Originally posted by: CHINAFIFA
I'm not very familiar with the process to ship by UPS or FedEx. here is my question:
(1)if i print a shipping label from myups.com and let it charge my credit card, and i just put the label on the package, so can i just give the package to any UPS driver?
(2)What's the purpose of asking me teh weight and dimensions? Don't they weight and measure the package after I give it to UPS? What if the dimensions and weight I put online are not accurate at all?
(1) Yep, you can hand it to a driver, drop it in any UPS box, or drop it off at Mail Boxes Etc.
(2) They ask the weight and dimensions so they know how much to charge you. You're paying ahead of time for this service. If you lie about the weight, they'll just charge your credit card the extra (they can put the package together with your billing record by that bar code printed on the label). They ask about dimensions because odd-sized packages get charged extra. (I was mistakenly billed once for a 25 pound package that was six feet long. They charged for an additional 25 pounds because of the length.)
Originally posted by Braxus:
1. Does UPS/FedEx care if I only say ship four packages a month?
2. How hard is it to open an account?
3. Where can I buy a decent scale to weigh packages? (assumming they don't weigh it for you and charge it to your account)
4. Can you have UPS/FedEx driveby and pickup the packages? If not does dropping them off at a 3rd party shipper cost you anything?
5. Does UPS/FedEx provide you with sticky labels or can you print them on plain paper and tape them on?
I haven't shipped with either in a few years so this info may not be current.
1. If you're talking about pre-paid shipping arranged online, neither one cares if you ship 100 packages a day or one package a lifetime. If you're talking about having an account where you get billed every month, that's a completely different thing.
2. When I got my FedEx account it couldn't have been simpler. Call their 800 number, answer a few basic questions, they give me a number and supplies are on my door the next day. I was actually shocked that they didn't ask for credit references. With this number I could ship packages and was billed at the end of the month. There was no minimum number of shipments for FedEx. UPS was different. They charge a monthly fee for open accounts. This used to cover a certain number of pickups, though a friend said that was no longer the case. I don't know what kind of info they ask for because I never got that far.
3. Any stationary supply store will have shipping scales.
4. Both FedEx and UPS will be glad to come pick up packages. When I was shipping with them, FedEx didn't charge for pick-up, but they would give you a $3.50 discount if you dropped off at their office. I let you connect the dots on that one. UPS has always charged for pick-up. FedEx now has drop boxes at all USPS offices (part of their deal for carrying Express Mail). UPS pre-paid items can be dropped at any authorized UPS pickup point, which includes all Mail Boxes Etc. stores.
5. Both UPS and FedEx have web sites where you can enter your shipping data and print up a mailing label. I know FedEx has Windows software you can use to manage your shipping. I'm sure UPS has something similar. The free supplies FedEx provides have plastic windows you just slip the mailing label into. The only thing you need is a printer capable of printing a barcode, which includes most printers sold in the last five years.