The Moral of the Story...

So, last weekend I stopped in at my local UPS store to ask what it might cost to ship a small chest. I gave the guy the weight and dimensions and told him where it would be sent. He looked on his little chart and said, "About $50." Great. He also quoted me "about $25" for them to pack it. Doing a quick mental calculation of what my time is worth and the materials I would have to purchase I decided that was a good deal. I returned later that afternoon and he measured the chest, looked at the chart and said - words to the effect - "I can't give you an exact price until we package it." He said he would call me on Monday to tell me the shipping options. That is, having determined what the final dimensions were he could tell me which speed of shipping would cost what. He didn't yet know because he would be "telescoping" two boxes together. Okay, cool. I can live with that.

Monday - no call.
Tuesday - co call.

Wednesday, today, I called UPS. The guy tells me that, as opposed to the $50 estimate he had provided, the shipping would be $125.23 because of the cubic inches total resulting from the 33x33x24 boxes. So I ask, why 33x33x24 when two of the dimensions of the chest are under 30" and the other is about 16". He replies, they can do it that way but it won't be insurable because there won't be 2" between the chest and the box on all sides, but if I do choose to do it that way it will then cost only $56.51. Under 130 cubic inches = $56.51; 147 cubic inches = $125.23. Ah, so close.

Then, I discover that it *will* still be insured for loss and/or theft, it just won't be insured for damage. It's shrink wrapped and bubble wrapped. Then it will be boxed. So, call me crazy, but since it's really only sentimental value and needs to be refinished I opted for shipping w/out insurance for damage. He assured me that they won't throw it off the truck or anything. Fingers crossed.

I'm posting this here since some of you might end up wanting/needing to ship things as part of your move, or just generally. As pleasant as they guy was, when I balked at the $125.23 he did not reply with, "Well, if you don't really care about insuring it for damage, you could do it for $56.51. It would still be insured for loss and theft." No, as is so often the case, it was only because I pressed him on it that I discovered that there was, in fact, another option.

So, they'll use slightly smaller boxes which, of course, are slightly cheaper than the boxes I paid for already. That goes in the "W" column (as in "Win," not George) for them. It's not worth my time to tell them, "Yo, and make the adjustment for the cost of the smaller boxes."

Anyway, food for thought. It's amazing how often if you just press them (them, being the capitalist, vendor, seller entity) you find out there really is another option or a better deal. But, heaven forbid they make it part of their customer service to give up the information on their own.

Note to self: I love downsizing.