I never had to send / ship stuff before (only ever had to deal with letters)

I am wondering what company is the best or offers the most features in terms of ship.

I know post office has certified mail that basically cost more but they guarantee your
package get to the person.

I believe fedex and ups allow you to track your packages...

I am just curious if they all do the same / have the same functions in ship and tracking stuff.
Or do they limit you in someway interms of size , shape , material, contents ,..etc of something you want to ship.

Also cost , speed , are another area of concern....
Could they ship in bulk for you.... i.e if you need to ship like 100 packages or so every 5 days or so ...
Is their any limit on the amount.

Also is their any other major customer shipping companies other the fedex , ups , or post office or are those mainly the 3 major ones in the US.

These are just some of the questions I am having in mind.
And if somebody has had experience in these topics of shipping / receiving companies then I would appreciate some help if possible.
I am just think in terms of if I start this business.

 

If you were living in Canada and wanted to order something from the US I would say:

USPS.

No to Fedex and UPS!

I had a thread about how they rip off customers when shipping outside the US.

On the other hand, Fedex and UPS are fast.

 

So who would you use instead of fedex and ups.

 

So who would you use instead of fedex and ups.

United States Postal Service.

 

All of them are expensive. I'm not sure how companies get around the prices, but there has to be a way.

 

Well , if I use the post office can they ship in bulk like a 100 or 200 big box's a week.

question 2
Is those the only real 3 choices I have to ship customers products or is their other major shipping companies I can use?

question 3
If I am going to have some customers over in Europe / asia / africa would the post office be the best way to ship
100 or 200 boxs to them over their.

 

What is your product line,could it be part of a container shipment.

Pm me,what the product,where its going,the weight and a starting

country. I can get estimate.If you have a proper bill of landen. Lets not

bother the guy just for fun. You need to be ready to do business.

This go's for anyone that has buy out lots,like you have an Inventory

that is good and ready to sale and ship. I will have to check on Insurance

if needed. The lots will be inspected. There is a strong market for discounted

clothes.

 

In terms of cost effectiveness, the USPS flat rate boxes are a super bargain. There are three box sizes, and no weight limit. The flat rate applies between any two location served by the USPS, including US territories and possessions. I have had only one mishap with this service, involving a 50 lb. piece of equipment which I believe was deliberately dropped or thrown in an attempt to destroy it. Otherwise, I choose FedEx ground. They provide an inexpensive packing service and extra heavy duty boxes. They do charge by weight, of course, and it can be expensive. They shipped an electric sander and an antique signal generator from Anchorage to Olympia, without mishap.
I deliberately omit mention of their competitor.

 

With all the videos seeing drivers throwing packages,you will have to

use packing that will take beating from being dropped and mishandled.

If you ship overseas you don't know how many chances your package

has to be openned and switched. Containers go out like once a month.

 

Ok , I cann't mention anything about the product other then dimensions , quantity , weight right now.

Dimension is 3 1/2 ft x 4ft x 2ft
weight approx. 70lbs
quantity is 100 to 150 of them a week.
location is going to parts of America, Asia , Africa with potential for some Eurpo countries/customers

I am ok with storage on my end (i.e a storage place for my inventory before shipping to customers) just need a way to transport them to my customers.

I would think storage after I ship them to them is their problem.
But I will make sure with them that this is ok, (I AM NOT GOING TO PAY FOR STORAGE ON THEIR END)

 

You need to know someone that does this on a regular basis.

A proven shipper. I will try get to an answer how overseas storage

is handled,you would want to get secured payment before you

ship anything. You have to have a buyer for your product and

any handling you need details. I would suggest you invest in a

sample shipped free, like pictures to see where all the connection

are. How long it takes and what you pay for weight,you follow

where I am going with this, to see if a free package makes it to

the receiver.

 

I see... so their is no local service you can get thru a ups , fedex , post office , or any other popular company.

You have to know an actual shipping and receiving company?
If that is the case I don't know one so do you have any suggestions on what companies I should start looking into for this service?

And I do get you on the packet tracing that is a good idea.... but I need to know the major shipping companies I can use or at least a good start ... some company I can contact to find out more info on what companies I should use.

Thanks for any help with this one since I don't really know where to begin and also worried about being ripped off in price since I never done this stuff before.

Timing is not a huge issue it can arrive at my customers with in a few weeks of my target date ,...etc

 

I use a combination of methods. For my book business, I use USPS but buy my postage on-line from stamps.com as I have an account with them. If you sell enough stuff, their monthly fee will be off-set by the cheaper rates they give you. For the electronics business, we have always used Fed-Ex in part because many of our customers are government affiliates and have accounts with fed-ex. I am looking into getting my own shipping account with fed-ex in the hopes of lowering shipping costs. When you are shipping overseas be aware of potential custom's issues. Some countries have massive redtape. If I remember correctly, two that were very difficult to deal with were India and Brazil. In the case of countries like that, instead of using fed-ex, I am looking for a "middle-man" shipper that will handle all the government forms for me. I have not yet located one locally. I have had generally good results using fed-ex to ship electronics, but I do sub-box components and use lots of air-bubble packing materials. There is a company that I buy my boxes from and if you are interested, pm me and I'll give you more information on it.

 

OK
USPS is good for priority flat rate for heavy smaller items. FedEx is cheaper on big light items that are big in dimention but low on weight. UPS is horrible with big light boxes. Thats about as much as i know.