Cheap way to ship a set of WHEELS/TIRES

[gandrade1]

Hi guys,

I sold a set of 16'' Boxster wheels with tires and am now looking for a way to ship them without being ripped off - UPS quoted $320 :soapbox: if they were to package and ship them from NJ to CA.

Has anyone done this before? I heard it is cheaper to ship them individually to avoid oversizing charges...

My questions are:

(1) what service have you guys used? I was told by Fedex that if it is a ground shipment I need to print the labels and pay online before taking the stuff to them!?! I DON'T intend to send this express by any means!!!

(2) do I need to box the wheels or can I just protect the face of the wheels with carboard and bubble wrap and wrap everything with Saran-like material?

(3) does anyone know the approximate dimensions (including weight) of the OEM 16' wheels with tires?

Thank you all so much...

All the best,

Gus

[gandrade1]

Anyone please?

I forgot to mention - the wheels are the standard 16'' 986 wheels (sorry for posting in the 987 board)

Best,

Gus

[geoff]

$320 to ship wheels & tires sounds kind of high. You might want to check with Tire Rack, Discount Tire and Wheel Enhancement to see how they ship and just copy them! Just looking at the Tire Rack site, shipping for 4 mounted 18" tires is under $200.

It might be cheaper to unmount the tires and ship each piece separately. USPS has a flat rate box, but I don't think your wheels or tires will fit

[juniinc]

I've sold /shipped more than a few sets. when I sold my set of 17's back in oct, 07, I packed em indivisually took em down to a local KINKO(FEDEX). shipping cost from Seattle WA to Montana wa about $128.00.

[greerj1]

Try a common carrier like Yellow freight. Look in the local yellow pages for a trucking company. You will have to pack them reasonably well to handle the rigors of an overland truck. I used them to ship scientific equipment and have had no problems. Also take out an insurance policy for the value of the freight.

James Greer

[xflyboyx]

FedEx ground it. as far as doing the label for FedEx ground, since it is a domestic shipment the local FedEx Express station or FedEx Kinko's will have the paperwork for you to fill out. Don't need to do it online ( and just fyi the FedEx online will require you to open a FedEx acount (which does not cost you anything to open, and there are no charges weekly or monthly) for individual account you need to provide a debit card or credit card, the only advantage to do it on line is you can sign up for 15% discount for 4 months and then go down to 10% according to the FedEx website and try to ready the agreement

( www.fedex.com and select USA ). and nowadays every penny counts. Good luck

[phaphaphooey]

I know this is kinda crazy but look into Greyhound freight. If both cities have a Greyhound bus station then they will just ship it on a bus that has some unused cargo capacity. It is not the quickest way to ship things in my experience but it is among the cheapest. My younger brother had a new bumper for his MR2 turbo shipped to him via this method and it worked perfectly. Check out their website for details.

[Westwood]

I protected a set of Turbo wheels by taping a couple layers of cardboard on the face of the wheel. Then shipped them by one of the UPS knockoff companys. But, like others have said - BUY THE INSURANCE - When the buyer got them they had been stacked up on a truck and two of them had damage to the faces. They buyer said the insurance took care of it.

Roger

[BillJames]

Try a common carrier like Yellow freight. Look in the local yellow pages for a trucking company. You will have to pack them reasonably well to handle the rigors of an overland truck. I used them to ship scientific equipment and have had no problems. Also take out an insurance policy for the value of the freight.

James Greer

You want to properly wrap the tires and rims. don't ship them like this.

DIY Package and Ship Tires and Rims: Mummy Method