Hot Rods The cost of shipping is changing the hobby

The first picture below is the tracking details of a USPS package I recently paid "extra" for priority 2 day shipping. keep in mind that the baltimore facility is about 20-30min drive from my house.
The next picture is my current situation with some valve parts I bought from Reds. (Totally not Reds fault), but again I paid extra for 2 day priority shipping...9 days on and USPS can't even tell me where the package is.
Chappy

 

I see what you guys are talking about but with the deep pocket people dropping a 100 thou on a car the hobby will be just for them. If we can’t afford the shipping we can’t afford the car. I buy at the local speed shop and most of his stuff is a hair cheaper because he gets a discount then passes it on.

 

I list a few things on eBay, most of the time I use the flat rate boxes if I can but I sell a lot of wheel covers that will not fit in any of the flat rate boxes so I use the eBay calculator which I have found to be way high a lot of the times. I state in my listings that if the shipping seems to be too far off to contact me with their zip code and I will check the USPS web site to give them a close shipping cost, some times it helps. I know my sales are down due to high shipping cost, I list everything I can here on the HAMB but I have too many items that are of no interest to HAMBers.

 

Well I see I am not the only person experiencing shipping woes as of late. I have noticed it is taking longer for packages to arrive at my place. Likewise packages I ship to arrive at their destination. What took 3-4 days to ship is now taking 5-7.

The gal at the local Post Office explained that all their overtime shifts have been cut. This includes the distribution hubs/centers. For example, at the end of a shift at the Dist. Center it is now common to have a few full pallets that will not get processed. Those pallets may sit there for a few days, where in the past all pallets where handled the day they arrived. You can see where this will "snowball" everyday. I experienced this delay first hand as several of my incoming packages sat at the USPS dist. center for 3 days before they were procressed. Typically an incoming package will sit at that facility for 1 day max. After a several day wait, the packages make their final 20 minute trip to my local P.O. where they're finally sent out for delivery.

I hear ya @Chappy444. I recently sold and shipped a vintage SW Tach to a guy in Australia. I sent it via USPS. I mailed the package Aug 17. According to the USPS Tracking # it is still sitting at the USPS International Dist. Center in Chicago. The buyer in Australia is very understanding and is "ok with it". However, I really wish it would hurry up and get to him.

Another guy in Australia contacted me yesterday and bought a vintage SW gauge panel filled with gauges. So I have the stress of sending another package over seas. Not only that, these guys are paying out their ears for shipping.
I'll find out Tuesday what this is going to cost.

Not only do we have it rough here in the US, the folks outside the US have it rough too. These guys are paying International shipping fees, then they have to pay Duties & taxes once it arrives in their country.....ouch! I feel kinda bad for them.

I don't see this situation improving anytime soon.

 

As was mentioned, the UPS Store is not the same as UPS, you'll get different rates there. I never use UPS.

Dollar General is now a drop-off point for Fedex, as is Walgreens, so if you buy a label online and print it out you can just drop your packages off there. Selling through eBay you get a discount on Fedex and USPS shipments, it's a pretty significant amount if you print your labels through eBay's system.

A willingness to ship a part probably doubles it's value, so I think it's worth the effort of figuring out the best way to ship something to someone. Buyers will pay the premium to avoid making a long road trip, or to get the part that's holding up their build.

When we are unwilling to ship, many of the good parts we've saved will never get into the hands of the builders who need them, and they may be lost forever, and that hurts the hobby a lot more than the price of shipping does.

 

I bought an item in Australia, it weighed three lbs. Shipping was $30. It took two weeks to get to the US from Australia. It showed up in the port of New York. Three weeks later it was in the port of Long Beach. One month later it was in Brownstown Mi where it was shipped and returned three times before it finally got to me. I had a package from Canada that sat in Chicago for 31 days. It was shipped in May, and finally got here the middle of August.

 

I posted a Hot Rod Mag to friend in Tennessee from Australia
cost A$39
He has since posted to me two licence tag surrounds ,six weeks and have not received them
Bloody dear

 

A mate of mine in San Diego posted me a small package recently and it took 10 days. Longer than the usual 5-7 days, but Covid has affected all postage. The postage cost on the other hand shocked me. Postage costs have gone through the roof in recent years. From Europe and the UK not so bad.

 

Something to watch out for.
I wanted to ship some tires via FedEx.
They offered a 10% discount (IIRC) if I first set up an account.
What the heck...sure.
Asked about the best way to package them.....not exactly light weight, ya know.
They gave me the info I needed to package them up. Took quite a bit of heavy cardboard and time.

