Why is shipping so expensive for tires/rims?

dmorrill22 said:

It seems that every time I search ebay for tires and or rims for garden tractors, the shipping is always sky high, regardless of item condition or location. The shipping is always at least $40. Am I missing something?

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Excuse is that they are big, heavy, and an odd shape (hard to stack). The realty is simply because people will pay it. I just bought a motorcycle tire a couple of weeks ago on blowout sale for $25, with shipping costing $7. I bought a few more things to bring my total to >$100, so shipping was free. I think the outrageous shipping charges you are seeing is simply extra profit for the seller. Shop elsewhere.

JayC

That is what it costs. If you ship them both together, the box will be oversize and the penalty will mean $. The alternative is to ship in two boxes which also costs money. Apparently, UPS and the USPS etc. want money to bring them to your house.
Apparently motorcycle tires can be lighter and fit in a smaller box than 26x12-12 tires, as $7 wouldn't ship the empty box 1 tire will fit in.

dmorrill22 said:

the shipping is always sky high, regardless of item condition or location. Am I missing something?

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One thing to keep in mind is that a shipper isn't going to care about the condition of the item getting shipped. Location does matter, but when someone is listing something how does he know where the buyer might end up living?
The best thing is to go try and research the shipping cost yourself. UPS has a calculator for shipping and you should be able to guesstamate the weight and size.

When I ship things I usually end up buying a new box to use. Most all stores are compacting their old boxes and selling them for recycling so it's very hard to find a good box anymore. People think you just run up to the liquor store and get a truck load of boxes like you used to. Try and find one that will be big enough and strong enough to ship a wheel or two. You can ship unpackaged items but they'll charge you more and then there's more chance of something happening to your item.
People think that shipping materials (boxes, peanuts, bubble wrap and tape) are cheap and the seller should eat those costs. I pack things very well so that you get the item in the exact condition it was listed in because I don't want to hear about the scratch or dent that wasn't there.

Sorry for the rant and I don't mean to direct it at you 22 but if you can't tell this is one of my peeves.

Shippers charge according to weight or volume. There is a crossover point at which the charge will be the same according to the density of the container. Tires and rims do not meet that point and the charges reflect volume, not weight. There is only so much volume available on a truck.

Shipping a higher weight (denser) package is usually cheaper per pound.

TUDOR said:

Shippers charge according to weight or volume. There is a crossover point at which the charge will be the same according to the density of the container. Tires and rims do not meet that point and the charges reflect volume, not weight. There is only so much volume available on a truck.

Shipping a higher weight (denser) package is usually cheaper per pound.

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They also charge according to class, that is where they really rake it in.

I ship mainly small packages almost daily at my work, it's crazy what a 1 pound box is only going 4-5 hour trip. What burns me up is if my box is 1.1#'s, i get charged for 2#'s, it's bull. I thought when it was under .5 you rounded down :thThumbsU. Anyway, I get to see what we are charged in reality since we have a corporate account and have many sites that ship through UPS, I think we only pay like 45% of retail. So a $10 package only really costs us about 4.50.
What gets me ticked is when you buy something from a website and/or ebay, shipping cost is say $9.50. When you get the package that label states like 4.50-5.00...on top of the item, they just made money on the shipping GGGRRRRR.

My tires I just bought cost about $25.00 to ship, but then they only went from Cleveland to Cincy.

UPS,FED EX and all shipping companies are in the business to make the most profit they can as are all other companies their first concern is their shareholders.Of course if anyone thinks they can ship cheaper they're certainly entitled to get into the shipping business.Let me know what your rates will be.

TAHOE99 said:

What gets me ticked is when you buy something from a website and/or ebay, shipping cost is say $9.50. When you get the package that label states like 4.50-5.00...on top of the item, they just made money on the shipping GGGRRRRR.
My tires I just bought cost about $25.00 to ship, but then they only went from Cleveland to Cincy.

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Tahoe check into what your company spends on packaging (boxes, peanuts, bubble wrap and tape) and then rethink how much someone is making on the shipping.
If it was $25 to ship tires then the $40 the OP stated isn't out of line to include wheels.

What difference does it make what the shipping and handling charges are as long as they are presented during the auction?

Does anyone buy items not considering the shipping charges as part of the cost of the purchase of an item?

Higher shipping charges likely result in lower bids and lower shipping charges likely result in higher bids.If it cost you $100 to get something to your door,what difference does it make if the money went towards shipping or the cost of the item?

Free shipping that some people offer,are you really getting free shipping or are shipping charges figured into the opening bid?

I understand about supply costs too, I'm the one that also orders everything I need to ship my packages with. I know it's also buyer beware on anything you buy and it's on you when you agree to buy something at a certain price. I will stand behind people making money on shipping when they charge you $10 and they shipped it for $5. That's simple math. I ship commercially at work and through personal sales I know how it all works. Best one and how UPS tears up a package and then say it's your fault cause it wasn't packed right. My nephew worked at one of their sorting facilities and tells me the tear up packages all the time due to not caring or screwed up conveyor system, etc. He told me it's almost always their fault.

For me to ship something I have find a box that fits,take time to pack and wrap it really well,tape costs money,address the package and take it to the Post Office or UPS minimum of 1 hr If I can't get $20 plus the amount of postage the carrier charges I may as well not mess with shipping especially some cheap small part and that doesn't include gas for the trip either.