FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => FE Technical Forum => Topic started by: fairlaniac on February 24, 2020, 07:31:28 AM
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I never use it. A person looking at purchasing some heads from me asked for me to use Fastenal. Is it the Blue Lane Freight that is on their site? I assume it is a Fastenal to Fastenal location delivery? Can you walk into your local Fastenal and ship immediately or must you go online, set up an account first? Thanks!
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Set up online acct 1st. Then get shipping cost quote online. Anything insured must be in a fully enclosed wood crate. I think max insurance is 3k. Drop at store and pick up at store. Lot's cheaper than freight lines. It is Blue Line..
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Set up online acct 1st. Then get shipping cost quote online. Anything insured must be in a fully enclosed wood crate. I think max insurance is 3k. Drop at store and pick up at store. Lot's cheaper than freight lines. It is Blue Line..
In the Southern area is is 3PL unless they changed last year.
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I have done it several times on east coast. 3PL is the term or site I have used prior to delivering package for shipping
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I shipped a tire. It had to be on a pallet and it had to be strapped at three places. They didn't tell me that until I walked in the store.
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I haven’t tried them yet, but in the last 3 months I spent $150 shipping heads fed ex to Arizona, $168 shipping a crank to North Carolina, $150 sending exhaust manifolds ups to Tennesse. So I’m thinking it’s worth a shot, because fedex and ups, have made me have sit in the corner and cry while they explain their prices to me.
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If you don't have a FedEx or UPS account, I would highly recommend getting one. You don't need to be a business owner to snag one and it will save you some cash.
As far as Fastenal goes, my latest fiasco with them goes like this....
I sold an engine block to Joe Craine. I asked him where he wanted it shipped and he asked me to send it to his neighborhood Fastenal. To be fair, I didn't add 2+2, and just thought he had a contact there, knew the store owner, etc., and it would save him some money since they would have a forklift there. So I'll take the blame for being a temporary bonehead, but I had my freight broker ship the crate down there via AAA Cooper freight.
When the crate arrived at his Fastenal, they immediately called me and were talking to me like I had tried to burn down their store. "This isn't an approved shipment! Who told you to do this?!?" After I explained the situation, they gave me and Joe both the run-around, saying that they would probably have to send it back to me, and get corporate involved. When Joe showed up, they demanded that he show them proof that it had been shipped from me, give them the bill of lading, etc., then they charged him $150 to just load it in his truck for him.
Nice people.
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If you don't have a FedEx or UPS account, I would highly recommend getting one. You don't need to be a business owner to snag one and it will save you some cash.
As far as Fastenal goes, my latest fiasco with them goes like this....
I sold an engine block to Joe Craine. I asked him where he wanted it shipped and he asked me to send it to his neighborhood Fastenal. To be fair, I didn't add 2+2, and just thought he had a contact there, knew the store owner, etc., and it would save him some money since they would have a forklift there. So I'll take the blame for being a temporary bonehead.
However, when the crate arrived at his Fastenal, they immediately called me and were talking to me like I had tried to burn down their store. "This isn't an approved shipment! Who told you to do this?!?" After I explained the situation, they gave me and Joe both the run-around, saying that they would probably have to send it back to me, and get corporate involved. When Joe showed up, they demanded that he show them proof that it had been shipped from me, give them the bill of lading, etc., then they charged him $150 to just load it in his truck for him.
Nice people.
Brent, what was their issue with the shipment? I had a tranny shipped in a big crate (big enough for an engine block) from Ben H. to my local Fastenal. No issues and the guy was very nice and polite and helped me unload the crate from the pallet and then put the crate in my truck with a forklift. He even took the pallet when I said I didn't need it. It was my first time using Fastenal and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it went. From experience, I've found that workers in nation wide businesses vary greatly from location to location, and that makes a HUGE difference in how things go. Maybe visit the store first, and you'll get an idea of who you're dealing with, and whether or not you want to deal with that store?
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I guess the gripe was that it was not arranged through a Fastenal store, store-to-store, like the 3PL or 3PO or whatever they call it.
That store in San Antonio can go find some sand and pound it. :D
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I shipped a load of engine parts to Blair via Fastenal...went smoothly with no issues and saved me some coin. Would do it again.
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I love dealing with Fed Ex. in 20 years they have never lost a single shipment. Of course, I get a good discount being it's interline shipping. I had a block shipped to me from the Pacific North West. Three days to my door. 262.00.
I know some of you followed my Yellow Freight Ordeal last year. JOY!
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I ship stuff all over the damn place and have used fastenal a bunch, it's no longer 3pl, it's called blue lane now. Their prices have gone up and aren't always the cheapest anymore in my experience. Freightqoute is a great alternative but you have to create an account to be given a different dashboard online to be given all the different options that make things easier. Fastenal is save and secure though.
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I signed up for Fedex. $126 to send two iron heads from PA to Utah. Fastenal wanted $397. I found out not all Fastenal stores are on the freight program. I called and talked to a young lady but that didn't solve anything.
Thanks for the replies. BTW, UPS was $236.
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I have used Fastenal quite a bit the last few years and they have always beat everyone else handily on
Larger shipments like a complete engine in a crate.
