Fedex account

When you create a shipment online, you can check the cost before you print the label. After filling in all of the shipping information, you should be able to use the box in the right column called "Rates and Transit Time" to check the cost, based on how you are shipping it.

 

Asking when you drop it off does work. They'll even give you a receipt if you ask for it. At least at my location they do

 

They have to reweigh it for that to work (unless you're supplying 100% accurate weights, which most of us aren't).

You can look it up somewhere in your account details, but it's a huge PITA to check more than one package and a really stupid system. I think fedex is just optimized for larger accounts.

 

My FedEx always reweigh a mine the second I drop it off so I ask for the price then. No matter how slick I try being, they get my attention and reweigh it before accepting it.

 

Some places are really anal about it, mine never have been. The packages pretty much always get reweighed somewhere later in the chain anyway.

 

I'll shave off several pounds from my shipments and I haven't been called out once. Most I've gotten away with was an international trade via USPS; I took 10 pounds off a package.

Unethical. I know. But you do it too

 

If I have someone send me a label, I just do 1x1x1 boxes and 1 lb. assuming they're gonna reweigh it. If I'm packing the box, I estimate and then shave 5 lbs or so off. My FedEx just must suck

 

If you really wanted to be unethical (which is the perfect term, IMO) you would shave all but 10lbs off the box and schedule a pickup. The couple bucks it costs will be outweighed by the amount you save on shipping since the majority of your boxes will probably not be scanned for weight at all.

If you were to estimate weight to the best of your ability and schedule a pickup because you didn't want to deal with lugging multiple boxes to your FedEx location and come out slightly ahead in the long term, that's an entirely different story.

 

Instead of going to a FedEx Kinkos, y'all should look up a local FedEx Authorized shipping center (an independent business authorized to ship and accept FedEx-labeled boxes). They don't (or at least none that i go to here) weigh it, but rather merely scan it so it shows up on the end of day report when a driver picks it up.

The way FedEx works, is that those ship centers are essentially licensed contractors for FedEx, much like the drivers. Unlike UPS where their workers are union and make an hourly wage, FedEx drivers and authorized ship centers get paid per box, not per pound. So, if they make $1 per box, it doesn't matter whether its 50 1lb boxes or 50 50lb boxes, they make $50 either way.

I guess my point in all this is, stay away from corporate locations such as FedEx Kinkos, and put your boxes in the hands of people who don't give a shit whether your boxes weights are correct.

 

You guys should look up you actual invoices, I bet your packages are getting reweighed. I thought that none of mine were until I checked there, they ALL were.

 

Yeah, it doesn't matter what you do. All FedEx sorting facilities in the US have a system that analyzes both box dimensions and weight and assesses costs and updates bills automatically. It happens just by going through th sort process. As you might imagine, FedEx is pretty concerned with not getting ripped off.

 

FedEx reweighs the packages to the correct weight. They also add a fuel surcharge and give a small volume discount for online accounts.

Transportation Charge

16.77​

Volume Discount

-1.34​

Residential

2.80​

Fuel Surcharge

1.18​

Total charges

$19.41​

 

Don't even get me started on DIMENSIONAL WEIGHT. Buncha bullshit.

 

While I know that regardless of where you drop off your box, its very possible to be reweighed. And yea, it happens, a lot. BUT, I have had boxes go through unchecked. I even had a box shipped to Canada, which I blatantly under estimated the weight, go through and be billed for $30... And the box was north of 20-25lbs, which would have easily cost much more, so I know my actual weight wasn't accounted for.

While I agree that boxes will enevitably be re weighed, go in thinking they will, but hope that they don't, because I don't think that every single box gets checked. I just feel that checking every box would slow the shipping process down and that they would employ a percentage of random checks to combat discrepancies instead. Either way, the only thing you have to lose is the correct postage...

 

This

This

Not this. It seems like 75% of the "The cowboy/mean old lady at (insert third party shipper) called me after dropping my box off and said they won't ship alcohol without proper documents. They even opened up my box and are threatening to not return it!" threads are at a third party location, not FedEx Kinkos or a UPS Store.

I will continue to beat the drum about using pickup service. It is so worth the fee.

 

I've been contemplating using pickup. I don't care about them reweighing, but I have a feeling that my local FedEx may one day start giving me the 3rd degree and open up my package. One employee interrogates me whenever I drop off a box already

 

Hmm, well, the few stories I've heard of employees querying the contents of boxes and opening them if they hear liquid or other suspicious sounds, have come from FedEx locations, not third party locations. Maybe we're both missing the opposing threads for each circumstance, but I'm also speaking from personal experience as well from third party locations. I've shipped dozens and dozens of boxes by dropping them off at a notary down the street who's an authorized FedEx shipper, without issue.

Maybe it also bears mentioning that I use my own FedEx account, print out my label and just drop it off with them, and I do not bring my box in and pay for postage there. If you take an unlabeled box to have it shipped by the third party, I could see how they could get uppity or strict about what you are shipping. I would imagine that In that circumstance, that authorized agent takes some bit of responsibility to ensure that policies are upheld as per their agreement with FedEx and few would risk doing otherwise. It's my understanding from the notary I use that labels not generated through their system aren't considered their responsibility as far as accuracy of the label or contents. Just today, the lady noticed the weights I designated for my boxes weren't accurate. Specifically said she can't change them, but just wanted me to know so I didn't expect to be charged the price they quoted me, because they'd likely be reweighed.

So, I stand by my recommendation, due to my experiences, that when using your prepaid label, third party [FedEx] locations won't change an inaccurate weight, and are less likely to query the contents of the box.

Edit: I see no problem with pickup as a good alternative as well, but personally, I prefer to give my boxes directly to someone. I will usually go near to pickup time when i drop off, and many times the driver shows up to pick up the boxes when im there. I've done pickup a couple of times, but I'm uneasy just leaving my box out, potentially for long periods. Just personal preference.

 

Good info in there. I guess it's really a store by store situation. A common thread between us is printing our own labels. Thats another way to keep "snooping" to a minimum. I've dropped a few boxes at FedEx Kinkos over the past year and always bring them in labeled. I just leave them on the counter and give the clerk a wave or "all set to go, have a good one" Never had any issues.

 

Most definitely. I'm a huge advocate of printing your own labels. I would be venture that most the horror stories of being busted for shipping alcohol occur when people pay for their labels at the locations, where it becomes policy for inquiry. I also have the same experiences as you when dropping off my own labeled boxes. Not to mention the difference in price. Someone I trade with often, who doesn't have a FedEx account, paid $26 to ship a 17# box to me. I thought that was a bit much. Since I was using the same bottle shipper that he was sending me, and sending the same amount of bombers, I plugged in the details and exact weight to my account and the price for the same box and weight shipped to him was only $19. $7 is big saving in my book, especially if you trade regularly.