# Bikeflights Cost Increase?



## Freqman1 (Sep 13, 2016)

Is it just me or does it seem like what was once a bargain is closer to actual FEDEX ship rates? I was shipping ballooners to the west coast for as little as $45 at one time. The last one that went out was $75! Anyone else notice this? V/r Shawn


----------



## schwinnguyinohio (Sep 13, 2016)

I agree even shipping bike parts is right up there but I do pay the 5 $ on each end for residential pick up and delivery


----------



## THE STIG (Sep 13, 2016)

i sent one via Bike Flights NY to Cali  2wks ago, it was $240......  1 bike box, 1 wheel szd box


----------



## ABC Services (Sep 13, 2016)

I know that's all Fed ex, but I was talking to the guy at UPS he told me that he gets a notice of 8-10% increases for each and every month.


----------



## fordmike65 (Sep 13, 2016)

ABC Services said:


> I know that's all Fed ex, but I was talking to the guy at UPS he told me that he gets a notice of 8-10% increases for each and every month.



I wish I got a monthly pay increase of 8-10%


----------



## bikewhorder (Sep 13, 2016)

I haven't noticed it yet but the last package I had to ship I thought I could just take to the post office and it would be about the same..  They're cheapest price was $46.50 and I was like "nevermind, I'll ship it via fed ex (bikeflights)" and the guy at the post office was so sure it would be more he wrote the price quote on the package.  I got it shipped for $30 and it would have been $25 if I had asked for a business address.


----------



## tech549 (Sep 13, 2016)

I just sent a 24 inch huffy from mass. to texas for 55.00 ,and just priced out a 26 inch to go to arizonia for 80.00 with insurance.


----------



## island schwinn (Sep 13, 2016)

they have to raise the rates to cover all the damage claims due to fedex mishandling.


----------



## Handle Bar Hoarder (Sep 13, 2016)

island schwinn said:


> they have to raise the rates to cover all the damage claims due to fedex mishandling.



ya I bet your righ  on that :eek::eek:


----------



## TR6SC (Sep 13, 2016)

UPS is still charging a "Fuel Surcharge!"


----------



## SirMike1983 (Sep 13, 2016)

island schwinn said:


> they have to raise the rates to cover all the damage claims due to fedex mishandling.




They tend to cover more claims than Fed Ex, so that may be part of it. I've had a couple that I received damaged where Fed Ex blamed the packer, even though the packing job was not bad at all. Bike Flights covered both.


----------



## Euphman06 (Sep 13, 2016)

I'm shipping PA to CA and it's costing about $81 bucks... FedEx was $200 something though.


----------



## tech549 (Sep 13, 2016)

Euphman06 said:


> I'm shipping PA to CA and it's costing about $81 bucks... FedEx was $200 something though.



 you mean ups was $200 right?


----------



## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Sep 14, 2016)

THE STIG said:


> i sent one via Bike Flights NY to Cali  2wks ago, it was $240......  1 bike box, 1 wheel szd box



That makes no sense.... was it 2000 pounds?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


----------



## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Sep 14, 2016)

Less then 2 years ago I was shipping complete bikes to say Colorado for less the 50 bux....

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


----------



## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Sep 14, 2016)

THE STIG said:


> i sent one via Bike Flights NY to Cali  2wks ago, it was $240......  1 bike box, 1 wheel szd box



How much insurance did you add?... 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


----------



## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Sep 14, 2016)

tech549 said:


> you mean ups was $200 right?



Exactly 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


----------



## Euphman06 (Sep 14, 2016)

tech549 said:


> you mean ups was $200 right?




Nope... Through Fedex website. Must be an over sized box I got. Like 1 inch too big and the price inflates like crazy except through bikeflights. I usually found that fedex and BF were close in price if the box was under whatever the magic size it needs to be. Bikeflights came in handy for this boxes that are just an inch too big to make the magic size cutoff


----------



## oldfart36 (Sep 14, 2016)

Seems like they have always been 80 -100 for me to ship from the midwest to each end, a little cheaper, north and south.


----------



## bikewhorder (Sep 14, 2016)

Euphman06 said:


> Nope... Through Fedex website. Must be an over sized box I got. Like 1 inch too big and the price inflates like crazy except through bikeflights. I usually found that fedex and BF were close in price if the box was under whatever the magic size it needs to be. Bikeflights came in handy for this boxes that are just an inch too big to make the magic size cutoff



Right, I've noticed that too it's like size and weight don't matter really. It's crazy.


----------



## rollfaster (Sep 14, 2016)

It's all over the damn place, for that kind of money it better be shipped in TWO boxes, which I insist upon anyway.


----------



## bikebozo (Sep 15, 2016)

prescott arizona ,to orlando florida , 70 lbs -57x28x9=70.00 bike flights


----------



## bikewhorder (Oct 14, 2016)

So I've bought a few shipping labels lately and I can say that there do seem to be price hikes.  Last year I remember trying out different size bike boxes to see where the price would go up and I was shocked to see that it didn't, but today I shipped some fenders to AZ and every time I increased the box dimensions by 1 inch the price went up $1.  I also recently shipped a bike from CA and it was $72 and that's the most I've ever had to pay for a bike through bikeflights.


