posted on June 1, 2002 08:20:37 AM
Well I finally switched entirely to UPS. No more trips to the post office and standing in line. All packages are now shipped from the comfort of my home.
I sell heavy cast iron products so I had to switch.
I started an UPS account 1/4/02 and used both services until my newest auctions started on
5/30/02. This was my switch date. So far no problems and sales are as robust as always.
This is my new TOS:
Please Read The Small Print.
** Shipping costs will be calculated based on destination and weight.
Merchandise is shipped NLT the day after payment is received.
**The type shipment used is stated in the auction text. Effective 5/30/02 I will ship exclusively by UPS due to USPS postal increases.
The USPS increases are exorbitant and due to the weight of the items I sell it's no longer feasible for me to use their services. I have a daily UPS pick up account and will combine shipping on multiple auction wins on auctions won on the same day only. There is a $1.00 shipping & handling fee to help defray the cost of shipping materials.
All items are shipped from zip code 36206. Items not paid for within ten days will be relisted.
INSURANCE: Insurance is free on UPS shipping charges up to $100. Tracking of your UPS package is also free.
Been thinking about doing the same thing since i mail close to 50 pkgs a week and sick and tired of carting it all to PO and waiting in line !!
Question ... approx how much does it cost to do that ?? Do they offer boxes either to buy or free ??
posted on June 1, 2002 09:01:34 AM
I assume both of your folks are "US Only" sellers ... right?
Shipping via UPS to Canada, for example, is one of the worst things you can do to a buyer. They charge a huge "customs brokerage" fee for *all* shipments (starts at $25.00 for a 10 cent item). Biggest crooks in the shipping industry.
posted on June 1, 2002 09:22:00 AM
Also bear in mind.
a. UPS charges extra if you are delivering to a residence.
b. They charge extra again if this residence is in the boonies.
c. There billing dept is apt to make some huge mistakes. Check your bills very carefully.
It is normal to have a Package that would cost $3.50 USPS Priority cost over $6.00 because of the zip code.
Boxes, labels etc are free
Use both services, but have found that alot of customers did not want to pay the extra for shipping.
posted on June 1, 2002 10:33:06 AM
I have been using UPS exclusively for a year. They pay insurance claims right away, I can print the labels from my computer. I drive to the UPS depot once a week on Fridays and do not have to stand in line because everything is labeled. On small items pounds and under I post in the TOS shipping and insurance is 5.00. Insurance up to 100.00 is free and only .35 every 100.00 over. Tracking is included in the price. After I ship the boxes I email everyone and give them their tracking number and instructions on how to track the packages. In over 1,000 packages I've only had 5 insurance claims. UPS has saved me over 6 hours a week from standing in the Post Office line. When I was dealing with USPS I had a lot of problems with insurance claims. I even had one package opened and the contents stolen , the package was resealed and delivered. UPS has been a pleasure to deal with. I only sell USA only now. Which is fine with me.
UPS sends the tracking number to the customer along with other information if you use UPS Online Worldship. The cost are $7.00 a week. Below is an example.
Click here to track this shipment or visit http://www.ups.com/tracking/tracking.html on the internet.
_______________________________________________________________________
UPS Return Services. Making returns easier, faster and more convenient for you and your customers. For more information, click here: http://www.ec.ups.com/ecommerce/solutions/c5.html
This E-mail contains proprietary information and may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this E-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you received this message in error, please
delete it immediately.
This E-mail was automatically generated by UPS E-mail services at the Shipper's request. Any reply to this E-mail will not be received by UPS or Shipper. Please contact Shipper directly if you have questions about the referenced shipment or you wish to discontinue this notification
service.
posted on June 1, 2002 02:59:58 PM
I know I use UPS for all of my heavier packages and they are great to deal with. I have had 3 claims and they were all paid within 10 days, no muss, no fuss, no argument. They never even asked to look at the packages, just had the buyer keep them for 5 business days in case they wanted to send out someone.
posted on June 1, 2002 05:09:35 PM
RE: UPS's "customs brokerage fee" on Canadian shipments: HUH??? Never heard of such a thing. I have been shipping UPS exclusively for three years and I ship UPS Standard to Canada frequently. I have never been charged an extra fee nor have I had a single buyer complain about having to pay such a fee. I've sold some very inexpensive items to Canadians and I'm sure they would have screamed bloody murder if they had been charged a minimum of $25.00
extra.
