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FedEx Shipping Update???

I have yet to receive my first billing statement from FedEx, so until that happens, I really don't know what the shipping is costing me. It would sure bite to be losing money on every box that has gone out in the past week or so. But it would bite even more if I had not been able to ship at all.
 
Here is a couple shipments off recent invoices:

Transportation Charge 33.75
Fuel Surcharge 1.16
Residential Delivery 1.75

This was a 12 X 9 X 6 from 92590 (CA) to 33624 (FL) at 4 lbs

Transportation Charge 46.00
Fuel Surcharge 2.06
Residential Delivery 1.75

This was a 15 X 11 X 7 from 92590 (CA) to 64083 (MO) at 7 lbs

These were both for Priority Overnight (by 10:30 am) and do not include any discounts. I belive you receive a 10% discount for using their online system.

I ran a UPS 15 X 11 X 7 from 92590 (CA) to 64083 (MO) at 7 lbs and it was $52.08 (again with no discounts). If I remember correctly there was a discount with UPS for daily pick up accounts.
 
So it sounds like the online rate quote is broken or off then. Lets hope thats the case. If you could Rich will you post your cost on like 4 of the shipments when you get your bill.

Also Daniel, you say thoose were non discounted prices, so it sounds like you didnt use the online system. I wonder if you get a lower rate by just going to drop them off. If you use the online calculator, and it calculates out at 60$ even with 10% off you would pay 54$. Sounds like your saying by going in, with the same box, you can get 30-35$.

Lastly Rich, out of curiousity, how much did you charge for the shipments?

Mickey Hinkle
The Lizard King Reptiles
 
No we processed them online. We've also negotiated a volume discount for both our Express and ground shipments. I just didn't include them and noted them so that those without volume discounts or that processed them offline wouldn't scream at me if their bills came back higher :) (been married long enough to know how to avoid the fights :D )
 
I have yet to receive my first billing statement from FedEx, so until that happens, I really don't know what the shipping is costing me.
Click to expand...
that's weird.
I was gonna ship two thingsg with them through ground.
Printed out the slips and and went to my local mailboxes etc.
I found outthey don't take fed ex ground.
the nearest drop off point is in the next town.
So I shipped with UPS.
On the fourth I found TWO 2 charges of $1.40 each to my VISa checkcard..
it just so happens my bank does not get money until the next day and was totally empty.
Needless to say my bank payed the $2.80 and charged me another 30 each for each "bounced" transaction.

So I payed a total of $62.80 for absolutely nothing and wasting my time.

yeah I found out about it today and I wrote to them.

but I am PISSED.

I did not put money in the bank because
1. I had no bills that I knew of.
2. Money was going in on the very next day.
 
One thing about the business only clause: A home based business is considered as a true business. In the day and age of the internet, this is a very widespread practice. Most businesses in this field as the source of the shipping very likely are home based businesses themselves.

Make a point to get a business name from everyone you ship to. I think the greater majority of the people we deal with are either operating in that capacity anyway, or else they soon intend to. Heck, as an example of a suitable business name, how long was Mark Bell's business simply "Mark Bell"?

Mickey, until I learn I need to do otherwise, I am still charging a flat $50 for shipping. I am also considering making a minimum order of $300 per order. And any order $300 or more will be considered as a wholesale business order.

Play by the rules, but make the rules fit.
 
About a part of setting up the account

I went to FedEx.com to set up an account and it asked for a credit card. Do they automatically charge the card? I was going to use my Visa Checkcard but I don't want them to charge my account willy nilly.

I think it was Ritchie whose account got popped twice for a buck and change due to not knowing something was going to hit his account. That sucks dude. I know I don't want a bounced fee due to FedEx popping my account when they feel like it. Do they just ask for a card number for any other reason and send out a billing statement?
 
Nope, they use that card number to charge your fees. It really sucks because you won't know what you're being charged until it happens. As I posted a few weeks ago, I was charged $94 for a 17" x 17" x 11" box that weighed around 10 pounds. Once the charge is on your card you really feel like you've got no ground to stand on to dispute a charge. I guess it is what it is and I couldn't do much anyway.

I'm going to be sending off a 10' + retic this week and I'm absolutely scared to find out how much this is going to cost. Especially considering Delta's flat rate is in the $60 range. I wouldn't be surprised if it's in excess of $150.

I think it's great that everyone worked together and we'll have another legal way to ship snakes but the fees involved with it are going to kill some folks.
 
I think you are right about that retic costing over 150 to ship.. I shipped out a pair of burmese pythons that were each in the 7-8' range and the shipping ran me close to 200.

Delta is great to use if you can get them to come out and verify you...

Later
 
Pricing discounts

If you create your packing slip online Fed Ex will give you the 10% off, also if you use a mastercard as your primary billing-they will give you an additional 5% off. If you don't have a mastercard, you can call your sales rep. and request that you recieve the same 5% discount for a visa & they will do that also. We used this price advantage before we could negotiate a volume discount and it helped out alot- it reduced the average 15x11x7 (under 10lbs) shipment to about $40. Also, dropping it off at an actual Fed Ex location vs. a Mailbox Etc. or local Postal type store will reduce your cost by about another $10(that was included in the total $40-so it would be around $50 if you dropped it off at a postal store).
The online price quote is not usually accurate, you can always get an exact shipping cost when you drop it off at Fed Ex(assuming you take it to them & not a postal store that uses them).
Make sure to call & ask your sales rep. for any discounts that you may qualify for even if you are just shipping a couple snakes a week. Since you are using the priority overnight service they will usually be more gracious with discounting a few of those shipments a week vs. hundreds of ground shipments. And, Fed Ex won't offer up discounts, you have to ask for them!
 
Using Delta for larger snakes sucks as well

I picked up a 17' retic out of Kansas in a trade and Delta was going charge $300 to ship her. They wanted her in a reinforced wooden crate with strapping and the normal interior packing but due to her weight , 110 pounds , they were charging me $300 flat rate anywhere in the continental US .


I ended up driving up there and bringing her back , only cost me half as much considering I live 100 miles south of Atlanta GA and drove to Topeka KS. Shipping the bigger snakes will be a delta thing since UPS , FEDEX and the other shipping companies wouldn't touch her. It was cool tho , Brought back the retic , a 12' burm and 8'L x 3'H x 3'W Neodesha and went to the herp show while I was there.
 
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