Hi all. I’ve recently sold two unicycles through the trading post here on the forum and noticed something very interesting. Apparently(I was completely unaware of this), shipping things on the weekends costs more than shipping things during the week. Now that I know this, it seems kind-of obvious but, I had no idea before today.
Here’s the scenario;
Earlier this week I went to the UPS shipping estimator and put in the weight/dimensions of my uni-package that I was planning to ship. I chose a zip code roughly 1,000 miles away and, estimated the shipping cost. I based my “shipping included” price on this estimation. Just today I went back to the same shipping estimator and put in the exact same specifications with the difference being that, instead of the shipping date being a Monday or Tuesday, I put the shipping date as Saturday. I was surprised to see that the rates had more than doubled! I then replaced Saturday with next Monday and, the rates returned to their previous, low amount.
This is just a heads-up to anyone planning on shipping unicycles(or anything else, for that matter). Between the two unicycles, I’m going to save $40 by shipping them Monday as opposed to Saturday. BTW, Friday was much more expensive, as well.
-Rico
I guess UPS (or the Teamsters Union) is trying to tell you something… 
I didn’t know this either.
Wow, thanks for the info hydophidian. I had no idea.
So I just played with ups shipping calculator, for 10lb shipped from NY to IL.
Cheapest shipping on a Monday is ~$15, and on the weekend ~$45. Weekend shipping did not offer the cheaper ground shipping, and forced the upgrade to 2nd day air.
I recently found those independent ‘UPS Store’ stores charge an additional fee for handling your UPS shipment.
Yeah, I was just going to buy the tag online and pick it up at the store. I don’t believe they charge you more if you pre-pay for the shipping label.
I just shipped a 20" longneck unicycle from UPS for $14.17, from an independent little UPS store.
Box Dimensions; 21"x21"x8.5"
Weight; ~15lbs
Shipment Charges:
Ground Commercial- $12.82
Service Options- $00.00
Fuel Surcharge- $01.15
CMS Processing Fee- $00.20
Total: $14.17
From Bartlesville, OK to Houston, TX, ~540 miles.
The quote on the website was identical in price. I wasn’t charged more for getting it at the little store. It was also shipped in a homemade box and, I bought the label there instead of online.
They didn’t care that it was in a homemade box or that it rattled a bit. I know some shipping places are picky about that sort of thing.
For best results with UPS (based on a short stint working there in 1990-91), you want your contents to not rattle around, as this indicates the item might not be well-protected in there. Ultimately you want to pack it so nothing really moves.
On the outside, nothing but cardboard and packing tape. No string, no brown paper wrapping, nothing that can get caught in their automated conveyor systems. That’s good advice for airline luggage as well. The conveyor system, at least back in those days, is where the majority of damage to packages would take place.