• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Affordable Shipping Options

wesleyfurr

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
612
Location
Virginia, USA
I found someone interested in an IBM 5394 unit I came across recently. They made me an offer on it, so I went to see about what it would cost to ship. It weighs 15Lbs and is 16x17x5", guessing 18Lbs and 22x25x11 for estimating shipping costs. I'm in VA, they are in NM. Cheapest option USPS has to offer (via Paypal shipping) is $86. Even visited the local PO to confirm there wasn't a cheaper option I was overlooking. UPS and Fedex are right in line, I think UPS came back with $83. Sounds like the new "dimensional weight" rates combined with the distance involved is driving up the cost. Wow.

So...just wondering, does anyone here know of a more affordable shipping option for old computer stuff? I have some excess medium-vintage stuff I was thinking of trying to find new homes for, but if it costs that much to ship, not sure it would be worth it...

Thanks,

Wesley
 
If you and the receiver are willing to go to a bus station, Greyhound Package Express?
 
If you and the receiver are willing to go to a bus station, Greyhound Package Express?

Probably a better chance of it arriving intact too.

Not saying it won't get thrown in to the bottom of a bus, or dropped on a cart, but actual handling of the items is fairly low. It's just moved from bus to bus, depending on the route.
 
Greyhound package express is mostly a matter of the route between you and the destination. The last time I sent something (entirely CONUS), the list of transfer tickets was easily 3 feet long--that is, lots of bus swaps. The package did arrive, however. Another option, if it's still offered is Amtrak Express shipping (i.e. it goes by train).
 
I have shipped a few arcade games using fastenal. You crate it, then drop it off at a local Fastenal location, and they ship to a different fastenall location. The limitation is that they only ship in zones (In the west you can only ship to the west, east can only ship to the east). https://www.fastenal.com/en/22/blue-lane-freight
 
If you're shipping something heavy and large that needs to be palletized, shipping outfits such as Pak Mail, will usually be cheaper than going to a LTL trucking company, as they usually have contracts already in place. In two of my cases, it was less than half of the cheapest LTL quote.
 
Back
Top