Who is generally cheaper, UPS or FEDEX? (advertisement, companies, $50,000)

[WannaliveinGreenville]

Originally Posted by figmalt

Most of my shipping has been through corporate accounts, and by far UPS was cheaper than FedEx. I've also found the FedEx drivers to be inflexible, rude, surly, and condescending.

We've also had far more broken product with FedEx than UPS (we know how to pack, all of our stuff if fragile).

My friend can explain that very well.... She shipped some of my stuff ( boxes ) and she said they threw the boxes on the truck.

[user_id]

Boxes are going to get thrown and roughed up regardless of who you use, you need to pack whatever you are shipping with that in mind.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by figmalt

Most of my shipping has been through corporate accounts, and by far UPS was cheaper than FedEx. I've also found the FedEx drivers to be inflexible, rude, surly, and condescending.

We've also had far more broken product with FedEx than UPS (we know how to pack, all of our stuff if fragile).

It all depends on your corporate contracts. We do much better with Fedex and have almost NO problems. (Of course, after years of DHL and Conway, nearly ANYTHING would be a major improvement.)

Freight companies base their rates on the type of parcels that you ship as well as the volumes.

[global star]

We ship out a ton of packages. Many are overnight but we do ship a lot of ground also. FedEx got agressive for a while but their rates have increased twice this year for us. We have a corporate rate from FedEx but in the last week have compared to UPS and found FedEx to be MUCH higher. We are making the switch to UPS on the 1st of April. FedEx does a great job but they have clearly become greedy.

[wawaweewa]

Originally Posted by global star

We ship out a ton of packages. Many are overnight but we do ship a lot of ground also. FedEx got agressive for a while but their rates have increased twice this year for us. We have a corporate rate from FedEx but in the last week have compared to UPS and found FedEx to be MUCH higher. We are making the switch to UPS on the 1st of April. FedEx does a great job but they have clearly become greedy.

It's not about greed.

Fed Ex's bread and butter was never in the high volume, cheap product, non express market. That is UPS's market. Fed Ex tried to agressively compete with UPS on that front but they realized that they can't. UPS was simply built from the ground up for the high volume, cheap product, non express market.

Fed Ex is known for their express bulk transport of high value goods for corporate customers (high value electronics, precious metals/stones, documents, precision machinery, etc.).

If I had to transport 100k worth of gold I'd never use UPS even if they were 10x times cheaper than Fed Ex. On the other hand, if I had to transport 100 boxes each with a value of ~$100, I'd never use Fed Ex.

I dealt with a UPS account that shipped about 45k packages a month from th East coast. The negotiated rate (non oversized; 1lb-~10lb) was around $6.75 - $8.50 depending on the destination of the package. That's the general pricing and prices can vary higher by $1-$4 due to weight and dimensions of package).

From what I gathered looking at the pricing structure, UPS makes a ton of money on various fees such as insurance, signature required, and rush delivery. Their margin on regular ground must be razor thin and most likely simply covers their operating expenses.

[Cecilia_Rose]

Originally Posted by ncguy444

I send probably 100 packages each week . I have a fed-ex and ups account. I use the post office due to their prices typically being half of what the others charge. Every time I use fed-ex overnight I am reminded to why I don't use them (PRICE). I think the reason both UPS and Fed-Ex are popular is because they give awesome discounts to corporate accounts and high volume shippers. If you are neither use the USPS. Trust me... I want to have a reason to not use the USPS but in my opinion they are awesome if you overlook the fat ass union workers in certain offices.

I agree USPS is cheaper. And you can get free boxes. I think some peeps use UPS etc cause they pack for you. For that kind of $$$ I can pack my own stuff.

If you use on line shipping/Click n Ship you save on postage and get free delivery confirmation. With the discount sometimes Priority mail is cheaper than Parcel Post.

And dont forget the regional rate boxes. You can only do them online but they can save you quite a bit if your stuff fits in them. Box A ships at the 2 lb rate and Box B ships at the 4 lb rate for any US postal zone.

