How do you ship a stroller?

[Rachels]

I must be doing something wrong. I have a Mac Vogue I'm trying to figure out how to ship, and at present it looks like it will cost approximately ten million dollars. First of all, I can't find a box that fits. Secondly, the length of the stroller qualifies it as oversized even though it's not that heavy, and that makes it unbelievably expensive to ship. Am I missing something?

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[jojo2324]

Thank you for asking this! I have a couple of strollers I am hoping to unload, and I always ask for actual shipping...But then the potential buyers balk at how extraordinarily high the cost of actual shipping is. I don't want to ask for $25 and then shell out an additional $30 or something like that.

Stroller experts, please enlighten us! :)

[nohomama]

FedEx Ground is a far, far cheaper option than UPS. When I sold my Zippy the difference in shipping costs between the two was staggering. You can check out www.fedex.com to see if there are service centers near you and also get an idea of how much it will be to ship an item by entering in the weight and dimensions of your package.

As far as the box, you may have to build your own. It's a PITA and a project that requires a sleeping baby but unless you have the original box, it may be a necessity. The key to cheaper shipping is to make the box so the stroller fits as tightly as possible. Bike shops are a good resource for sturdy oversized boxes. You can also try BRU or another store that sells strollers to see if they have any boxes laying around. If you're extremely lucky you might even find a box for a Mac Vogue.

Good luck,

[khakismom]

I just shipped my Peg Venezia last week--my first sale on eBay!--and I had to build a box around it. We were lucky that my brother had just bought a big screen and had a huge box to cut up. We sent it FedEx Ground (the box weighed approx. 20 pounds) and it cost $17. After comparing the costs between all the shipping methods, I will never ship anything again but with FedEx Ground.

You could try scoping out bike shops for bigger boxes. Or build your own. But definitely check out FedEx! Good luck!! :)

[ameelo]

Call your nearest golf superstore and ask them when they get their shipments in and when their trash pickup days are. Usually its once or twice a week if they are a large store. If they don't have set days...then try your luck anyday. Drive around back to their dumpster. I know this may sound weird but seriously, its almost always packed full with boxes that turn out to be perfect if not almost perfect matches for many strollers. And these dumpsters aren't the totally stinky kind. LOL. Well, the golf store I go to isn't. Its mostly just for their boxes.

Anyway, these boxes are always super long and you'll generally need two different types of boxes. For the smaller umbrella strollers like the various Macs, get TWO boxes that just contained clubs. For larger umbrella strollers like P3s and Chiccos, get TWO boxes that contained the club bags. Then what you'll do is figure out if these boxes are long, wide enough or too big etc. To cut them down you can cut them in halves lengthwise or girthwise.

And remember, the length is always the longest part. I know this may seem obvious but shipping novices really don't know such things. LOL. Rates are calculated length + (W+W+H+H). Weight really doesn't factor into shipping costs when you're talking about such large boxes because the strollers are rarely heavy enough to match their shipping size. And yes, FedEx ground is by far the least expensive shipping line. Be sure to just sign up for your own account online. Its very easy and anyone can have one as long as the shipping charges can be billed directly to your CC rather than you receiving a bill.

HTH,

Amee

PS. Forgot to add that shipping rates should rarely be more than $25. For umbrella strollers $10-$15. Cross country also increases shipping charges. My piXXel from Texas was less around $25 and that box was a honker!

[mom2kandj]

Lamp boxes work, too, for umbrella type strollers. You may need to "sleeve" two identical boxes to get the right length! ITA on how expensive stroller shipping is. Fedex Ground is our fave, but if the box exceeds max inches, we use UPS! HTH!


Rose
mom 2 Katie (34 months)
& Jack (18 months)

[hardysmom]

Here is the worst-case scenario, and it isn't too bad...

I recently sold a larger Teutonia. The box weighed 37 lbs and I insured for $150. The Shipping cost by FedEx Ground was $27.

The box it arrived in was not usable and (long story) I thought it needed a sturdy box so I went to a box shop (found in the Yellow Pages) and found one which fit perfectly. I believe the box cost $12 or so the grand total was $40... That is the most I have ever spent shipping a stroller. Usually, I ask $15 for an umbrella stroller, $20 for a larger stroller.

If you can't find free boxes (golf and bike shops are great), U-haul wardrobe boxes are big enough to be cut down for almost any stroller. Cutting down can be a PITA, but neatness doesn't count. I have received strollers packed in a style I call Frankenstein meets the Mummy-- layers of old cardboard from several boxes patched together (Diaper Genie, Baby Swings, Car Seats) then wrapped with a whole roll of tape. Not kind on the eye, but it works.

Unless the stroller is pretty expensive, I wouldn't put so much money into it. For a $25 stroller, it might be less of a pain to sell at a consignment shop. They always want Gracos and less expensive strollers.

Stephanie

[Rachels]

Oh, wow, you're all right-- Fed Ex is unbelievably cheaper. Holy smokes. Okay, good. I can sell my stroller. Thanks for all the ideas!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[mamahill]

Do you have an Airborne Express nearby? DH has it at work and they get a corporate rate, and then deduct it from paychecks, so it's incredibly convenient for me to send stuff to work with him:). But, I priced it on the web site before DH took it and for a 25 lb stroller, it came out to $15. Pretty good!