UPS Rates for Shipping Ukes

Hochapeafarm

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Hey, everyone!

(Mods, if I’ve got this thread going in the wrong place — please work your magic to move to an appropriate place on the UU.)

I see lots of sales going on here, so those of you who are selling your ukes on the UU Marketplace, if you’re shipping your ukuleles (which I’m assuming most folks are), can you please give me an idea of what you’re paying to ship ukuleles via UPS Ground Service within the CONUS — or, if you using another shipper, I’m curious, too, what you’re paying for shipping?

I’m looking to rehome two Pono tenors and an aNueNue concert soon — I would like to have an approximate idea on what I’ll need to calculate to cover my cost for shipping.

Thanks!
 
It really varies so much depending on sending and receiving zip codes and package size. Those seem to matter even more than weight. I will say that the last time I tried to ship, I computed my price using the online estimator for UPS and USPS and they are pretty much what you'll get from the service window. If you try the estimator and get a really high number, play with the sizes to see if that helps. Sometimes even an inch or two will send you into a new category or something and jack the price way up. If you can find a smaller box or even cut down the box to as small as possible (while still leaving adequate protection of course), it might help.
 
Hey there, Jim! Thanks so much for your ideas and commenting! :) Yep, I realize that zip codes, weight, dimensions all play into the cost - just wondering if folks would be willing to share examples of what they’ve been having to dish out for shipping — just to have an approximate idea of what I’m looking at here. I will reach out to my UPS store to ask them, too, but I am curious about what others have been having to spend in their capacity of shipping their instruments. Again, I’m looking for costs related to tenors and concerts.
 
As an added aside — it seems that companies often get better rates than the private person does with shipping — so I am looking for what private individuals are having to — approx — spend on shipping. This cost will also vary depending upon how much insurance is purchased, too, I realize.
 
It does depend on a lot of factors. If you use regular Paypal you get a shipping rate that's about 40% less. This does not apply if you use "friends and family" Paypal where no fees are taken out. I learned that the hard way when a buyer paid me through Paypal using friends/family. I didn't ask for him to do that, but he did. I saved the 3% fee (or whatever it is now), but then there was no option for printing the label and paying for shipping through Paypal. I probably saved $6.00 in Paypal fees but paid about $20 more for shipping. That's the first tip, if you use Paypal pay the fee and get the cheaper shipping, print the shipping label through the Paypal website, I think they give you a couple options like UPS or USPS.

If you want to be precise, just list the uke's price and say "Plus Shipping". After the sale you can box up the uke, measure and weigh it, purchase the shipiping through Paypal and tell the buyer how much more is owed for the shipping and collect it before you send it off.

Another option is to box your uke, measure and weigh it, then go to the web sites for UPS, USPS and FedEx to see what shipping cost is to different US zip codes so you know the general range. If you live in the NW see what shipping costs might be to Florida so you know how high it might go.

With regular USPS or UPS I have paid around $45 to ship tenor ukes with cases across the country. If selling through regular Paypal and using their discounted shipping I've paid around $25 for tenors with cases. These are generalities, could be more or less depending on many factors.
 
It does depend on a lot of factors. If you use regular Paypal you get a shipping rate that's about 40% less. This does not apply if you use "friends and family" Paypal where no fees are taken out. I learned that the hard way when a buyer paid me through Paypal using friends/family. I didn't ask for him to do that, but he did. I saved the 3% fee (or whatever it is now), but then there was no option for printing the label and paying for shipping through Paypal. I probably saved $6.00 in Paypal fees but paid about $20 more for shipping. That's the first tip, if you use Paypal pay the fee and get the cheaper shipping, print the shipping label through the Paypal website, I think they give you a couple options like UPS or USPS.

If you want to be precise, just list the uke's price and say "Plus Shipping". After the sale you can box up the uke, measure and weigh it, purchase the shipiping through Paypal and tell the buyer how much more is owed for the shipping and collect it before you send it off.

Another option is to box your uke, measure and weigh it, then go to the web sites for UPS, USPS and FedEx to see what shipping cost is to different US zip codes so you know the general range. If you live in the NW see what shipping costs might be to Florida so you know how high it might go.

With regular USPS or UPS I have paid around $45 to ship tenor ukes with cases across the country. If selling through regular Paypal and using their discounted shipping I've paid around $25 for tenors with cases. These are generalities, could be more or less depending on many factors.

Wow, I had no idea there was discounted shipping!
That's really a good discount.
 
I'd say $40 to $60 plus insurance for a tenor with a hard case. I like to ship priority as a way to minimize the South Florida heat. I usually ship USPS or FedEx
 
There is also the aspect of insurance. If you don't want to pay for insurance to cover the sale price of the instrument, you gamble that you won't need it. If you are among the many that have heard that it's almost impossible to collect on a claim, that's another.

With insurance for a tenor ukulele, case, moderate sized box, CA to WI (delivered to a Walgreens) and $1000 insurance it was about $125.

Didn't know about a PayPal discount.
 
