Tripod shipping

[The Thing on The Sticks]

So I am looking to fly back east in about a month with my camera and tripod and am looking for shipping options. In the past I have used nail pack cases but I would prefer not to buy one for 450 or so for what is a 1 time trip at the moment.

1) what other shipping/ flight options are there for a tripod, in this case think hotpod.

2) what are the better airlines for avoiding fees or claiming media rate these days. Idealy it would be camera and laptop as carry on and clothing plus tripod checked but I really don't want to get into paying Americans baggage fees if they can be avoided/ mitigated.

 

[Run&Gun]

If you have the time, ship FedEx Ground or UPS Ground. Literally dirt cheap, especially compared to airline fees, if you're not preferred and get multiple checked items for free. I don't remember what my tripod cost was, but my 1650 with support gear(75-80lbs) was around $40-$45 via FedEx Ground and it goes right to my hotel, etc., no dealing with it at the airport. I just shipped my tape Vari from NC to NY for some service and I think it was $18-$20 via ground(2 days, overnight would have been ~$150 or more).

Check their websites, they have maps with transportation times between locations. For almost everything on the east coast(even as far as Chicago/Michigan/Indianapolis) that doesn't need to be there the next day and I have at least two days for, I've started using ground.

And not every airline has media rates these days. I fly USAirways and they haven't had it in probably 10 years. I think there was a thread on DVXUser not too long ago that dealt with gear transportation and someone had a pretty good breakdown of most of the major airlines media policies and rates/allowances/restrictions. Another good tip from someone, if you do go that route, find the airlines policy and print it out and carry it with you, because sometimes the counter/ticket agents at the airport don't even know about them.

 

[dhart]

I agree with Run&Gun. Carry the camera and ship everything else ahead of time via FedEx or UPS ground. Much less expensive and you save the hassle of dragging all that gear through the airport.

 

[Focused]

Shipped

Today I shipped 157 lbs of cases and gear to a location for a shoot next week.
With insurance it was $117 one way.

Airline fees would have been $200 or more one way for the 2 cases and I would have had to lug it through the airport at both ends, rent a bigger car to get to the location, and that's after showing everything to security and repacking it, arguing with the ticketing counter personal that it is in fact camera equipment and some other issue like not being allowed curbside check in as its "special baggage."

Save the headaches. Ship if you can.

 

[The Thing on The Sticks]

Today I shipped 157 lbs of cases and gear to a location for a shoot next week.
With insurance it was $117 one way.

Airline fees would have been $200 or more one way for the 2 cases and I would have had to lug it through the airport at both ends, rent a bigger car to get to the location, and that's after showing everything to security and repacking it, arguing with the ticketing counter personal that it is in fact camera equipment and some other issue like not being allowed curbside check in as its "special baggage."

Save the headaches. Ship if you can.

wow that looks better than I thought so ship it is who did you use if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Focused]

shipping

I used FedEx on this one. I have an account and by creating the labels online thru their site you actually save a few more bucks.

Not much experience with UPS but I'm sure they both have their ups and downs and what not.

If it gets to be a frequent thing shipping freight can work out well depending on the airline. I know some guys in San Diego that ship large pelican cases with Tri-casters everywhere. They fly Southwest and use Southwest freight. You have to coordinate with the freight office and than can complicate check in. You also have to get onto their approved freight list.

Its a messy process but if this become a common thing is can save you quite a bit over the long haul. I am not doing freight right because I fly a few different airlines and don't want to get "qualified" on all of them.

 

[Run&Gun]

I use FedEx for all of my outbound shipments, as well. I have an account and there is a distribution center/hub less than 10 minutes from my house. They have also been easier to deal with than UPS, as far as outbound shipments for me. If you do not use your UPS account on a regular basis, they will purge it from the system(delete it). Not just your shipping account, but your on-line access, as well. Very annoying.

Of course, that did net me a free shipment a few months ago. I return shipped my gear from a shoot with what I thought was my UPS account number(UPS handles freight directly to and from our TV compound on the road). I went on-line to look at my charges to add to the invoice and my account had been deleted. I talked to a rep and explained everything and even tried to do the right thing and go ahead and pay for the shipment since there wasn't an account to bill it to anymore. Even with the tracking number(I had already received my gear back), they said there was no way for me to pay it, because there hadn't been a bill generated, yet(2 1/2 weeks after shipping). I asked how it would be billed. They said it would probably be sent to the originating address/shipper. I told them that there was no originating address, in the sense they're used to(I just used my name and the city we were in, in the FROM field, no actual street address). Two months later and still no bill. I guess their stupid system benefited a customer for a change.

 

[The Thing on The Sticks]

how big is the billing difference for if you have a fedex acct vs. not having one. I currently ship very infrequently so I have not bothered with the acct... For some reason I assumed that like UPS the account required a minimum amount of use.

As I understand it the rate does go down for outfits that ship a lot but what about those of us that don't is it worth it?

 

[Focused]

account or not

I have not checked the cost of shipping with or without an account. Hardly go the same place twice!

I think there is a small discount for using an account and the discount is increased if you build the shipping label thru their system. 1-3% maybe? But I am not a volume customer by any means. When compared to shipping with out an account I'm sure it adds up, but I'm not into tracking all of those details just for the fun of it.

One of my clients ships A lot, All over, All the time -- their discount is ridiculous. About half what I pay. We try to use their account when we can since they are paying for it in the end anyway. Sometimes cost centers get involved and then we can't.