I went to ship two rods today in a 3" PVC tube. The tube was 99" long. FedEX wanted $150 to ship and UPS wanted $108 to ship. This was obviously much higher than what I expected. I knew a bigger tube would be more than shipping one rod, but not that much more. I quizzed the UPS employee and found out that 96" is the break point. If I cut the tube back to 96", shipping cost will drop to $35. Just thought I would share for future reference. I believe this is one of the only times being 3" shorter is better.

EJ3

I ship rods all the time. Both fed ex and ups are normally around $40-$50. Something sounds wrong how they weighed it and measured it.

I never quizzed FedEx, just got out of there as fast as I could after they told me $150. I figured UPS would be closer to norm, and about blew a gasket when they told me $108. At that point, I challenged them that something must be wrong. I even asked for a manager at UPS to explain why it was so expensive, and that something had to be off. At least at UPS, it was all in the length. Like I said...stay at or below 96" through UPS and you are safe.

96" limit is because it then only takes up a 3" diameter space on the trucks. They are 8' tall inside the trailers.

That's my guess, anyways.

This is why a lot of custom rod makers went away with 8'' rods and keep them at 7'11 or less

This is due to how they load the plane or truck. An air cargo container is 8 feet long. Anything longer than 8 feet doesn't fit into the container and requires manual handling (loading/unloading). Thus the higher cost.

Yep I've been told the same thing by UPS. Exact same thing.

yep, same with me. But the UPS guy cut the tube down for me to make it the correct length.

Well even if it is less than 8 feet it's still is a non-conveyable package so it requires special handling regardless.

Cost also determined by frequency meaning discount. A once in a while person, just walk up gets no discount a rod maker or a person that ships more frequently will get a discount.