Anyone Know How to Get a Shipping Discount when Shipping

I ship tractor parts and implements from time to time, and would like to know if anyone out there that parts out tractors knows of any good shipping discounts, how to get them, or knows of any good tricks or ways to cut the shipping cost.

I have a large package (probably 2 or 3 seperate ones) that I've gotta ship, and since the deal included shipping, I'd like to save as much as possbile. It is gonna be a complete side dresser with hopper for a Farmall Cub tractor, so I'm sure its gonna take more than one box.

Have you looked at USHIP.COM

If you ship UPS on a regular basis they will put
you on a daily rate that is cheaper. If you sell
and ship through ebay they have cheaper rates
negotiated. If you use a LTL shipper (truck
freight) I'd ask for a discount. On a side dresser
you may find that you will end up paying what they
call "dimensional weight" because of the size. For
example you may end up paying for a 60 or 90 pound
packacage when it only weighs 30#. In that case
you would be better off to pack all the small
pieces inside the hopper and ship it all in one
package. But make sure you pack and pad everything
real well. Loose parts in transit do bad things.
UPS takes up to 120# in one package but they
charge a special handeling fee ($8 per package) if
the package is over 70# or if it is not in a
cardboard box.

Fed Ex or UPS usually gives a substantial discount when shipped to a business so if you can have item shipped to a business where you can pick it up that helps..

I use FreightCenter.com. I have always received great service working with them. They do the searching for you for the best rates, and over time the more you ship the better discount you will receive. They provide all the BOL"s for you with the info already in place. Check em" out.

I always ship from the post office since there is no other choice
locally. With USPS packages they have to be under 108
combined inches (length plus girth) for reasonable prices and
under 70 pounds or they won't handle them at all. That said, if
you can combine the parts in some way so that you can keep
them under the size limit the cheapest way to send them is to
make them heavy. IIf you have 120 pounds to ship it will be
cheaper to mail two 60# or a 50# and a 70# than to mail three
40# packages. USPS.com has a postage calculator which will
show the cost for whatever you want to ship.
Zach

Remember, UPS and Fed EX has LTL service. LTL is less that truck load freight. You might have to set up an account to ship by them. I ship by both close to once a month. Strap it all to one skid.

I let the buyer arrange his own shipping.It doesn't take much for them to have it picked up at your place.I can band it to a skid and load on the shippers truck.Why put yourself through all the headaches of shipping while the buyer does nothing.And besides that if it gets lost or damaged your the one that will have to fight the insurance compnay to get the buyers money back and probably end up at odds with him anyway.

We have found out that fed-ex is more relaxed on size as long as weight is right.
caseman-d

There are many ways to get discounts from both package and LTL shippers.
One would be Fedex will give you a discount (if you ask for it) just for paying for the shipment with a American Express OPEN business card.
The problem is you need to ask for a specific discount and we do not know how often; what size; to where; you ship. Most of the discounts are made for big players anyway.

For a small player; someone that ships once or twice a week your best bet is a freight forwarder or re-seller. These guys get rates based on sending hundreds of shipments a day and then re-sell it to you. Even with their markup it is often cheaper than going directly to the shipper and getting a quote. They also do all the paper work and the only thing you need is a fax or computer printer at the shippers location.

Unishippers is a big one. They deal with UPS package and several LTL lines.
Freightquote and freightcenter are two others I can think of off the top of my head but I think they only deal with LTL not package.

Another way to get the best price is to do away with up charges such as.....
restricted access (farm or residential)
appointments
lift gates
over size
re-delivery cause no one was home

What ever route you take package the freight and package it well. The driver/loader could care less about your stuff and it is just another stop to them. If your stuff gets broke and you did not ship based on value or buy extra insurance you will not be happy to find out how the small print settles claims.