How do you ship wheel sets and other parts across country

[johnlvs2run]

I am planning to sell a wheel set and other bicycle parts soon and am looking for ideas how to ship them. A UPS outlet said they could package them for 10 to 15 bucks, which sounded too much for me and I'd rather do the packaging myself. FedEx said to just put them in a box and they'd wrap them in bubblewrap when I got there. They didn't mention any cost, but I'd rather have the package ready in advance.

Anyway, how do I find or create a box for the wheels? I can probably find some bubblewrap. The UPS place said I'd need "peanuts" (styrofoam) too. Are there other alternatives to this, like newspaper?

Any ideas about packing these wheels?

[johnlvs2run]

Also who is your favorite carrier.

I have found FedEx to be much less than UPS, but don't know much about any others.

[capwater]

Check your LBS, they usually have some bike specific boxes laying around out back.

[daveornee]

Check your LBS, they usually have some bike specific boxes laying around out back.
This is the way to go.
Remove the QR skewers and pack them in some padding (Newspaper, bubble wrap) and zip tie them to their respective wheel spokes.
Get the plastic axel end caps the wheels are shipped with to cushion the axle ends for shipping.
Make sure the wheels are cushioned from each other and tape securely. I use a card board sleeve around the front wheel and cushion wrap the rear wheel with 24" wide packing paper wrapped three times around in each direction. I don't like foam peanuts, but big foam "chunks" can be custom cut to keep things secure without adding much weight. The box will be "balloon" rated which means 15 pound rate at USPS and something similar at UPS or Fed Ex so don't worry about trimming weight down to the last ounce. Make sure the nothing rattles when you shake the box in any direction. Use plenty of tape.
I think that shipping insurance is worth the investment.
If I knew that I could get my wheels packed for $10 I would go for it all packing materials were included.
I used to visit all the local shops and provide the service managers with coffee money in exchange for their used wheel boxes. I soon emptied their supply so I need to buy new boxes.

[lks]

I am planning to sell a wheel set and other bicycle parts soon and am looking for ideas how to ship them. A UPS outlet said they could package them for 10 to 15 bucks, which sounded too much for me and I'd rather do the packaging myself. FedEx said to just put them in a box and they'd wrap them in bubblewrap when I got there. They didn't mention any cost, but I'd rather have the package ready in advance.

Anyway, how do I find or create a box for the wheels? I can probably find some bubblewrap. The UPS place said I'd need "peanuts" (styrofoam) too. Are there other alternatives to this, like newspaper?

Any ideas about packing these wheels?
Every time I buy new wheels, I use the box they came in to ship my used wheels, to who ever buys them. Since I have always bought Mavic, I am using a factory box that made it from the Mavic importer, 3000 miles away. My club members just ask their LBS to set a wheel box aside, with all the packing, for them instead of throwing it in the dumpster.

[John M]

I am planning to sell a wheel set and other bicycle parts soon and am looking for ideas how to ship them. A UPS outlet said they could package them for 10 to 15 bucks, which sounded too much for me and I'd rather do the packaging myself. FedEx said to just put them in a box and they'd wrap them in bubblewrap when I got there. They didn't mention any cost, but I'd rather have the package ready in advance.

Anyway, how do I find or create a box for the wheels? I can probably find some bubblewrap. The UPS place said I'd need "peanuts" (styrofoam) too. Are there other alternatives to this, like newspaper?

Any ideas about packing these wheels?

Agree with the others for the wheels--get used boxes from the LBS. Expect the shipping to be $25-35. I did what daveornee suggested and trimmed chunks of foam to pad the rims and axle ends and taped them in place.

For smaller parts, just pack well in an appropriate sized box. I have bought and sold a few things on eBay and have found USPS priority mail to be a good way to ship. Even with insurance and delivery confirmation added, it ends up being cheaper than UPS and in most cases, also faster.

[johnlvs2run]

I called a LBS this afternoon. They got in a wheel set today and are saving the box. I'll go and get it tomorrow.

As they were tossing the box away, hopefully they won't try to charge me for it. :o

[strummer_fan]

I called a LBS this afternoon. They got in a wheel set today and are saving the box. I'll go and get it tomorrow.

As they were tossing the box away, hopefully they won't try to charge me for it. :oTrek ships their Bontrager wheelsets to their dealers in one giant box that has cardboard dividers in it to keep the two wheels from contacting each other or the outside of the box.

I bought a pair of Mavic Open Pro Rims w/ Campy Centaur hubs while on a business trip in Atlanta, and the shop gave me the Trek box to use. Shipping was like $35.00 via UPS.

I once bought a wheelset from a major online retailer, and they packaged the wheels separately (each one in its own box) and the shipping price was much much cheaper, due to each box not exceeding some "dimensional weight" caluculation that shippers use.

good luck!

[johnlvs2run]

I got the box today. Yippee!

[Orcanova]

I've been asking the shops around here and I never hit them at the right time beacuse they throw them out right away. I need to ship a wheel back to Zipp for a rebuild adn the box has been the holdup.