amazinmets73

I'm moving to a new city and will be shipping all my bikes. Here's my dilemma: I haven't found a place to live yet and lack an address to ship to.

What are my options? I'm thinking it may be possible to ship to the post office and ask them to hold it there.

Koyote

What you are describing is called "general delivery" and you can look it up at the USPS website. Though you may want to check with your local Postmaster (and also the Postmaster of the office to which you are shipping the bikes) if they can accommodate such large packages.

obrentharris 

If you find that shipping via USPS is prohibitively expensive (as opposed to shipping with Shipbikes or Bikeflights) you might contact a couple of moving and storage companies in the city where you are moving and see what they would charge to receive the bikes and store them for you.
Brent

amazinmets73

Good idea. I'm indeed using bike flights. I was planning to get a storage unit for some other belongings.

Camilo

UPS and FEDEX have a way to hold a package at one of their store front sites (e.g. FEDEX/Kinkos or UPS Store). Check on that.

Another idea - contact a bike shop and see if they'll receive it for you Might work if you're going to have a bike shop reassemble them.

_ForceD_

Another option is to have them all packaged, postage paid and ready to go, and leave them with a friend in your current city. Once you have a place in the new city, have the friend get them in the mail to you at your new address.

Dan

debade

Before retirement, we had good luck shipping our bikes to bike stores. We did ask them to put them together for us. It was part of our vacation expense. I also like the idea of asking a neighbor to deliver a boxed bike. Last thought is Warm Showers host. We have asked if we could leave our car when starting a tour. If the bikes are delivered to their house, it may not be too much trouble.

SpedFast

I'll give you an address to send them to, haha

amazinmets73

hmm, my current roommate might be able to help out here

indyfabz

Having used Bikeflights both before and after it switched from FedEx to UPS, I would look at ShipBikes first, assuming it still uses FedEx.

Troul 

If you can, ship them to a friend & store them in an EZ storage like place. It'd not be in the way of your friend & you could grab them at your own time.

pdlamb

Assuming you're going to set up in a motel/hotel in your new hometown, you might contact them and see if they'll accept packages for you. The night before you leave, ship the bike(s) via ground, then see if you can get there within a day or two of the bikes.

Though if you're getting a storage unit, how are you getting your other stuff there? Is there room in the trailer or truck for another box or two?

akbejeepin

I think USPS and FedEx can help with that..

Pratt

Given the increases in delivery times recently, you might have a place by the time they get there.
Just kidding. The bike store, or ship to a storage place sound good. A shipping company might be able to warehouse them for a while.
Good luck.

sykerocker 

A thought on the storage unit: If you've got a definite area picked for your future residence, can you do your storage unit rental in advance and have the bikes shipped to that office. The outfit I dealt with on my last (better be) move pointedly offered a willingness to receive mail/UPS/FedEx at the office, and then would take it to your storage unit. Didn't need to use it, but it was nice to know they could. Of course, that means you're either using their lock, or supplying them with lock and key so they can get into the unit.

Juan Foote

If you are staying at a hotel when you first come into town they can receive mail and packages for you, particularly if it's a 'good' site. You may want to warn them up front about it.

shrimp123

call a LBS. i have had luck that way.

GhostRider62

If you are flying to your new city, you will beat your bikes there. If you have a lot of bikes, I would arrange a storage unit and have them delivered to my hotel where I would have a U Haul rented to take them to storage. Or, see if a bike shop could help. If you are driving and have a lot of bikes, it might be cheaper and easier to get a U haul trailer.

CliffordK

It used to be possible to get an address through Mailboxes Etc. Apparently bought out by UPS, and I don't know if the service still exists. But, largely like a PO box, but with an address that looks like a real address. There may be similar services.

You might also talk to some of the local bike shops and ask them if you could ship to them.

Kat12

Yes, that's a UPS Store, when UPS bought out Mailboxes, Etc.

However, as others have mentioned-- you may need to call a few options and see if they have the ability to store several (how many?) large bike boxes for you, for however long you need them to. I worked at a UPS Store once in college. The place was not large. We wouldn't have had room to store any large packages for customers.

I'm thinking your best bet is the suggestion someone made to have someone ship them to you when you have a place. Especially since you say your current roommate might be able to help-- obviously the bikes have a place to live where you're at now, so maybe it wouldn't be an issue for them to stay there for a bit until you have a new home for them, unlike you trying to find a place that has the space to store them for you.