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Fastenal has changed their business practices here in Texas, to not allow walk-in traffic. You cannot go to their stores and buy bolts unless you have an account, tax number, and over $25.00 purchase. You order your parts on line, and go there to pick them up. Shipping has increased 50% over what it was three years ago. So, unless you have an account and shop online, you cannot just walk in and buy from them. The deal with Brent was totally a misunderstanding on everyone's part, but it sure hurt the pocketbook to make it right. I will take my business elsewhere from now on. Joe-JDC
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Fastenal has changed their business practices here in Texas, to not allow walk-in traffic. You cannot go to their stores and buy bolts unless you have an account, tax number, and over $25.00 purchase. You order your parts on line, and go there to pick them up. Shipping has increased 50% over what it was three years ago. So, unless you have an account and shop online, you cannot just walk in and buy from them. The deal with Brent was totally a misunderstanding on everyone's part, but it sure hurt the pocketbook to make it right. I will take my business elsewhere from now on. Joe-JDC
Like you I have to be in a jam to shop in local Fastenal store. Years ago I needed some long metric bolts to hang a European I-6 on the stand. The threads were an odd size but they had them. About $6 a bolt plus a fee for breaking the package open that was already opened and missing a few. I spent $32 that day. However there shipping goes smooth and is reasonable priced.
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Joe:
That isn't the case up here in the DFW area. Someone had mentioned Grainger was doing something similar.
-Keith
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shipping local fastenal in lawrence ks has worked well and i have been very pleased with the service and the lack of them wasting my time and pricing but the last time i used them was last july so i can't speak to the current pricing. an engine had to be fully enclosed to be insured but that is no problem for someone with some scrap lumber, plywood and a nail gun.
jim
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This may help some of you guys, it may not, but I will try to give some insight and help.
What Brent Lykins mentioned on setting up an account with the small parcel guys is correct. Not only can you do that, but it gives you the ability to negotiate rates. Negotiation mainly comes in if you are doing some volume in your area. BUT always negotiate. These guys increase their price every single year by 5% or more. On top of this they change how pricing is calculated all the time..again mostly on an annual basis. They will negotiate. However, their price complexity is not decipherable(is that a word?) for anyone besides an NASA mathematician. There are entire businesses dedicated to taking your data, analyzing it, and filing for refunds with these two, all for a fee. They win a lot of it. On top of all this jargon, there are often rebates you can be owed on volume. This is the basics and not everyone qualifies etc. but anyone doing any volume with these two need to understand it.
3PL- That term has been used a lot in this thread. It simple means 3rd Party Logistics. This is a freight broker, plain an simple. A middle man. They have contracts with LTL carriers and ship freight. Most do not own a single truck. They get a cut of the money for brokering the freight. The water gets muddy here in that some LTL companies also have a 3PL division. XPO is one of these. Not only are they one of the largest LTL carriers, they also operate as one of the largest 3PL carriers. Meaning, they can send shipments via their own trucks OR they can farm out the shipment to a competitor such as ESTES etc. I do not like 3PL in that it adds an additional party to the equation. However, it is the way of the world today and it can offer a savings. There are national LTL carriers such as ESTES, ABF, XPO, OLD DOMINION, FED EX FREIGHT, etc. also regional like AVERITT and SOUTH EASTERN FREIGHT. You can set up accounts with these people too. And like small parcel there are about a 100 or more hidden charges you can get nailed with. BUT these would take a 3rd person out of the equation, negotiate discounts, and you can do volume quotes. If they need freight into an area you can get a volume quote (depending on size and weight) and potentially save a lot of $. Be careful though since they can get delayed depending on carrier.
I recommend contacting an LTL carrier and discussing your needs with the local rep. On top of that, get quotes. This is the best way to stem off surprises and save money on anything not going small parcel.
Anyway, welcome to the world of shipping. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I should write a book on the subject, it is a racquet. Freight is a complex nightmare for those who have not waded in the water. The days of a fair price and easy process are gone in this arena. I may be a little jaded since I deal with it daily.
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Luckily with my day job we ship daily with UPS and Old Dominion (I call them Old Dirty Bastards). But much less freight damage than previously with Fed Ex, especially to the east coast. With that we get a decent rate, I shipped a standard size pallet with one assembled engine on a stand, one bare block, 2 heads and box of assorted parts to Blair for about $250. Weighed about 750#. A set of heads in 2 boxes though UPS was $75. Still seems expensive though.
One challenge we face that leads to higher costs is our rural location. All be it in the heart of the Midwest. ODFL drops and picks up at least one 53' trailer here every day. They have a dedicated little single axle truck just to shag it 80 miles to the main terminal.
I will say that if shipping to Canada use USPS, considerably cheaper or have your Canadian contact arrange shipping. And if possible label as "warranty" Canada rapes people on across the boarder shipments but can't charge tariffs on warranty parts. They also have an agreement with USPS of some kind. Lot less paper work too.
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Even with my discount and shipping via Fed Ex ground won't ship a set of iron heads for 75.00. The Edelbrocks were returned to me via USPS and it was 68.00 in one box at 60lbs. Iron heads complete are about 102lbs.
-Keith
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Shipping costs have spiraled out of reason the past couple decades. In the 80's and 90's i sent lots of irons heads that cost me less than $60 a pair and lots of cranks for less than that. It has stopped me from buying or selling a lot of things.
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Even with my discount and shipping via Fed Ex ground won't ship a set of iron heads for 75.00. The Edelbrocks were returned to me via USPS and it was 68.00 in one box at 60lbs. Iron heads complete are about 102lbs.
-Keith
Those where stripped.
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I have nothing but great review on shipping two engines with them. My last was three years ago, shipped to me from Mr. Dove's engineering shop.
I'll never use another shipper. Now, my local Fastenal store employees were also great, so that may be different than yours. I had no way to bring the heavy crate from my truck from the street into my garage. They did not throw up their arms and say, hum,...bummer, no....they loaded up the engine into their truck, drove 25 miles to my house, and used their fork-lift to bring it into my garage. They loved my 427 Cobra and stayed for two hrs. I asked how much and they said, when you get it running, come give us a ride. lol