STOP!! I learned about this shipping service on the Talk Bass forum, www.Shipbikes.com using FedEx at about half the price because they ship so much. In the last couple of months I shipped four bass ukes, well packaged for about $28 each across the country. They also insure. I dropped off at my local FedEx office, or they can do pickup.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
STOP!! I learned about this shipping service on the Talk Bass forum, www.Shipbikes.com using FedEx at about half the price because they ship so much. In the last couple of months I shipped four bass ukes, well packaged for about $28 each across the country. They also insure. I dropped off at my local FedEx office, or they can do pickup.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

I'll have to check them out. Thanks Michael.
 
It cost me $125 to ship a tenor ukulele USPS First Class and case from Honolulu to California. UPS was another $50 more so I went for the cheaper option. If you live on the mainland USA it's a lot less expensive since you can use ground transportation rather than air. When we had a music shop we belonged to a freight co-op (Hawaiian Freight Assoc.) and could ship with big discounts (i.e., about $10 per guitar and case in a typical order) but you can't be in a hurry and need some volume beyond a one off.
 
It cost me $125 to ship a tenor ukulele USPS First Class and case from Honolulu to California. UPS was another $50 more so I went for the cheaper option. If you live on the mainland USA it's a lot less expensive since you can use ground transportation rather than air. When we had a music shop we belonged to a freight co-op (Hawaiian Freight Assoc.) and could ship with big discounts (i.e., about $10 per guitar and case in a typical order) but you can't be in a hurry and need some volume beyond a one off.

That's crazy. Back in February or March, I sent a soprano from California to Honolulu USPS for $30. UPS wanted $90. Last week I did the same in the same size box for $20.
 
Thanks to everyone for their input! All of this info is very helpful to me — and I hope to others out there looking to potentially rehome ukes (or give homes to ukes!)! Happy strums!
 
One more comment ... I'm trying to sell my Magic Fluke concert Koa top along with the padded TKL gig bag. I had someone interested in the purchase, but when I inquired with Pak N Ship, their charge to box up and send was $150!!! The employee checked with what USPS would be and that was $80 for me providing my own box and packing it up, etc. That's still high in my opinion. And I'm having trouble finding a box that's 30" long, 12" wide and 6" high. What I'm seeing online for a box is pricey as well.
 
STOP!! I learned about this shipping service on the Talk Bass forum, www.Shipbikes.com using FedEx at about half the price because they ship so much. In the last couple of months I shipped four bass ukes, well packaged for about $28 each across the country. They also insure. I dropped off at my local FedEx office, or they can do pickup.

I'm confused... The site seems very bike-centric (as expected) with no mention of shipping general merchandise. Do you just go the "ground shipping" tab and put in the dimensions and weight? I note that there's nothing to keep you from putting in dimensions far too small for a bike. Would they honor the insurance on a damaged non-bike shipment?
 
I'm confused... The site seems very bike-centric (as expected) with no mention of shipping general merchandise. Do you just go the "ground shipping" tab and put in the dimensions and weight? I note that there's nothing to keep you from putting in dimensions far too small for a bike. Would they honor the insurance on a damaged non-bike shipment?

Yes, you can specify any size. They're a shipping company that's earned their reputation with large odd shaped items, but will ship anything. The insurance covers anything they ship, which is actually FedEx, who gives ShipBikes a steep discount because of all the business they do. In the last two months I shipped four bass ukes all around the country for almost half the price of the other main shippers.
 
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It does depend on a lot of factors. If you use regular Paypal you get a shipping rate that's about 40% less. This does not apply if you use "friends and family" Paypal where no fees are taken out. I learned that the hard way when a buyer paid me through Paypal using friends/family. I didn't ask for him to do that, but he did. I saved the 3% fee (or whatever it is now), but then there was no option for printing the label and paying for shipping through Paypal. I probably saved $6.00 in Paypal fees but paid about $20 more for shipping. That's the first tip, if you use Paypal pay the fee and get the cheaper shipping, print the shipping label through the Paypal website, I think they give you a couple options like UPS or USPS.

If you want to be precise, just list the uke's price and say "Plus Shipping". After the sale you can box up the uke, measure and weigh it, purchase the shipiping through Paypal and tell the buyer how much more is owed for the shipping and collect it before you send it off.

Another option is to box your uke, measure and weigh it, then go to the web sites for UPS, USPS and FedEx to see what shipping cost is to different US zip codes so you know the general range. If you live in the NW see what shipping costs might be to Florida so you know how high it might go.

With regular USPS or UPS I have paid around $45 to ship tenor ukes with cases across the country. If selling through regular Paypal and using their discounted shipping I've paid around $25 for tenors with cases. These are generalities, could be more or less depending on many factors.

Does this apply to overseas shipping too, ie from US to some other country? I’m trying to purchase an uke from the US but the shipping is a killer!
 
Does this apply to overseas shipping too, ie from US to some other country? I’m trying to purchase an uke from the US but the shipping is a killer!

To see international shipping on the ShipBike home page choose Get a Shipping Quote, in that window is a link for international shipping.
 
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