4 ms·

How large? How fast? Unless it's ridiculous, I can't see even counter rate being that high.

by gonzo 10y ago

tyingq 10y ago
36" x 18" x 24", say with an actual weight of 20lbs. Shipped from Los Angeles to NYC via UPS. The dimensional weight is 94 lbs. Rack rates: Ground: $130, 2nd Day Air: $471, Overnight: $634 Even a discounted rate is $90 for Ground. And, I don't consider 36"x18"x24" to be crazy large. There are lots of online sellers that ship cardboard, packing peanuts, printed signs, home furnishing, cad routers, etc..that would have far larger packages. Edit: No...most don't pay rack rates, but even with a discount, it's roughly $90 for ground. Also, if you're using a shipping tool, they often don't show the pricing with dimensional weights. Try the UPS website, and enter your account number + package dimensions (not just weight) to see accurate prices that show your discount. Bottom line is that large packages are expensive, discount or not. Also, the "UPS Store" isn't owned by UPS, they are franchises...they actually charge more than UPS rack rates.
- jrockway 10y ago
  Does anyone other than people walking into the UPS store pay those rates? I've shipped things for work before, and our rates are nearly two orders of magnitude less than those rack rates. Maybe the actual price is not what's being shown to me though.
  - jasode 10y ago
    >, and our rates are nearly two orders of magnitude[1] less than those rack rates. $130 / 10 / 10 = $1.30 Did your workplace really negotiate UPS pricing such than you can send a 20 pound large package that's 36x18x24 across 2700 miles to be almost as low as $1.30? [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_magnitude https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_magnitude
    - lmm 10y ago
      This is a programming site, logarithms can be assumed to be base 2 rather than 10 by default.
      - hueving 10y ago
        I have never once heard some use the phrase "order of magnitude" with a base 2 reference.
        Dove 10y ago
        Oh, I use it that way from time to time. But I like to say "order of bignitude" to disambiguate binary. Also occasionally useful is "order of wordnitude" for millions / billions, etc.
    - jrockway 10y ago
      I'm well aware of what the term order of magnitude means. I've shipped things twice, in the shipping-company provided boxes. An overnight "medium box" between NYC and LA is on the order of $10. (Hence my "not quite" remark, it was technically more than $6 and for a smaller box. But shockingly cheap nonetheless.)
- paulmd 10y ago
  Greyhound Package Express rates can be good for odd packages (large/heavy/irregular). They don't take it right to your door but that can be worth it depending on the savings. I used to hear of it being used a lot to ship R/C airplanes cross country. You could disassemble them into a pair of wing assemblies and a fuselage and box them up. UPS/Fedex rates would suck because of the dimensional weight but Greyhound would usually beat them.

How large? How fast? Unless it's ridiculous, I can't see even counter rate being that high.

by gonzo 10y ago

How large? How fast? Unless it's ridiculous, I can't see even counter rate being that high.

36" x 18" x 24", say with an actual weight of 20lbs. Shipped from Los Angeles to NYC via UPS. The dimensional weight is 94 lbs. Rack rates: Ground: $130, 2nd Day Air: $471, Overnight: $634 Even a discounted rate is $90 for Ground. And, I don't consider 36"x18"x24" to be crazy large. There are lots of online sellers that ship cardboard, packing peanuts, printed signs, home furnishing, cad routers, etc..that would have far larger packages. Edit: No...most don't pay rack rates, but even with a discount, it's roughly $90 for ground. Also, if you're using a shipping tool, they often don't show the pricing with dimensional weights. Try the UPS website, and enter your account number + package dimensions (not just weight) to see accurate prices that show your discount. Bottom line is that large packages are expensive, discount or not. Also, the "UPS Store" isn't owned by UPS, they are franchises...they actually charge more than UPS rack rates.

jrockway 10y ago
Does anyone other than people walking into the UPS store pay those rates? I've shipped things for work before, and our rates are nearly two orders of magnitude less than those rack rates. Maybe the actual price is not what's being shown to me though.
- jasode 10y ago
  >, and our rates are nearly two orders of magnitude[1] less than those rack rates. $130 / 10 / 10 = $1.30 Did your workplace really negotiate UPS pricing such than you can send a 20 pound large package that's 36x18x24 across 2700 miles to be almost as low as $1.30? [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_magnitude https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_magnitude
  - lmm 10y ago
    This is a programming site, logarithms can be assumed to be base 2 rather than 10 by default.
    - hueving 10y ago
      I have never once heard some use the phrase "order of magnitude" with a base 2 reference.
      - Dove 10y ago
        Oh, I use it that way from time to time. But I like to say "order of bignitude" to disambiguate binary. Also occasionally useful is "order of wordnitude" for millions / billions, etc.
  - jrockway 10y ago
    I'm well aware of what the term order of magnitude means. I've shipped things twice, in the shipping-company provided boxes. An overnight "medium box" between NYC and LA is on the order of $10. (Hence my "not quite" remark, it was technically more than $6 and for a smaller box. But shockingly cheap nonetheless.)
paulmd 10y ago
Greyhound Package Express rates can be good for odd packages (large/heavy/irregular). They don't take it right to your door but that can be worth it depending on the savings. I used to hear of it being used a lot to ship R/C airplanes cross country. You could disassemble them into a pair of wing assemblies and a fuselage and box them up. UPS/Fedex rates would suck because of the dimensional weight but Greyhound would usually beat them.