As some of you know I raise and ship whole frozen trophy size gamefish to fellow taxidermists as far away as Hawaii. I get the second highest price per pound for my fish behind high end koi producers. But I still have to fork over up 30 percent of my profits to UPS for shipping and extra charges. I don't get the business rate because my business is in a residence, and I'm still getting charged fuel surcharges although fuel costs are much lower than they were in the past.
And yes I've bitched about how much it costs to ship those fish here before. But you have to see this:
A small 3.5 pound box shipped 2 hours a way, in the same state I am in, that was only 14 inches by 9 inches by 6 inches.
Shipping $15.08 Not to bad in itself but..
Schedule pick up fee $5.65
Residential Surcharge $3.25
Remote Pick up $4.00
Fuel Surcharge $.55
Total extra charges $ 13.45
That's 86 percent of the shipping charge.
Total charge to pick up the box when the drivers go by here at least twice a day : $28.53 The sale was $80.00 including tax. That's about 36 percent of my sale price.
Needless to say it will go to the post office tomorrow.
I used to use UPS because they were more dependable than USPS, but I'm not sure that's the case anymore either. Last Christmas season they came up with a disclaimer as they couldn't deliver everything on time. They took 7 days to ship a box of trout that was only supposed to take 4. Luckily it was in the winter and although the fish were a bloody mess they were salvageable.
Seems to me they need more competition.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/26/16 08:42 AM.
