miamijim

Frameset from 33167 (Tampa) to 62939 (Illinois)

12.5 lbs
40 x 9 X 24 box
Insured
Indirect Signature

Ebay FedEx $29.58
Ebay USPS $36.41

BikeFlights $28
USPS $34
FedEx $41.50

They tack on extras differently. Bikeflights adds $5 for home delivery but I couldn't find where to add insuranc. FedEx adds $3.50 for an indirect signature. USPS didn't give me an option for a signature.

I shipped it with Ebay via FedEx without insurance or a signature for $23.18.

jiangshi

eBay is by far the best way to ship, followed by Bikeflights. The only problem is you have to give eBay 13% +/- up front. I've been tempted to have a $1 BIN private auction to take advantage of eBay's FDX shipping.

jiangshi

The weight is irrelevant. All shippers use DIM weights on all packages now. You are paying by the size of the box, not the weight.

Desertdweller

Thank you for posting this comparison. I'm preparing to sell my tourer (big bike Trek720/728) and I am concerned with shipping cost.
Great info!

daf1009

On frames, I see very little difference between eBay Fedex and Bikeflights...usually a dollar or so. On whole bikes, it is a different story...

just shipped a large Schwinn Super Sport. eBay Fedex was 101, Bikeflights was 51!

gaucho777 

Have you looked into UPS Ground? I get excellent, impossible-to-beat rates through my office (fairly high volume), so that's what I typically use. It's not ideal if the recipient needs/expects it in a rush, but it usually takes a reasonable 5-7 days. The last time I shipped a frame (from Berkeley, CA to Belmont Falls, VT), I paid $7.85. It was a light frame, though. For another data point, I paid $8.11 to ship a 12-lb. box with a set of wheels (and lots of packaging materials) from Berkeley to Brookline, MA, again via UPS Ground and it took 7 days. Signature and tracking info available.

repechage

Neighboring business has an active UPS account. Pretty amazing low rates compared to retail. But I don't exploit that generous offer very much, it is extra work and fortunately nothing has gone wrong yet.

jiangshi

I shipped a small frame box to myself across country though bikeflights. Since the cost was based on weight, I filled it with stuff I 'needed' to the tune of 60lbs. I basically had a box that fit 4 wheels, and used the empty space for all sorts of bulky, padded things. It was easy and a screaming deal.

Of course, if you have access to a corporate account and they are willing to break their contract terms to let you ship your stuff, good on you. It's hella cheap.

miamijim

Not always true. Go onto USPS.com and play around with the weights. Costs vary greatly.

miamijim

It was a lightweight frame and fork...I usually end up around 14 lbs. Tomorrow I'll post up a pic of my latest frame packing technique.

jiangshi

UPS and FDX, the USPS is usually not competitive for bigger boxes.

tricky 

I see here that Bikeflights does offer insurance for purchase based on declared. https://www.bikeflights.com/support.aspx Can anyone here that has shipped with Bikeflights speak to whether or not it is somewhere in the webform when you are scheduling an actual shipment? I would assume so, but you know how that goes.

miamijim

Bikeflights does allow for 'declared value', there's a little box at the bottom of the page to enter value. It's easy to miss. Keep in mind that bikeflights uses a third party insurer....U-Pic

Otis

Bikeflights offers actual value insurance from a 3rd party for $1 per $100 coverage. They're all I've been using a couple of years and have had no problems. And it's very handy being able to email a label to somebody to ship you a bike, or let a buyer arrange his own shipping and email you a label so you do not have to lay out shipping costs. It's a good deal...

repechage

Did they not start off with their own unique box?

Otis

Not that I know of, maybe? There is a company that offers a bike box that is triangle shaped and will fit a complete road bike with just the front wheel removed, and the seat-post out. Bars stay straight and in place. Pretty nice if shipping a rare bike to a show, and great for custom builders for shipping a new complete bike. Probably expensive, but way worth it for the right bike.

miamijim

Awhile back they did have that big huge goofy box. They currently have more conventional boxes starting at $179. For the inexperienced I'd go to a Trek dealer and get a Madone clamshell box.

70sSanO

Having recently purchased a bike and a wheelset off of ebay that I had to sign for, from a buyers perspective, I like being able to divert the shipment to another location instead of my house. Both times the package was shipped Fedex and I just changed the shipping address to the Kinkos/Fedex store about a 1/2 mile away and picked it up after work. It sure beats having it go out on a truck and then when no one is home, you have to wait for the truck to get back or pick it up after a certain time at a distribution center or post office. And I don't have to change my normal ebay/paypal shipping address I can just change it while in route.

John

Kobe 

+1 on Bikeflights. I just shipped a 66cm frame 1500 miles for $32 insured. Plus super easy to deal with and no account setups.

Ex Pres 

Last frame shipped was from AL 35223 to somewhere just N of Indianapolis. The USPS Priority "List Price" was around $24, but the online purchase price was $11.80. I like USPS Priority for those short distance shipments.

miamijim

There are very few reasons NOT to use bikeflights.... When I mailed the frameset I couldn't find how to add signature confirmation and bikelfights uses a 3rd party insurer, your not insuring through FedEx, USPS directly. Not sure if that could be an issue if there's damage.

I almost used bikeflights but in the end it was my buyer paying for shipping, not me and I like the Ebays fully automated system.