Shipping Wheels

[Ninkumpoop]

For those of you with experience shipping wheels for sale/trade, how did you guys do it? I've never done it and want some insight, such as if I should put a cardboard piece between each wheel or if I should send it individually/together or which shipping company is cheapest.

 

[Remspeed3]

If its just the wheels, i'd do them seperate to save on the weight and size of each box + ad extra insurance to be safe...I sent some 19's w/ tires...two in a box from KY to Seattle, Wa a few years ago and it cost damn near 300.00 bux with UPS... just make sure you get the shipping amount you need cause its not cheap!!!

 

[Ninkumpoop]

If its just the wheels, i'd do them seperate to save on the weight and size of each box + ad extra insurance to be safe...I sent some 19's w/ tires...two in a box from KY to Seattle, Wa a few years ago and it cost damn near 300.00 bux with UPS... just make sure you get the shipping amount you need cause its not cheap!!!

Seriously...? THAT much!?

 

[Remspeed3]

Seriously...? THAT much!?

Yes it depends on where there going and the size and the weight of the boxes..you'll see what I mean..don't bother with the online crap cause its never right! take one wheel boxed up and check with whatever carrier your going to use and get the price in person.

 

[meicalnissyen]

For those of you with experience shipping wheels for sale/trade, how did you guys do it? I've never done it and want some insight, such as if I should put a cardboard piece between each wheel or if I should send it individually/together or which shipping company is cheapest.

go to the local rim rental place, make nice with the counter guy, ask for empty boxes for your wheel size.

put some nice=nice over the face of the wheel, make sure its not sliding around inside the box, go to ups store

should be about 28 bux each

 

[RODSCALIP5]

I would ship them seperately. Like others have already said, try to get actual wheels boxes with handle on the side. Also some bubble wrap around the wheel helps.

 

[Hank3]

Did a Google search and came up with this post from another forum:

Very simple, actually...(this is my methodology since I have no access to binding tools or other more professional shipping tools or methods like TireRack...YMMV). I'm not a professional nor do I do this on the side. I just have bought and sold more than my share of BMW and Audi wheels and tires over the past few years

1) First and foremost - those babies deserve a MAJOR wash and wax! Your buyer wants nothing more than the ability to bolt on their shiny new wheels and tires as soon as he/she gets home and finds them sitting in the driveway. Scrub 'em up! Add some value! To clean the wheels (front and back), I spray on liberal amounts of WD40, allow to soak for 10-15 minutes, then follow with a heavy duty wheel-safe cleaner and stiff brush (for the backs) and warm soapy (Dawn) water with a soft cloth for the wheel faces. (Don't let the wheels lie unprotected on their faces...you WILL scratch something you don't want to scratch, namely a rim or painted surface.) Let them dry completely. Do NOT use rubber/tire protectant! You need to be able to attach tape to the tires. I follow with a cleaner wax (Meguiars is a good choice) on the wheels to remove the remaining road grime and put a nice protective finish on the wheels, front and back. Make sure everything is dry and clean before you start to wrap them up.

Note: If the wheels and tires are shipped together, and they weigh less than 50 lbs apiece, you can ship two bundled together with FedEx or UPS; anything over 50 lbs will have to ship separately. Shipping two bundled together is slightly less expensive (10%-20%), if you can do it. I would imagine that no BMW X5 wheel/tire combo will weigh less than 50 lbs, IMHO.

Key Concept: Your goal is to protect the soft parts, i.e. the painted or otherwise finished soft metal wheel. Your other goal is to keep everything that is being shipped together in one piece. Tires don't get damaged in transit. Wheels do. Focus your efforts here and your buyer will be glad you did (and so will you).

2a) (This is for attaching two wheels/tires together and shipping together.) Position both units face to face (to protect the wheels), placing one or two pieces of circular-cut cardboard or bubble wrap between the wheel faces to protect them during transit. Tape or otherwise attach the two units together using shipping tape, a shipping fastening attachment tool or other device. Make sure you go all the way around to ensure the two wheels/tires are well attached to one another. Go to Step #3.

2b) (This is for shipping one wheel/tire.) Affix a circular-cut piece of thick cardboard or a piece of bubble wrap to the wheel face (cut it about 1"-2" larger than the diameter of the wheel to allow it to ride slightly above the face of the wheel to avoid making marks on the wheel...a good wax job beforehand will help out tremendously here.) Cover the wheel with the cardboard/bubble wrap and attach it to the tire using heavy 3M or other quality shipping tape. Go to Step #3.

3) I use a Saran Wrap-like material to wrap up a single wheel/tire or to wrap and bind up a wheel/tire combo. I bought a roll of this stuff at Staples or Office Max last summer when I moved. I think a roll of 200'x18" costs $20...a bargain at twice the price, if you ask me. It is GREAT for wrapping up stuff and it pretty much just sticks to itself, and this it does very well. Don't be afraid to pull it tightly across the tires! It will make it stick better. I start by tightly wrapping the tread a time or two (it will stick to itself). I then cut it off and start wrapping around the wheel and tire, from top to bottom then bottom to top, making sure to make it tight and get several revolutions (at least 2x) around the wheel and tire or wheel/tire combo. When you're done, the entire wheel and tire or wheel/tire combo should be complete covered tightly and securely with the wrapping material. NO LOOSE EDGES ALLOWED! (See next bullet point.)