When it came time to ship, I had them all packed up like they advised and they completed the shipping.
Later when I got the statement from FedEx, they charged me an additional amount because the package was heavier/bigger than they had estimated and wouldn't go through the handling system like normal packages do.
What ????
I went back there and calmly explained that the price was supposed to be as was stated when shipped.
They gave me the run-around of course and said I'd have to call the main FedEx office....whatever the hell that was.
I said "NO !, I'm not going to do the calling......you do it! "
So, the lady was nice enough to make the call. After about 45 minutes on the phone, they agreed to honor the original price...except some "small amount" that they claimed couldn't be waived.

The point is; if you're going to set up an account with them, then FedEx can back-charge you when they feel like it, and if you're not in a fighting mood, it's gonna be your loss.

 

IT'S JUST NOT CAR PARTS - all the stay at home folks are shipping crap. Had a first for this year car show/swap meet where I sold some stuff - about $800 - cheap bastards - I'll sell most of it online and won't gouge the buyers....Greyhound is a good shipper for large stuff - USPS for smalls or Fed-X......I worked for UPS and will not ship with them !

 

No wonder it cost so much!

 

If I list something with Free Postage USA it is a sure bet the winner is in California, Oregon or Washington.

 

I have had both UPS and Fed Ex shipping accounts for years. It used to save 10% but I don't know about now. Weigh it on my scale, figure out the shipping cost and print the shipping label. I've also mailed a couple of guys a Fedex return label to ship me something I bought from them.
I used to drop the packages at my friends store for pickup all pre labeled before he closed the store but usually drop them at the actual UPS or Fedex distribution center.
When I sell stuff if it fits in a USPS priority mail box or envelope that's the way I usually send it and on Ebay sales I list that as shipping cost. Tracking, better delivery time and an honest shipping cost.

 

Shipping prices have gone up, like almost everything elese in this hobby. Where there is a will, there is a way. While many suppliers offer free shipping in the USA, it gets expensive when shipping almost anything to Canada. UPS charges between $25-50 for clearing customs, add that to the shipping and 13% sales tax. On items under USD$250, my rule of thumb was, "double it", to get the landed cost in CAD at my door.

Thankfully Toronto is not that far from Buffalo NY, so I used to ship everything to a store in NY and either me or my friend would make a trip once or twice a month to pick up the items. Now that I live in Germany, shipping is insanely expensive. It will cost you $200+ to ship a 5 lb box from USA or Canada.

 

Yep.
This is why costs have skyrocketed. People don't realise how much shipping costs came down with the massive increase in airline flying in the past 30 years, as a lot of parcel mail goes in the hold of airlines, so with a massive decrease in airline flying, there has been a massive reduction in freight capacity, but with an increased demand. The dedicated UPS/FEDEX and other cargo operators are flying flat out, but there's just not the capacity until the airlines start flying again, and that's not going to be anytime soon.
And think of those of us outside the USA, many projects have come to a halt as shipping to UK/Europe from USA and vise versa has going ballistic. My '32 has gone on indefinate hold now. A mate of mine is almost finished restoring his '70 Challenger, and back in January, he decided that trying to repair/fix his original bumpers was not practical, so looked at some new ones from USA. Forgive the UK prices, but the bumpers were 300 pounds, and shipping and import taxes into UK was another 300 pounds, so 600 pounds in total in his hand, but they were out of stock. With Covid and other issues, he tried to order them again at the end of July....
The bumpers were still 300 pounds to buy........but the shipping costs (and extra tax as based on shipping costs) was now just over 1600 pounds.......so almost 2000 pounds in his hand....!!!!!!!! Needless to say, he didn't order them.

 

I have noticed that too, it seems like most of my sales go to the left coast. I have been using the eBay calculator lately but it is sometimes way high which in turn causes me lost sales. USPS service is getting pretty bad, the delivery time is taking a lot longer and I have had two packages in the last few weeks that have vanished in to thin air. I put in claims and all I get is the runaround so I am out the item I sent, the high cost of the shipping and have the customer on my ass because they paid for an item they have not received and they want their money back. Lifes a bitch and then you die!!

 

Shipping cost? Time it takes to get here? I would be content if those were my only concerns. The service sucks. Drivers that write “left at front door” but throw it out at the end of driveway. Subsequent package theft, damaged packages, rough handling etc. To top it all off I just had a delivery truck smash into my garage door. In a hurry and forgot to put it in park. USPS has been the best to date. They bring my package to the door, ring the bell and charge the least. The other two can stick it.

