"Shipping tip"

[bricycle]

With UPS (and Fed-Ex?, USPS?) dinging us when shipping bikes(best if carton is no wider than 8"...naughty, naughty!), here is what I do to help.
Take a length of heavy duty steel hanging strap, about 6 holes worth, and use as an anchor to pull the box sides together.
I connected two 12" length of zip ties together and laced through the to closest middle holes of hanging strap cut lengths. I connected the two loose ends inside box, and pushed box sides together as I pulled zip tie tight with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Then just tape over the anchors. Works great and solves a common problem.

 

[catfish]

Nice!

 

[Dale Alan]

Great idea on the metal strap Brian .I have been using silk ribbon to suck the sides in,widening it flat on the outside of the box...I still always worry about it ripping through. Thanks for sharing,I will surely be using your method.

 

[rideahiggins]

I've found that storing boxes flattened and laid flat or stood on edge on with the staples removed and no rips in the box helps the cardboard retain it's integrity.

 

[Phattiremike]

Thanks for the tip and illustration I will try this on the next bike I ship.

I just received a very large box from California, as I entered the dimensions on bike flights web site it would not accept the box due to its large size. This box was 77" long x 10" wide and 37" high. Called the 800 # to get a rep on the phone, the rep told me no issue w/ the length but width and height of the box would not work! He advised I re-enter 9" wide and 35" high, I asked if I can I do that?.. his reply was "I can't say" you can but fedex won't check the size. I went with his suggestion - the bike arrived 6 days later without issue, pristine box and no damage to the bike!

 

[bricycle]

New idea for this purpose!
trying a new trick I thought of... how to keep the box sides pulled together? I thought of using a strip of cloth!! about 14" long by 1-2" wide. jam a old spoke thru cloth, poke thru both sides of box and pull through! Fasten one side, tighten a bit while pushing box flat, then fasten other side. Done.

 

[1motime]

I shipped a 10" wide bike box with Fedex through Shipbikes. It was for an Ebike. No problem. Never heard of any limits
I don't understand. If you are pulling the sides together to make narrower isn't the bottom the same as before. Doesn't the shipper measure at the edge?

 

[bricycle]

Packages go thru a light scanner, so it reads any bulges, flaps, irregularities in the carton. An 8" (critical max width) wide carton that has sagged, or contents shifed a bit may read a bit over 8 or a bit over 9 and they get rounded to 9 and 10" respectively, and then the dimentional weight goes up dramatically. Today for example, a 34lb carton at 43"x32"x8" was charged 80 lb dimentional weight, due to size.

Why dimensional scanner mistakes add extra dollars to each shipment - Share A Refund

A dimensioner is a device that scans and measures weight and volume of packages and freight.

sharearefund.com

V V
The common problem with dimensional scanners
Packages are audited as they go through the UPS network to determine their audited dimensions (actual length, width, and height). This number is then rounded to the nearest whole number to determine the package’s billable audited dimensions. From there the billable audited dimensions are used to calculate the dimensional weight which is calculated by taking the cubic size of a package and dividing by the carrier’s dim divisor. Dimensioners aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. This simply doesn’t work for all parcels and packages. Not all systems can measure everything accurately. Although dimensional scanning technology usually has a 97% accuracy rate, that 3% can still cause frustrating errors — and potential refund opportunities. Here’s a complaint from one seller who ships with UPS.

 

[1motime]

I gave up on UPS years ago. Horrible customer service, cost a bit more, and packages tend to get damaged more often.
Bikeflights uses UPS. Shipbikes uses FedEx. Dimensional shipping is a scam to pad the bill. The shipping companies always come out ahead.
Not a lot of options in the real world.
Several months ago USPS decided to measure EVERY package for dimensional. They gave up on that quickly! Waste of their time