[mckeesport_alum]

Here are my experiences over the last 6 years as a small business owner:

1. UPS offers the most consistent experience. My drop-off is usually around 1pm and pick-up around 4:30pm. USPS varies depending on what kind of volume you do. I'm lucky to know the mailman on my route, but even his pick-up times can vary by more than 30 minutes.

2. FedEx Ground/Home Delivery is generally cheaper than UPS Ground, however it is a real pain that you have two separate pick-ups with FedEx - one for Ground and another for Express. Also, Ground/Home Delivery is contracted out on a local basis, so the experience is highly dependent on the quality of the contractor. My local Ground guy is nice and helpful, but for some reason the packages I receive are always dirty/dusty.

3. There are two ways to pay $5 or $6 a package using FedEx/UPS Ground: 1) You are shipping to a commercial business address or 2) Your company is Amazon/WalMart/Best Buy or some other company with billions of dollars in sales. If not, you will pay $7+ at a minimum using UPS or FedEx Ground due to the residiential surcharge - it is unavoidable.

4. For low weight, low value (less than $50) items shipping to residential addresses, USPS First Class / Priority is the best bang for your buck. It is fast (air versus ground) and cheap.

5. UPS Ground / FedEx Ground Home Delivery becomes more appealing once you hit the 3-4 lb range *if* you have the Daily Pickup rate with a decent contract discount added on. If you are shipping longer distances, such as coast to coast, 2 lb shipment cost may be comparable with USPS Priority Mail, but you never know. Many times you will be hit with a rural surcharge (in addition to residential surcharge). In those cases, USPS Priority Mail may still be cheaper.

[sskkc]

I just got repped on an old post on this thread and now have some 'insider' information that could help others.

USPS, FEDEX and UPS now work together. USPS does not have their own planes and the other two do not always deliver to every residential address.

FEDEX and UPS are always more expensive for residential shipping. The reason for this is that they pay the USPS to deliver for them, in case they cannot.

For instance, the UPS and FEDEX driver's trucks are loaded up each morning. First, they deliver the overnight packages. Anything that is not "overnight" is then delivered. The mail is not sorted as it is loaded into the trucks - have you seen the inside of one of these trucks? Chaos.

The drivers cannot return to "base" with any packages still undelivered. So between 3 and 4pm each day, the drivers drop off whatever packages they don't think they'll be able to deliver by the end of their shift to the local post office. The post office then sets them in the backroom to be sorted the following morning with the USPS packages that will arrive the following morning. USPS employees are not allowed to go looking through those until the next morning either.

So, everytime you ship with UPS and FEDEX, you are paying a bit more, just in case they have to pay the USPS to deliver it for them. If you want confirmation, go sit at your local post office in the afternoon and see. (FEDEX ground, as it is a franchise, does not drop things off at the post office, but they take longer to ship as they do not have the same "empty truck" rules as the other divisions.

[dsjj251]

I have had a couple of home transactions, ordered a couple of pairs of shoes, clothes( i sold anything I could find on line that was cheaper than Hibbetts,Finish Line, Champ Sports and so on) as well as sold Avon for a while.

I had 3 instances where UPS had my orders on their trucks, but they werent scheduled for delivery till the next day. I just remember the guy pulling up to my drive way, handing me the wrong package and saying, "no, thats for tomorrow" and then taking it back and getting the right one, I yelled, "HEY just give me all of it". After that first time, i just made it a habit to ask if he had anything on there for another day.

[chrisc8869]

Fedex . I just shipped a package by UPS and it was $27 (with $800 insurance). I was pissed while I was there and didnt feel like going to try somewhere else for an estimate. I just called Fedex and asked if they could give me a quote over the phone for how much it would be for future reference . I gave them the weight and dimensions and amount of insurance. It was $18! That was a $9 mistake going to UPS. That wont happen again!

Originally Posted by gsm113

For ground shipments and express.