Parts shipping charges

Have shipping charges changed a lot recently? I was putting together an order with ACS and the shipping seemed about double what they have been being.

No recent experience, but historically, their 'default' shipper is a *bunch* more expensive (and slower) than USPS Priority Mail. You have to be proactive at checkout to get USPS Priority.

It's the fuel

It's not ACS, it's the price of fuel. Shipping charges everywhere are going up a lot.

Do as RV7Charlie recommended, and use USPS. It's way cheaper!

A while ago I felt the same way, and posted so on VAF. I was a bit disgruntled over the enormous shipping charges I had been paying. I then received a e-mail from Jim Irwin, president of ASC. Jim follows this forum. He gave me a very thorough explanation on how the carriers handle the shipping charges and that ACS does their best to negotiate the best rates they can get. I was very impressed that Jim had taken the time to write to me, and that he had done it one-on-one VS replying to my post. I followed up by placing an order for the same part with ACS and two of their competitors (I needed a few of the same part). The ACS part arrived first and with the lowest shipping charge. The other two suppliers were almost a week later, and with significantly higher shipping. So, bottom line, yes, shipping is getting very expensive, but I feel comfortable that my orders from ASC will be shipped at a lower rate than I can get elsewhere.

I also choose the cheapest USPS since they all now have tracking numbers and I always get great prices and shipping times.

Please don't misunderstand me, I was not trying to bash ACS. I order stuff from them regularly and will continue to. The thing that gets me is when you put together an order for $125. and maybe 10 lbs. and the shipping is over $40. to ship it 200 miles. I order stuff online regularly from non aircraft places and for instance I just received one that probably weighed 35 lbs. and purchase price of about $50. the shipping was free from 800 miles away. It just makes you wonder.

Just a thought, but have you gone back into the order to be sure it didn't get inadvertently shipped by some sort of overnight method, or with an outrageous level of insurance?

Shipping companies changed pricing

In addition to the above comments, I?ve been told at least one of the major shippers (and probably all) has changed their pricing algorithm to weight the size of the package more. 10 lb of lead shot - no biggie, a 4?x8? sheet of foam - WELL, that there?ll cost ya. That is where I have noticed the biggest price increases. Guarantee it?s not ACS.

Charles in SC said:

Please don't misunderstand me, I was not trying to bash ACS. I order stuff from them regularly and will continue to. The thing that gets me is when you put together an order for $125. and maybe 10 lbs. and the shipping is over $40. to ship it 200 miles. I order stuff online regularly from non aircraft places and for instance I just received one that probably weighed 35 lbs. and purchase price of about $50. the shipping was free from 800 miles away. It just makes you wonder.

Click to expand...

That non aviation order with free shipping really wasn’t free shipping. Someone had to pay it so imagine that company that sent it and paid for shipping, could it be that their cost of that item was so low that they could ship it free and still make a good profit while ACS might have a higher cost or overhead and that’s why they charge you the shipping? It’s not always about size or weight or distance.

Keep in mind too that dimensional weight can blow up charges if you order something bulky, no matter how much it weighs. I ship via FedEx, UPS and the USPS every day in my business and we have to really watch our dims to keep charges in line. Just yesterday, I had a shipment that dimmed out at twice the actual weight. Also take a look at your extra charges like dangerous goods. I recently ordered a case of Prist instead of a couple cans because the freight was only a little bit more for the case because of the fixed dangerous goods charge.

All that said, the USPS Priority Mail is often a much better deal because it's carried in many cases by FedEx or UPS. Since I live in the Memphis area, it's common to get anything I order from Vans in two days for Priority Mail rates because of this.

To expand a bit on what Mark just wrote, not only does USPS use other carriers (including small independents) for x-country hauling, they also do 'last mile' (actual delivery) for a lot of the big-name carriers. But here's the downside: If you ship 'FEDUPS'. FEDUPS will pick up your parcel, xport across the country through their network, and then often drop it at an agreed-upon USPS entry point for a given area. (You don't get to pick whether they hand if off for 'last mile'.) That area could be quite large, depending on where you live & population density. Because of the nature of the various transportation networks (meaning that FEDUPS might drop their packages a day away from the final destination), that transition can add at least a day; sometimes two or three days, to total time.

On the flip side, if you ship USPS and USPS uses 'FEDUPS' for long haul, it'll leave USPS same day, and it'll get back into the delivery-end local USPS facility on the day the long haul ends. So the long haul contract has no effect on delivery time in the USPS network.

Charlie
(yeah, I was involved in organizing mail flow for USPS in my most recent previous life...)