What's the current best or cheapest way to ship large items like fenders? How do you need to packackage large items for Greyhound? How do you pick them up? Is Fed Ex the best? I got a quote from UPS that was HUGE!!! Thanks Jim
a while back ****o had a pair of fenders for his 60 Olds shipped from Cali to Michigan via Greyhound. the price was real reasonable and i think the only real stipulation on packaging was that there could'nt be any sharp edges or corners exposed. it was WAAAAAYYY cheaper than UPS but i don't recall the exact price. $80 seems to stick in my head though.
oh yeah. you just have to drop them off and pick them up at the nearest terminal. you need to specify what terminal they will be sent to and they will give you an ETA that you can p*** on to the reciever of the goods.
jim i use the bus alot and i just got two willys fenders in from ariz to okla front fenders wrapped up in bubble wrap and shrink rolled over that easy and chap, and it cost abou 80.00 also just got a veted coupe door from louisiana and it was 55.00 rarely ever over three days and you take to the bus station of your choice and go bpick it up there as well.. or you can gpx which is greyhound express for pick up i think
I shipped dorrs before and as stated you have to pick up and drop off at thenearest station but you can choose which one you want to ship too. You have the benefit that the shipping is cheaper and generally takes the same amount of time as UPS. I like the fact that once they load the bus it usually only gets handled one more time and that is when it gets to it's destination so less chance for damage and loss. You can buy insurance also. I haven't had a problem yet and the rates are cheap. I paid $50 to ship a door from CA to NY
Greyhound often is the consensus on fenders and other similar big but relatively light stuff. For the heavy stuff, bikes, engines etc...check out ForwardAir You've got to crate it...but it's pretty affordable and quick. -Mike
I used to ship all large body panels, seats, etc Greyhound. They are/ were good, but they have come around and realised all the money they were missing out on. I havent shipped with them in over a year. They are now more expensive than most standard venues. UPS is a joke. I use Fedex and the post office now.
ditto that on the weight issue, i researched shipping a ******, and it would have been too heavy for greyhound.
Exactly what everyone said. Rule of thumb, these guys are just baggage handlers so as long as it doesn't weight more than a heavy bag you're set. I've shipped fenders several times. I use those UHaul Wardrobe Boxs, or Fridge boxes from the Sears Outlet down the road.
Last month I got a door shipped through Greyhound. It was about $70 from N. Cali to Boston. Took a little over a week (it went through LA, Dallas, & NYC), and arrived fine. The guy that packed it did a great job- two layers of cardboard plus bubble wrap. It had all the trim, gl***, cranks--must've weighed 45 lbs. Greyhound did a lousy job of contacting me when it arrived, and tried to charge me a small "storage fee" for it sitting around for a week, but when I complained that I hadn't been called, they apologized, skipped the charge, and helped me load it into my truck.
BenD rocks. He is as cheap as anyone. If he isn't in the neighborhood though Greyhound isn't a bad way to go. I Shipped a Model A Roadster cowl to ***us (TN to MN) for about $75. JH
I just sent two rear model A fenders and a model A hood from Vegas to M***. and it cost $125 and included $300 insurance. I bubble wrapped everything and stuffed newspaper around the hood panels (since it was a 4-piece) and made some boxes from other boxes (looked retarded) so they would be protected. Overall the experience was a good one, but it took about two weeks for the guy to get his stuff becuase of the size of them. Their rules are that the baggage will come first, so if there is not room on the bus they will bump the packages until there is room on a bus going the right direction. They got there in great condition and they called him when they came in. Just for comparison, UPS was going to charge $194 because of the size and shape of the boxes. There was an additional charge with UPS for the strange shaped boxes. The lady also said the the weight didn't matter so much as the dimensions. Didn't check DHL. Might check into them next time. Our bus station was really aweful to deal with just to get the packages sent. Waited in line for 45 minutes with three HUGE packages, double parked in a 3-minute loading zone in the ghetto part of the Las Vegas strip area. Place stunk like urine, for added fun, becuase the bathrooms blew up or something. Anyway, give Greyhound a shot.
I bought a hood for my '66 Chevy truck on e-bay, had it shipped from California to Florida via Greyhound. They quoted me $100, and they did have a weight restriction. (Can't remember what it was, maybe 50 lbs.? The hood weighed slightly less than the weight limit). There was also a generous size restriction, but the boxed-up hood was well under that, and these are big hoods. All in all, a good experience. I picked the hood up in my truck, and the old guys at the station were all over it, telling me stories of their old cars and such.
i have sent may things grey hound all with great luck. some of the boxes have been 110 lbs and pretty big.
Greyhound may be cheap, and alot of people have had success, but I wouldn't use them again. I had 2 model A doors shipped from Cali to RI. Fricken nightmare. They give you a "tracking number" but nobody that works at Greyhound has a computer to check it. Plus they lose track of stuff when it gets to New England because they sub out to Bonanza. I lucked out when I called repeatedly to the Providence hub and finally spoke to a manager after a week of round and round, he asked me "are they in a bicycle box?", I said yes, "Oh, they're right here".
Try Forward Air, both people have to be close to a major airport. And you have to take and pick up the packages at the airport. I have shipped heavy and odd sized things this way for cheap.
if you plan to ship be greyhound, call them for info.. different bus station will take differnet weight limits.. and sizes.. also they will have coupons that you can print for 25% off shipping usually before xmas.. on there web site.. later kb
Ben , I have been looking at lathes on E bay . a lot of good buys there but most will not ship at all. any chance you could haul one if I were to buy it? some of them go about 6 --700 lbs.
I've shipped fenders with greyhound. I just put some cardboard around them, then wrapped 'em real tight with plastic packing wrap, like the stuff they wrap pallets of product with. Pretty cheap...i think it was $45.00 for 2 fenders wrapped together. It was a few years ago though...
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