4) Finally, when I'm done with the wrap, I run tape over the treadface, then again in a cross pattern around the wheel and tire or wheel/tire combo to make sure the plastic wrap won't come loose or unwrapped.

5) Using your IBM PC (or other compatible print out address labels, using a large font and including both ship-to address as well as a return address.

6) Attach these labels to the tread side of the tire or to the cardboard-covered wheelface with lots of tape so it is clear where they are going and also so they don't come loose. (After chasing a set of ContiContactSport2 takeoffs I bought for my former A6 2.7T across the Pacific Northwest for a month last year, I can tell you this is something you do NOT want to do in your spare time.)

7) Take to your shipper of choice. IME, a UPS or FedEx walkup customer counter is going to save you money over going to a third-party shipper (the local bookstore, Mailboxes Etc., Etc.). If you can ship from work, then all the better ;-) For comparison purposes, a set of X5 19" wheels and Michelin/Bridgestone tires at approximately 70 lbs each will cost about $150 +/- $25 shipped pretty much anywhere in the continental USA. From WV to Dallas TX it costs $158; LA to WV costs around $160; WV to MA costs about $130 via UPS or FedEx Ground service.

8) If you have done everything to the best of your ability, and with a little luck during the shipping process, your wheels and tires will arrive in pretty much the same shape as you sent them. And then you will have folks like Kevin (see thread) who are pleased with the way their new wheels and tires arrived safe and sound! This takes time! Plan on about 60-90 minutes per wheel/tire. Quality doesn't come cheap!

 

[Hank3]

And another:

The first thing you need to do is secure a commercial address that has a daily pickup. This is a simple task. You can ship them from your place of work, which is what I do. Most businesses have a daily UPS or Fed-Ex pickup/drop off. You just hand the packages to your driver and he takes it form their. If you don't have a daily at your place of employment, bring your packages to the UPS distribution center closest to you. DO NOT BRING THEM TO A UPS/FED-EX STORE! If you do this, you will screw yourself and end up paying big money. Distro centers have customer service buildings that will take your packages as long as they are 100% ready to go, this means sealed up and labeled. It will also help if your buyer has a commercial address they can pick the wheels up at. UPS charges less to ship to a commercial address than they do to a residential address.

Next, you need a UPS online account. Go to UPS.com to sign up. Also, you will need a place to print off your labels, so if you don't have a printer, head for the library!

Now that you got the particulars out of the way you are ready to package up some wheels and tires! Damn, these wheels are heavy bastards - 55 pounds a piece. You will need four boxes, one for each wheel. You can get these from a mover (uhaul sells boxes) http://store.uhaul.com/product_detail.aspx?id=2793
for less than 3 bucks each. Staples and Office Max also sell boxes for around that same price. Make sure your wheels fit snugly inside the boxes, don't pick huge boxes for your wheels. I am using 18x18x16 inch boxes. I am going to cut the height down to about 10 inches so my wheels fit more securely in the package. So far I have spent around $12.00 to package up my wheels. I just used old news paper to fill in the empty space inside my boxes. Also, don't worry about deflating your tires all the way, just bring them down to about 10 psi.

Now that I've got my boxes all weighed and measured, I can get my labels printed off at UPS.com. Four boxes at 60 lbs a piece, and I am shipping them from Indianapolis IN, 46228 to Sacramento CA, 95843. I packaged them up myself and I am using UPS ground to get them there. My cost is $56.52 and it should only take 4-6 days for them to arrive at their destination.

It's a little more if they are going to a residential address, but not much. About $64.53 to ship to someones home.

You can calculate your own shipment here:
https://wwwapps.ups.com/ctc/request?...&WT.svl=SubNav

Now I just print out my labels, secure them to the boxes with clear packaging tape, and either give them to my daily pick up or drop them off at a distribution center near me. DO NOT TELL THEM YOU ARE SHIPPING WHEELS!!! If the carrier finds out they are wheels and tires, they will hit you with a back charge.

I spent less than $70.00 to ship my imaginary wheels, and they were extremely heavy and going across the country!

 

[ScratchNSniff]

I stack them all up and zip tie each to each other, painters tape around the lips, shrink wrap the entire thing, drop off at Greyhound...

 

[STRICK-]

I shipped my 18 torques via fedex to a member on here and it cost me approx 200$ if i recall(its been a while). That was rims and tires w/ each packaged individually. And since im a good guy, i paid an extra 100$ to have reinforced boxes built for the buyer too

 

[ScratchNSniff]

So, just shipped out a set of RX8 rims bundled together through Greyhound...$90 shipped...not bad at all...