 

I have been an ebay seller for years as I deal Antiques and art. The USPO will have a rate of 10.00 and UPS will be 25.00. Next week on something weighing 5 pounds more or less, it will be just the opposite. Distance traveled matters a great deal. 200 miles or 2000 miles will 2-3X the price. Advertise accordingly.

 

It's hard not to be political, but if you are going to gut the USPS, what do you expect?

 

UPS and FEDEX pilots and AC mechanics are highest paid in the world. UPS truck drivers make well above six digits. USPS is technically Fed Ex. Try DHL and Grey Hound. I’ve used Grey Hound in the past for larger items and they are always fair. Plus going to a Bus terminal is like going to the Star Wars Bar. Keep a eye on Amazon in the future they are testing a Amazon shipping out in SoCal. View attachment 4808909

 

I'm finding the the cost of building a car now is changing the hobby.

 

Ridiculous, isn't it? Tracking a package makes me want to go postal.

The UPS Store is for basically for convenience. If you want something
packed so it'll reach it's destination intact, they're the ones to do it for
you. Yes, UPS depots are a good way to ship...if you can find one in
your area. Don't forget, UPS set up the country in zones. The further
the distance the higher the cost. I believe that Cali, Oregon and Washington
were all in the same zone (zone 7), but I suppose things change.

UPS Priority shipping is fairly priced, I guess, but those rates keep rising.
It seems that anything I ship is just large enough to need the next size box.
Of course!

 

I had an order from Amazon that they said was delivered but nothing on the front porch. Looked at the detailed tracking info and it said the package was delivered to the mail room. I've got no frikin mail room. Walked the 150 feet to the mail box at the street and there was the package. Driver was too lazy or too much in a hurry to deliver like it should have been. I guess I'm coming up in the world, my mail box is now a mail room!

 

CLASSIFIEDS, is this a sign they will come back?
As much as I dislike faceb00k, and dont use the regular site. Faceb00k marketplace has turned up some very good buys for me in the past year since starting to use it.

Not sure if swap meets will follow, the event organizers have to pay more and more in insurance and fees that get passed on to user.

 

FedEx is now using subcontractors for most of its deliveries around here. I’m sure UPS is either doing it too or about to. When your under the gun and trying to keep costs down who looses out first? The employees soon followed by the customer.
Who reads your utility meters, handles complaints, answers the phone, builds your products etc...If it isn’t a computer it’s a contractor. The union jobs are mostly a memory along with lifetime employment.

 

Damn! Ingenuity in action. It appears the common theme in all this is doing things by remote control. Now I know what I have to say may be contradictory to your notions of good sense, but I swear that I have never had more that a handful of parts come to my places delivered by other parties. I livecd in SoCal nearly three decades and I got up on the week-ends when there were swap meets and even if I only had a few bucks past what it took to get in, I went and walked around and looked and bought what I could that I needed. If it was something made in SoCal I drove to those places and bought direct and looked people in the eye and talked and generally had a good time. I hung out with some of those who built stuff and asked 'dumb questions'. Some of those people were pretty smart and knew stuff I hadn't thought about. My daughter wanted a Rat Fink T-Shirt and I ended up buying one from Ed Roth, who showed me how he was going to use carbon fiber and resin to build his next 'three wheeler'. I won't drop a lot of names but I have been friends with Leon Russell, got to sit and talk with Andy Warhol, and been thrown in the same jail in Provincetown for doing the same thing Norman Mailer did with same results. I'm not bragging. Life to me is going there and getting in the muck. My first job out of high school was picking part in Natchez MS and I can tell you there are still junk yards full of junk. I know. I go to a lot of them. I buy and trade stuff up. Being a people person I want to mix in and talk and haggle. That means also that when I go to car shows the first place I go is the swap meet, then to see what deals the vendors have on stuff they don't want to haul back. Am I crazy to think other people can do this? And, I learned to fabricate out of necessity. I make a lot of the things ordinary people would order. If I want engine parts I get them from my engine builder. I know he doesn't make a lot on them but then again if I trust him, they are good parts. I'll stop. I have made my point several times over. I want some louvers in the hood of the pickup I'm building. There's only guy I trust and his shop is in Monrovia CA. I'm going to every damn swap meet between here and there that I can and haul as much stuff to sell as I can. It's the journey, not the destination. At least to me.

 

I'm having a hard time with Fed Ex delivering to my correct address. 4 times in the last 8 months packages for me have been delivered to my neighbor a block away. My address is 64** , his is 65** same last two digits, my correct address is on the packages. Have called each time and I'm sure it's happen again, feel bad for my neighbor.

 

My last 20 packages have arrived on time to me or wherever I sent them. When you are talking about millions of things traveling daily, a small percentage will go awry.