Most of the things we sell can be shipped by conventional carriers like UPS and the US Postal Service. Occasionally, we work with items requiring freight handling.

First thing we need to consider when faced with a freight item is asking ourselves if will anyone pay the freight cost. Freight is expensive and unless the item is unique enough or the deal is going to be significant enough, buyers just aren’t going to pay the cost. If it’s the right type of item we then need to figure out the cost.

The first step is to determine the actual size of the item and how it would be prepared for shipment. Some things can just be strapped to a pallet as is. Others require crating. Still others need special size pallets or special truck arrangements. Once we’ve figured out the size, we’ll determine the weight, which can be done by either estimating or weighing the item in sections. Sometimes that means calling the manufacturer to find out the weight.

The next step is to contact one of several freight brokers to find the best price. When working with conventional carriers like UPS, all you need to provide is the weight and package size. For freight, you need to specifically itentify the nature of the product and it’s overall size. The actual product determines the freight class. There are hundreds of classes to choose from and picking the wrong one can mean extra, after the shipment costs possibly costing us tens or even hundreds of dollars. That’s where working with a quality, knowledgable freight broker is important because if we’re wrong, we eat that cost!

Freight carriers charge extra for added services too. For example a delivery to a residential location is much more costly. If we’re going to a business location with a loading dock, great. If there’s no dock, we need a special truck with a liftgate on the back to get the product off the truck. You guessed it, more expensive.

If you’ve got something that you think is a freight candidate and you’d like us to sell it, give us a call at (815) 293-0300 and let’s talk.

You can do it yourself, or you can call in the experts. We’re up to the challenge!

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