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Forums - General - I have a question about USPS and FedEx

PullusPardus on 28 March 2014

I am using Viabox its a shipping forwarding service, basically its a virtual US adress to ship domestic only  shipments for people outside of US.

I bought a large item that is fragile (Electric Cello) and on the site there is an option to use either Fedex or USPS, the difference in prices however is huge... 

For FedEx it is 306 using the "Priority" option and 206 for the "Economy" option.

however for USPS it is only 11 dollars, not 110 , just 11 dollars , I checked if its an error or not but its the same only 11 dollars.

now I am wondering will they ship my item without blowing up with a nuke first? why is FedEx so expensive ? because USPS a crappy service? I never dealt with any of those always UPS and Royal Mail, so thats why I'm asking.



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PullusPardus on 28 March 2014

No one?



superchunk on 28 March 2014

That can't be right. USPS should be more expensive than that for something of that size.



PullusPardus on 28 March 2014
superchunk said:
That can't be right. USPS should be more expensive than that for something of that size.


thats what I thought, but its right.



superchunk on 28 March 2014

I use USPS for everything. Never have had an issue. Obviously make sure its insured and defined as fragile.



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Final-Fan on 28 March 2014

11 versus 200+ seems like an extreme difference, but USPS is definitely going to be a lot cheaper in general than either UPS or FedEx, and I've never noticed a dramatic difference in service quality. They probably have better tracking, but I don't obsessively check my packages' progress ten times a day. Priority shipping is likely also faster than whatever you're doing with USPS.



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PullusPardus on 28 March 2014
Final-Fan said:
11 versus 200+ seems like an extreme difference, but USPS is definitely going to be a lot cheaper in general than either UPS or FedEx, and I've never noticed a dramatic difference in service quality. They probably have better tracking, but I don't obsessively check my packages' progress ten times a day. Priority shipping is likely also faster than whatever you're doing with USPS.


I'm guessing the difference must be because one measures the size of the item while the other measures the weight of the item, its pretty lightweight for a cello (electric cellos are very light) , not sure though, hoping its not an error and then get charged later.



Final-Fan on 28 March 2014
PullusPardus said:
Final-Fan said:
11 versus 200+ seems like an extreme difference, but USPS is definitely going to be a lot cheaper in general than either UPS or FedEx, and I've never noticed a dramatic difference in service quality. They probably have better tracking, but I don't obsessively check my packages' progress ten times a day. Priority shipping is likely also faster than whatever you're doing with USPS.

I'm guessing the difference must be because one measures the size of the item while the other measures the weight of the item, its pretty lightweight for a cello (electric cellos are very light) , not sure though, hoping its not an error and then get charged later.

As long as you meticulously follow the instructions you're given, I doubt they would be allowed to charge you extra after the fact. 



Tag (courtesy of fkusumot): "Please feel free -- nay, I encourage you -- to offer rebuttal."
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My advice to fanboys: Brag about stuff that's true, not about stuff that's false. Predict stuff that's likely, not stuff that's unlikely. You will be happier, and we will be happier.

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Sen. Pat Moynihan
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The old smileys: ; - ) : - ) : - ( : - P : - D : - # ( c ) ( k ) ( y ) If anyone knows the shortcut for , let me know!
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