UPS ROCKS!! Great service, no hassles. THEY ACTUALLY PAY CLAIMS!!!
posted on June 1, 2002 05:32:47 PM
You've probably already thought of this? Be sure when you get the buyer's address that it's a street address rather than a P.O. box. We live in a small mountain town with only P.O. boxes, and we've had to learn this the hard way, for things we've ordered. Otherwise, the package either gets hung up at the post office or sent back to the sender.
But as I said, you've probably already thought of this!
posted on June 1, 2002 08:05:31 PM
"Use both services, but have found that alot of customers did not want to pay the extra for shipping."
When you tell them the price includes insurance and tracking they may change their mind. UPS is also cheaper over 3 pounds. Many customers are used to paying the high service fee when they ship through a secondary provider like Mail Box etc so they mistakingly believe UPS is expensive.
posted on June 1, 2002 08:08:03 PM
"Be sure when you get the buyer's address that it's a street address rather than a P.O. box. We live in a small mountain town with only P.O. boxes, and we've had to learn this the hard way, for things we've ordered. Otherwise, the package either gets hung up at the post office or sent back to the sender."
I had a package sent through UPS to my Po address, and UPS called me for my street address.
posted on June 1, 2002 08:59:30 PM
I may be wrong, but I'm not sure the free on line DC really provides proof of delivery for accepting PayPal payments.
Just because you printed a DC label and slapped in on the package doesn't mean you actually sent it.
I prefer to have the actual USPS postal receipt that has the DC tracking #, date, time, postal clerk #, and location it was sent from.
I don't want to get a chargeback from a customer because the who-what-where-when-why details weren't documented. It's not worth trying to save 40 cents to me.
The clerks at my PO told me that problems with DC - no tracking info scanned in, website says it never arrived, etc are almost always related to the free on line DC. They said you get what you pay for, if you want DC that works consistently, pay the 40 cents.
posted on June 1, 2002 09:24:14 PM
I know that all of us (Sellers) are in different situations and sell different items on eBay. In my case most of the items I sell are quiet heavy as I sell cast iron products.
True I do sell some items that are light in weight, but most of them are very inexpensive and if UPS shipping on these items is more than the market will bear i'll quit selling then as I sell over 175 different products.
There is no way (After the postal increase) that i'll even consider trying to ship a 5 pound item to California from Alabama at the new Priority mail rate of $12.15 when UPS only charges $6.92 for residential delivery and $5.82 for a business delivery and includes free insurance up to $100.00 and free package tracking.
As far as i'm concerned the USPS has shot themselves in the foot and they are pricing themselves out of business.
True I have to purchase boxes and other packing materials but I can pass this cost on to the customer and they still get a better deal than with the USPO. It's not hard to see that the free USPS postal supplies are in essence not free but being paid for by you and I with their latest rate increases.
As stated earlier the USPO can count me gone. Enough is enough.
posted on June 2, 2002 02:55:11 AMstopwhining: if you use a service such as Endicia.com, the weight rule DOES NOT APPLY, since the PO considers you to be a "known mailer!"
posted on June 2, 2002 10:32:05 AM
jordan0311,
The UPS DC is better. All you have to do for PayPal is forward the tracking number and they take it from there. Also as a seller, you can track the package just to make sure it got there and keep buyers honest. AT NO EXTRA COST.
posted on June 2, 2002 03:11:57 PM
i ship usps simply because the po is close to me. the closest ups drop off location is in the next city =/ i cant give my packages to my post man because i live in a condo and they dont deliver teh mail to your house but in mailboxes at the end of the street.
i dont do enough sells a week to bother with the weekly pickup. maybe one day if i do enough sells a week i will switch to ups.
posted on June 3, 2002 06:06:00 AM
"sprtqust ... it's not the seller (shipper) who pays, but the buyer (receiver)."
Don't think so -- if the buyers were having to pay an extra $25.00 per shipment, believe me: They would #*!@. I have not a single complaint about this and, in fact, the last three items I shipped to Canada the buyers were THRILLED that I would ship UPS. Much faster service, better insurance and free tracking. There are NO EXTRA CUSTOMS FEES FOR UPS SHIPMENTS TO CANADA. I called them and asked! If the package is valued at greater than $25.00 then they do have to pay a tax on it, but that tax applies to shipments via the mails also.
posted on June 3, 2002 06:07:01 AM
"sprtqust ... it's not the seller (shipper) who pays, but the buyer (receiver)."
