Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

[Gary B.]

Hi,

Can anyone give me suggestions for shipping one to four tires across country? The only thing I've ever used in the past for shipping packages is the USPS and UPS, but I fear these will be quite expensive for shipping something as bulky and heavy as one or more tires. Are there other reliable, but less expensive alternatives to the USPS or UPS that are available for someone shipping from your typical metropolitan area?

Thanks,

Gary Beaupre

[Dick W.]

Re: Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

Gary, UPS or FedX would be the most reliable way to ship the tires. Motor freight would be slow and probably as or more expensive that either of the two. Advantage is that you are able to trace packages as they move from hub to hub. USPS most of the time cannot even track where their post offices are located, let alone tires.

[Verle R.]

Re: Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

Gary,

I recently shipped tires UPS with good results. UPS ground is less expensive but takes longer. Shrink wrap the tires for light weight packaging that holds well.

Verle

[Gary B.]

Hadn't considered FedEx

Dick,

Based on a guess for dimensions and weight of a packaged tire, it looks like FedEx will be about 40% cheaper than UPS. I hadn't even considered that possibility.

Thanks for the tip.

Gary

[Chad Frost]

Re: Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

I have had 4 tires FedEx'd to me twice and both times the tires arrived fast. Don't remeber what I had to pay to get them shipped to me, but it wasn't too much. The tires came shrink wrapped in pairs, each with a label.

[Ronnie Robertson # 36786]

Re:For Various Rates Go To

www.iship.com
ROnnie

[mike cobine]

Re: Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

Don't forget Greyhound. On bulky packages, they often come across well. I've used Greyhound to ship hoods when you can't with UPS and others because of size limits. Drawback is the receiver has to pick up at the Greyhouse station.

As to UPS, be sure to call for pickup. The rate is cheaper than taking it to the UPS store or the UPS center. And less hassle, as the drivers will take anything and the UPS center will hassle you on packaging.

Of course, like you found, FedEx blows UPS away in price.

[Terry M.]

Re: Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

I have purchased several sets of tires from TireRack and they have arrived via UPS banded together in pairs (white letters toward each other). No problems, and shipping was so inexpensive I can't recall how much it was.

[Loren L.]

USPS small town offices EASY to find - if you know

the postmaster's name and where he has his morning coffee.......

[Clem Z.]

grayhound bus will ship tires,check them out.

i have had them shipped to me this way but it has been a few years. you have to go to the bus terminal to ship and to pick up.

[mike yager]

Re: Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

Gary:

I shipped four tires last year that I sold in Driveline. I found some boxes at Staples that were about the right size, folded and cut them to fit each tire. Used a fair amount of packing tape in the process. I shipped them via USPS from VA to MI. As I recall the cost was about $13 each. The tires arrived at the buyer's destinantion without any problems within 5 days.

[Dick W.]

Re: Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

Consider yourself lucky. USPS cannot deliver a letter 45 mile in one day 3 out of 5 times.

[Jack W.]

Re: Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

perhaps I missed it, but has anyone suggested the oh-so-simple way that all the tires I have ever bought via phone or internet get shipped - raw? Who needs boxes? These are tires, you know, the things that run along the road, bump into curbs, etc. Do like Tire rack and anyone else does - slap a UPS label on the tires themselves, lay some clear tape on it and once around the tire, and ship em as is. I have had super expensive motor cycle tires, rather large off-road tires, and everything in between sent to me, and they all seem to get shipped in the same fashion, with no ill effects noted.

[Wayne C.]

Re: Need suggestions for best way to ship tires

How come your USPS is so much cheaper than mine???

I just mailed a $20 18-scale diecast Corvette model (maybe a pound?) to a nephew and they charged me $12! I could have chosen parcel post... "maybe a couple of weeks"... for about $11.

I can't believe their prices anymore.

[Clem Z.]

UPS charges different rates for business VS home

delivery.