A shipping question and comments

Floorguy

WKR
Joined
Sep 26, 2012
Messages
843
Location
Palmer, AK
I was curious why some people add CONUS only in their ads in the classifieds here. Unless the item is big and bulky or for some reason is getting shipped fed ex or ups it is the same to get shipped up here as it does in the lower 48 from what I have found. Having come from a military family I know what CONUS and OCONUS mean. Speaking for myself I have gotten to the point where I don't even want to ask if they will ship to Alaska anymore. If the concern is not wanting to ship internationally a suggestion would be to say "in the US" that way you are only excluding the Canadians on here :D. If you didn't know CONUS stands for CONtiguous United States aka the Lesser 48 :cool: and doesn't include Alaska or Hawaii. There have been a number of items that I have seen lately that I am interested that could and probably would get shipped in a flat rate box but the CONUS
stipulation is kind of a deal breaker for me.
 
I agree that there seems to be some confusion about CONUS. I usually just ask though. Most of those people don't seem to intentionally be leaving AK out and will ship without issue.

YK
 
A couple years back I sold a sleeping bag for $50, cost me $48 to ship it to Alaska. I always negotiate shopping to Alaska now.

How did you ship it? I have shipped rifles and other big or odd shaped items for less than that. Thanks for responding. I got bit shipping by not thinking about what the flat rate box would be I felt like an idiot making 50 cents on the sale
 
I think most of the time its a misunderstanding of CONUS either by the seller or the buyer....To some CONUS means Continental US which includes AK but not HA and to others it is Contiguous which does not include AK or HA.

If I were interested in an item I'd send the seller a message and attempt to come to an agreement.
 
Most of my sales I specify CONUS, and I know what it means. Here's my problem with shipping to Alaska. For small items (in terms of size, weight or insured value), you are correct, shipping via USPS is not significantly more for Alaska. However, if an item is not "small" (size, weight, cost), UPS and FedEx are my preferred shipping method due to cost. However, as you know, UPS and FedEx are crazy expensive for shipping outside CONUS. Since the market inside CONUS is much larger, I cater to that market...

That being said, don't be afraid to ask for a shipping quote, and don't be afraid to suggest your preferred method. The worst that can happen is the buyer says, "No."

Regards,
Scott
 
How did you ship it? I have shipped rifles and other big or odd shaped items for less than that. Thanks for responding. I got bit shipping by not thinking about what the flat rate box would be I felt like an idiot making 50 cents on the sale

Ended up shipping it UPS, initially got the quote from UPS and was shocked at the cost so I price checked USPS and Fed Ex.
 
Same effort to go to the post office, if some is posting a tyd price I ask how much to BC most will oblige. I live close the US border and use shipping services there all the time, I can easily save $30 just in shipping, blows my mind still....
 
I cant recall ever seeing someone post "CONUS only". I do TYD CONUS on my sale threads because that's the price shipped to lower 48, anywhere else will usually cost a bit more to cover the extra shipping.
 
Price can also vary greatly when shipping UPS based on whether you go to a store or print out a shipping label and drop it off...Why? Bc UPS doesn't own the stores, they are franchise and can charge a markup.
 
I shipped a 12 man tipi back to Kifaru for some repair work for less than $16 earlier this year from AK to CO…..while it is more perhaps than someone in the lesser 48 to ship back its not unreasonable IMO.
 
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