Shipping Cost Inquiry

[Will Brumley]

Is it common to offer a steel up for sale but not be able to tell you what a person will charge for shipping? I've found one for sale but the person couldn't tell me what the cost for shipping would be. How would I know how much to pay them? Just something that might be worth mentioning in an ad. What does shipping usually run on a S-10?

[Larry Jamieson]

Shipping cost vary greatly depending on the distance the item has to be sent. The bigger the item, the higher the cost. Some items are too big to be shipped by mail. I could never quote a shipping cost until I have the zip code of the receiver. At that point, I can check with UPS and the post office and determine a shipping cost. The weight of the package, the size of the package and the distance all are factors in the final shipping cost.

[Douglas Schuch]

The key is to agree on method of shipping and that ONLY shipping cost is added to price - not "handling", "packaging", etc. If they want to charge above and beyond the actual shipping costs, they should specify that amount. I would round down, and set a fixed price for shipping to lower 48 that was less than it would actually cost, but that way everyone knew going into the deal what the price was, and I just needed to set a price that I was willing to eat a little on shipping. But then, I was living in the Virgin Islands then, so fewer options and higher prices for shipping.

You can look up shipping prices so long as you know the size of the package (add a couple inches to the case dimensions, or more if packing with foam between case and cardboard), and the weight of the package, and the zipcodes for shipper and receiver.