Denette Posted May 13, 2019 Report Share Posted May 13, 2019 I'm in Arkansas, and I had a lady from New Hampshire contact me about making and shipping her two Adirondack chairs. These would be fully completed and assembled in my shop, and shipped to her address. Anyone have ANY idea on how to do this? I have never made a large piece of furniture for anyone outside of my home state, so I've always just delivered it myself. I want to give the lady a price estimate so I can either snag her business or scare her off with the shipping costs, but I'd just like to be able to give here an honest answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted May 13, 2019 Report Share Posted May 13, 2019 I looked into this when getting lumber from Spanky. Bottom line, freight didn't work for me. I went with regular shipping, UPS and FedEx will ship up to 150 pds with certain size limits. For the lumber shipping with UPS, the package weighed 130 pds and cost around $145. With you, I'm not sure if UPS or FedEx is an option due to the size of your shipment, but you should check. Your next option, like you said is freight (UPS and FedEx also does freight). There is a significant added cost for residential delivery with freight. Here are a few links I found when looking into the freight options, perhaps they will help; https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-ship-freight-weight-items-on-ebay-1140541 https://fleamarketflipper.com/freight-shipping-101/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted May 13, 2019 Report Share Posted May 13, 2019 As I recall you have made some of these chairs before, right? If you have access to any of them, take measurements of how large the box will need to be (including packaging material) and weigh it. Then you can call/go into UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, or whatever other shipping service and ask for a quote. Some have online calculators as well. If you get someone friendly, they may have suggestions on how to lower the shipping cost. Sometimes just slightly changing the box dimensions can put you in a different pricing tier. If you have any connections to someone that has a commercial shipping account, ask if they can ship it for you. The last company I worked for could ship stuff for 1/3-1/2 the normal rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 14, 2019 Report Share Posted May 14, 2019 If you really WANT the commission, you can also consider how to build the chairs so that they can pack flat. I think the volume is going to kill you, not the weight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdie Posted May 14, 2019 Report Share Posted May 14, 2019 Road trip. Build the cost of gas and hotels into the cost of the build. Yeah, I know. There are more than a few logistics companies out there that will do the majority of the leg work for you but you'll have to have a pretty good estimate of the volume and weight before anyone can give you valid answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted May 14, 2019 Report Share Posted May 14, 2019 You might offer to meet them half way, so long as they covered your expenses. With that being said, if you COULD find a freight company to ship your two boxes, it would probably be cheaper for your client and a lot less trouble for you. I would imagine you'd have to build a plywood crate for each chair to insure that your chairs arrived in the best condition. That's a consideration that you'd have to figure into your price. I don't really see how it could be cost effective for your client. It's a great compliment to you that she's wanting to have you build the chairs for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 20, 2019 Report Share Posted May 20, 2019 On 5/13/2019 at 7:19 PM, wtnhighlander said: If you really WANT the commission, you can also consider how to build the chairs so that they can pack flat. I think the volume is going to kill you, not the weight. I found this to be true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 It will be too expensive. Even if you break them down In the box you'll still pay for the footage. I shipped a poker table to Massachusetts from KCone time. I think the box was 8"×60"×60". Company refused to ship on edge so it 25 sq ft.. $800... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted November 14, 2019 Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 I've use uShip several times without issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 Mel, I checked into uShip a couple of times to get lumber from the Nashville area to Houston and the only folks with reasonable rates were those with flatbed trailers, thus leaving the wood open to rain. I found carriers like AAA Cooper to have the best rates. What’s your secrete? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted November 18, 2019 Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 On 11/16/2019 at 5:45 PM, K Cooper said: Mel, I checked into uShip a couple of times to get lumber from the Nashville area to Houston and the only folks with reasonable rates were those with flatbed trailers, thus leaving the wood open to rain. I found carriers like AAA Cooper to have the best rates. What’s your secrete? Not sure really. Maybe it's a different set of drivers for furniture? Could have just been bad timing when you looked. It is a dynamic thing... If things line up for the driver it's cheaper, the further you schedule ahead the better the pricing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Moore Posted November 18, 2019 Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 I've used uship also. Both were small time drivers that either wanted a return load or making up a load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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