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I've been unloading some no longer used household stuff over the last few weeks. On one $25 sale last week, I was badly surprised to learn that on an $11 shipping cost there were additional charges of $4.00 or so for rural delivery plus a fuel surcharge of 41 cents. eBay's freight calculator does not take those additional charges into account so I had to eat them. Fortunately I had included a $5 handling charge, primarily to pay for the gas for the 40 mile round trip to town, but that was eaten up by the surcharges. I have also started including a couple of extra pounds in the shipping weight in the auction description to make doubly sure I am not subsidizing the shipping cost.
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You can get surprised by rural and residential delivery charges using Fedex Ground, too.
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That is why I always add at least 30% to my shipping figures. I have found that people in rural area's love auctions with fixed shipping. The seller picks up the extra.
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USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate box..
If it fits in the box, it ships for $8.25. (up to 50lbs).
I've had bars of lead delivered that way...
50lbs for under $9.
Try THAT with UPS/FedEx!
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FWIW if you use the cost estimators on the FedEx and UPS sites it will include all surcharges and extras like insurance.
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how much does USPS charge for $100 of insurance?
UPS includes that, even with Ground.
all good info to know!
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[quote incognegro]how much does USPS charge for $100 of insurance?
UPS includes that, even with Ground.
all good info to know!
Try collecting insurance from UPS.
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Chupa,
You have to be careful with the cost estimators. The price changes, depending on whether the recipient's location is a business or a residence. It also changes depending on whether or not you have a UPS account with a daily pickup or if you're just going to drop it off at an authorized UPS drop off location. This is on top of all the other factors that affect price, i.e. oversize, rural location, fuel surcharge, etc.
Robert