Don't think so -- if the buyers were having to pay an extra $25.00 per shipment, believe me: They would #*!@. I have not a single complaint about this and, in fact, the last three items I shipped to Canada the buyers were THRILLED that I would ship UPS. Much faster service, better insurance and free tracking. There are NO EXTRA CUSTOMS FEES FOR UPS SHIPMENTS TO CANADA. I called them and asked! If the package is valued at greater than $25.00 then they do have to pay a tax on it, but that tax applies to shipments via the mails also.
posted on June 3, 2002 01:32:42 PM
I should mention that Endicia also has a nice insurance option (via UPIC) which allows you to insure WITHOUT going to the Post Office.
That, combined with "known mailer" postage (drop in any collection box or give it to your carrier regardless of weight) and free delivery confirmation, makes using USPS pretty comparable to UPS from a service-model standpoint.
I do agree with Rampaged that USPS really seems to have gone "nuts" with their postage hikes on Zones 6-8. It seems less of an "adjustment" than a major policy change!
But the main point I wanted to make is that the "ease-of-use factor" with USPS has now become comparable to UPS if you are using the latest technologies.
posted on June 3, 2002 02:39:18 PM
http://www.ups.com/canada/using/services/accs/engimport-charges.html
Customs Brokerage Fees
The following charges will be billed to the customer's account as applicable:
Duties and taxes.
C.O.D. surcharge for customs brokerage services, when the customer has not given UPS Power of Attorney to act as their customs broker, but they request UPS to provide one-time customs clearance.
Any other customs brokerage services such as disbursement fees or more complex customs clearance procedures.
Top of Page
posted on June 3, 2002 02:41:50 PM
To be fair to UPS, and I'm not particularly a fan of theirs, they only
>charge the extra brokerage fee (25 bucks)on ground shipments. The post office is a
>better choice for non-air shipments.
>
>UPS includes the brokerage charges with air shipments, so there is no
>extra cost. UPS air shipment prices are slightly less than those of
>FedEx, and the service is comparable. FedEx doesn't offer ground
>shipment to Canada. I have used both companies for air shipment and
>been satisfied with both of them.
posted on June 3, 2002 02:44:58 PM
More and more Canadians are turning to the Internet to do at least some of their holiday shopping.
Delores Friesen of Winnipeg likes a good bargain. So when she ordered some books online, she chose to have them shipped by "ground." It's slower, but cheaper.
Tthe books cost about $78. The shipping - by United Parcel Service was another $15. Friesen told us she thought those were the only charges she would have to pay.
Friesen was wrong. Before giving her the books, UPS wanted another $31.00.
"I initially thought that I would return the order, just refuse it, and return it," Friesen told Marketplace. "Ultimately I decided to accept the books because I really wanted the books and decided these would be my very expensive books that I would treasure and just leave it at that."
The $31.00 Friesen paid was for a service called "clearing customs."
When goods come across the border there may be duty and taxes due. Couriers will take care of this for you, charging what's called a "brokerage fee." You won't see the charge on items going by air because it's included in the price. The brokerage fee applies only on items shipped by ground.
"I was surprised and frustrated that I didn't know that when I ordered the books," Friesen said.
This isn't the first time UPS customers have voiced their anger at what appears to be a hidden fee.
Last year CBC Regina and Ottawa aired stories of consumers upset with the brokerage fee. At the time, UPS spokesperson Joe Tavares said, "In this case if he was not aware of it up front I can certainly appreciate his surprise."
Phil Cahly of the Canadian Courier Association adds consumers wouldn't be surprised if the stores they buy from in the U.S. told them about the brokerage fee.
"There's been a large explosion in e-commerce and retailers aren't aware of customs formalities themselves. They should be telling their customers, but some aren't doing it," Cahly said.
Friesen says the book company she bought from never told her about the brokerage fee.
So we phoned the company, US PrayerTrack. A spokesperson told us they only became aware of the brokerage fee after phone calls from some angry Canadians. The spokesperson also told us UPS never explained to them the brokerage fee.
A UPS spokesperson told Marketplace their website, and U.S. rate guide clearly state the consumer is responsible for all brokerage charges, duty and taxes. But when we asked if UPS shows clients this information, or tells its clients that Canadian customers will have to pay a brokerage fee - the spokesperson couldn't say.
"I'm glad I paid the money and chalked it up to experience," Friesen told us. "
