Is There A Cheaper Way to Ship?

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#1 7 years ago

OP

JOP

Jopper

Pinside member

Houston, TX

9y 28,150 420 3

I've shipped a couple of games form MI down to TX and gotten quotes for lots more, i.e. FL to TX, NY to TX, etc. Everyone seems to say use NVL. Quotes for that have usually been about $400 for one pin and $450 or $480 for two pins at once. I've seen some guys on here say they use Pilot to ship. Is that a ground service by "Pilot Air"? I believe a Pinsider on here once said that require the buyer to pick up the pin at a local terminal, i.e. it's not door to door, and the shipping is about half NVL. Can anyone shed some more light on that? Does the seller also have to drop off at a terminal or will Pilot do a pick up at a residence or commercial business and then deliver to a terminal? There is a Pilot terminal in Houston so that's no problem for me to pick up. Are there any cheaper ways to ship (other than a fellow pinsider trucking it for you on the way to a show). I'm looking for commercial alternatives. Thanks.

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#2 7 years ago

WGD

visi0n

Pinside member

Spanish Fort, AL

10y 71,150 753 4 12

What you are describing sounds like Forward Air. You go to their site (Google forward air) and find the local depot; when you ship with forward air you will pallet the game and drop off at your local depot, the buyer will pick up from their local depot.

I haven't personally used them for a pin but I shipped a motorcycle that way once and it was reasonably priced about $275

Also, this is a little out of the box but there is this new(ish) service popping up called Roadie. It's like uber but for packages and stuff. I think you could post a pin move gig on roadie and see if you get any bites.

- like uber - you will have more success in larger metros and heavily populated areas. If your source locale is large enough and your destination is on-the-way for the courier, you'll come out with a super cheap move.

I've moved arcades and pins with pinballs on the move, STI, and palleted with RL Carriers. Pinballs on the move was most economical but the Stars have to be aligned/ be in one of Don's routes. RLCarriers was next cheapest but you will want to buy the freight from a freight forwarder or reseller for best pricing.

never had any problems with STI for the parts that mattered. The pins go where they were going. The price was higher (475ish) and the communication could have been better from STI.

Good luck with your pin moves!

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#3 7 years ago

WGD

visi0n

Pinside member

Spanish Fort, AL

10y 71,150 753 4 12

What's with the downvote Ercvacation?

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#4 7 years ago

OP

JOP

Jopper

Pinside member

Houston, TX

9y 28,150 420 3

Much appreciated VisiOn.

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#5 7 years ago

BIL

mrbillishere

Pinside member

14y 81,300 1,381

Pilot Air and Forward Air both operate as visi0n described. One, I can't recall which, does offer pickup at the point of origin, perhaps only in supported markets. Both require the machine to be cardboard wrapped. Of course we know better and blanket plus cardboard plus stretchwrap a pin before strapping it to a pallet.

At the terminals I've found both companies to be wonderful to work with.

Cost depends on weight and distance. A few years ago I shipped myself a Paragon from Denver to Chicago and it cost about $175, very reasonable. I dropped it off at the terminal in Denver, flew back to Chicago, and was surprised to get a call 48 hours later informing me that the game was ready for pickup.

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#6 7 years ago

KSD

Tickerguy

Pinside member

7y 25,400 191

Forward Air has always been the "go to" provided you can meet with their requirements. They get it done and don't trash things -- at a reasonable price.