 with FedEx. They had to make a custom box.

USPS is cheaper as long as you use Parcel Post & not Priority mail like all the morons on eBay. You can ship an MX7000 for under $35.00 to most of the Continental US.

I have shipped several MX7000 for $19 at Fedex, I did ship 2 Vectors in the same package with DHl for about $65. Sometimes an inch or 2 off the box size will drop it $10 so play with the size.

I think there has been about 2 or 3 other discussions about this topic,anyhow Fedex will be the cheapest for shipping lighbars .period! but it ranges on region and distance as well and uline sells lightbar boxes,but you have to buy like 10 or more. :ugeek:

If you are shipping a Whelen Liberty/Patriot in a Whelen box with no insurance, it is like $35 FedEx Ground/Home. Add the insurance of like $2000 and it is almost more then the shipping costs, but you have to insure it.

If you do not have a Whelen box and have to buy one, as stated it is expensive because Uline does not sell their long boxes individually. You can always see if your local dealer has any old boxes they can sell or give you for shipping, I have done that before. Better and cheaper to use a real box for the lightbar, because packing popcorn is also not cheap. These are reasons why I rarely will buy old lightbars because they are a PITA to ship do to packing costs.

Stop by a bicycle shop, or anywhere that sells bikes, really. The boxes they come in are a too big as-is for a lightbar, but a couple minutes with a knife and you've got a custom box for free.

Corrugated cardboard boxes are best cut with a brand new razor blade. You can get 100 of them for around $5. There's no excuse for destroying a box with a dull pocket knife.

I know I asked this on the old board, but I need to ask again. What's the best, cheap way to ship lightbars? What kind of packaging, what company, etc. Specifically, I am trying to have a twinsonic shipped to me...

You could ask member rohmers about his experiences shipping via Greyhound's Next Bus Out service, mentioned on the old board: http://www.freeyabb.com/elightbars/view ... elightbars

Originally Posted by shues

Corrugated cardboard boxes are best cut with a brand new razor blade. You can get 100 of them for around $5. There's no excuse for destroying a box with a dull pocket knife.

I highly doubt the OP is a retard...

I had an AeroDynic shipped to me from CA in a box. The only packing was stuffed rough paper all around the bar. (about 3" wide all around) That's it.
I guess it wasn't very expensive to pack. I also read it wasn't the best way to pack a bar but it arrived flawlessly, and undamaged. Shipped with Fedex grounds.

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Originally Posted by Ben E.

I highly doubt the OP is a retard...

Probably not. However, there may be at least one person as green as myself when I was first starting out. I learned the hard way.

After many issues as the sender and the recipient of trashed bars.... I have come up with the following: I use fedex ground, shipped directly from their hub which saves a decent amount of cash. I buy boxes and bubble wrap from Uline.com, also pretty cheap. I wrap the bar in bubble wrap, slid it in and pad the voids with more bubble wrap or crumpled paper. I charge $30-35 to ship full bars.

I REFUSE to use UPS. Their insurance is a scam, they ship damaged items back to the sender.... so the buyer is out the broken bar and the $$.

USPS is just too expensive for full sized bars.

That said I have all but given up on shipping lightbars worth less than $100, it's just not worth my time.

Fed Ex just quoted me $150 to ship a Twinsonic BEFORE insurance! Now I'm more confused than ever.............. I must not be around when the deals are passed out!

its more about size then weight if it is under 80 or so lb. What size box are ya using, my guess is wayyyy to big. play on their website with different box dimensions to see what the rate would be.

USPS in NY is lazy . I got a package from HPD84 3 days ago. The mailman didnt even bother knocking on my door to give me the package . He didnt even leave the notice just broght it to the PO. When I looked at the tracking it says they attemted to deliver at 1:19pm thats a lie since someone was home. Thank g-d for tracking. I guess Ill go to the PO tomorrow to pick it up.

Anymore, I use USPS for almost everything & UPS when I have something too big for USPS. I don't deal with FedEx anymore because their closest location to me is 30 miles away.

On this Twinsonic...if you have a UPS store (or someplace that sells boxes) get a couple 40x10x10or 40x12x12 boxes. Should be perfect with some cutting/taping/splicing. Even a loaded 'Twin "shouldn't be anymore than 50 LBS. If there are mounts, I would remove them as well & bubble wrap (or box) them/the hardware & put them underneath the bar inside the box.

When I package a lightbar, I used to use just foam on the ends, but now I use that AND 1/2" bubble wrap.
Peanuts would also work instead of the foam but move around too much to "stay" anyplace.

The #1 thing you want to protect when shipping most lightbars are the endcaps, closely followed by the plastic lens(es) themselves. I have found that thick styrofoam works well along with that flexible styrofoam stuff thats' about an inch thick but bend-able (I forget what its' called).

& I know for a fact that UPS will do just about ANYTHING to pin any breakage on somebody other than themselves. They say you have to have 2" of packaging around the object you are sending otherwise they'll call it "in-sufficient" & you're screwed if it gets broken.

I won't even go into the horror stories I have about USPS & UPS & their breakage of things I've sent & had sent to me.

Oh & while we're on the subject, here's a quick breakdown of Tracking services when you send something:
UPS - GOOD; & is free
FedEx - GOOD; & is free
USPS - SUCKS because you can send something & 2-3 days after you send it, the tracking update usually sums it up as "it has been mailed" (well no shit...); & costs an extra .65 or something, basically worthless. However, without it, I've had packages "disappear" for almost a month then magically re-appear.

Hope this helps....

lately i have had good luck, as far as damage is concerned with greyhound( yes, the bus service ). after all it sits on a bus when they have empty seats, lol.

Originally Posted by ERIC6913

lately i have had good luck, as far as damage is concerned with greyhound( yes, the bus service ). after all it sits on a bus when they have empty seats, lol.

weird, everytime I shipped with them, it was placed in the exterior storage compartments... :P

OK, so the bar shipped today using FedEx for..........drum roll........... $30 bucks! Apparently going to the trouble of going in, giving the weight and dimensions, etc. is a waste of time because the bored clerk just makes up a price!

Originally Posted by crescentstar69

...the bored clerk just makes up a price!

Are you being serious? How does that work?

Yes, you heard right. The clerk quoted me $150 bucks when I went in the first time. I pretty much figured if she took a giant dump she would turn transparent, so I packed it up, took it in, and it was $30 out the door.

Wow. Congrats!

Forgot to pass on the best part. The clerk with the "who cares" attitude was named Shaton. That's right, SHAT ON! (cue eye roll)

Lets tally up shipping issues with fullsize bars--

UPS-
Average cost $40. 50% damage rate (2 out of 4 bars). All were packed by UPS stores. UPS wants the bars shipped back to the seller at my cost, then they deny the claim for incorrect packaging.

Fed Ex ground-
Average cost $30. 20% damage rate (1 out of 5). Bar was packaged by sender. FedEx paid to ship the bar to their center. Claim was denied for lack of packaging (bubble wrap around bar, peanuts filling box)

USPS-
Average cost $45. 50% damage rate (1 of 2). Bar was packed by sender with peanuts only. Insurance paid out.

I'm glad my customer got his bar without damage! I'm not fooling with full sized bars anymore. Too much trouble.