----------



## chucksoldbikes (Oct 14, 2016)

illinois to  north  carolina  bike  flights  55.00


----------



## spoker (Oct 14, 2016)

do the fedx handelers know when somthing is bf or real fedx?ive had a big percentage of totally trashed boxes using bike flites


----------



## Maskadeo (Oct 14, 2016)

I noticed a big increase as well on bikes so I emailed them and here's the response I received back. 

Hi Michael,

Our prices have actually gone down this year as we have grown to be shipping over 10,000 bikes per month. If you're seeing higher costs, chances are that you are using a box or case over the size limit for the destination. 

For information on how to get the best rates, checkhttps://dev.bikeflights.com/dimensionsandrates or simply search using the BikeFlights.comBike Box.

Kind regards,
Sue George
BikeFlights.com
Director of Communications


----------



## Euphman06 (Oct 14, 2016)

They used to be great for the bigger boxes. Now it seems like they adopted the 130 square inch rule. That's a real bummer.


----------



## bikewhorder (Oct 15, 2016)

I wonder how much bikeflights makes off each  transaction? If they are shipping 120,000 bikes a year now and they made $10 on each bike that's 1.2 million. Not bad for a middle man.


----------



## bikeyard (Oct 15, 2016)

Euphman06 said:


> They used to be great for the bigger boxes. Now it seems like they adopted the 130 square inch rule. That's a real bummer.



I just shipped a sign to California that was over the size limit on Thursday.  98 lbs x135 square inch.  $94 to ship doesn't seem that bad coast to coast.


----------



## bricycle (Jul 17, 2017)

Chicago area to California larger city $91 with 1100 insurance. ouchy
53x28x10,  65 lbs


----------



## Wayne Adam (Jul 17, 2017)

There are no Bike Flights in the rural area I live in. I always end up shipping via UPS. I shipped a '34 Ladies Schwinn this morning from NJ to Orange CA via UPS for $85.19.
55 lb box 47"x27"x11". OK, that sounds pretty fair, but UPS also wanted $45.00 to ship two fenders the same distance. It has been my experience that UPS is best for the large heavy boxes, and 
USPS is better for the smaller ones. Either way, across the board, shipping prices have gotten way out of hand.


----------



## partsguy (Jul 17, 2017)

I have not sold a whole lot of stuff online for several months now, and I have not had to use Bike Flights since summer or fall of last year.

At that time, they beat the pants off of FedEx and especially UPS.

One thing to note. If I sell something and it is paid for via PayPal Goods & Services, I am saving money on my USPS shipping if I ship, pay, and print my label through PayPal's window. If I sign into the USPS site and do it, no savings at all.

I do kinda miss the mayhem of being a part-time business owner, dealing with old cars and seeing the beautiful machines that got the parts I sold. I just don't have the time these days, and knew I wouldn't when I neared graduation last spring. I had a fire sale and hauled off most of the unsold stuff to the crusher. I still have a few things, and do buy if the deal is hot enough. The pickin' bug never went away completely.


----------



## scrubbinrims (Jul 17, 2017)

Last week, a ballooner from Ohio to Virginia was 88.00 residential at FedEx, which I promptly used bikeflights on my smart phone and 45.00 later, emailed the label to the counter.
Standard bike box that was 65 pounds.
Chris


----------



## KingSized HD (Jul 17, 2017)

I had a "lightweight" shipped AZ>CA 01/17 for $43 w/o insurance(B2B). Same box size & weight today 07/17 (w/o Insur) is quoted at $39 on their site, so no increase on that trip.
(I didn't buy insurance since a shop packed it and I couldn't photo document how it was packed if I had a claim anyway).


----------



## SirMike1983 (Jul 17, 2017)

KingSized HD said:


> I had a "lightweight" shipped AZ>CA 01/17 for $43 w/o insurance(B2B). Same box size & weight today 07/17 (w/o Insur) is quoted at $39 on their site, so no increase on that trip.
> (I didn't buy insurance since a shop packed it and I couldn't photo document how it was packed if I had a claim anyway).




Was that the chrome dealer's Raleigh you were after?


----------



## skiptooth (Jul 17, 2017)

fyi; I bought a tandem frame in south bend, ind. ( way over size) 58 lbs had him drop it off at greyhound, I payed them over the phone $100 bucks and a week and a half it was in Bakersfield, Ca. they called me!! and I drove there and picked it up!!!  (make sure you call them direct worried: because there are middle men who will charge double...hope this helps?...Richard....


----------



## KingSized HD (Jul 18, 2017)

SirMike1983 said:


> Was that the chrome dealer's Raleigh you were after?




Ha! that bike is beautiful (https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/rareish-raleigh-socal-cl.113729/) but the frame was too small so will just have to admire the pictures of it.


----------

