How to Ship Skis and Snowboards
As any winter sports enthusiast knows, sometimes it’s not easy lugging your skis or snowboard on a trip to the ski slopes. Checking them onto a plane while flying can be nerve-wracking, and trying to take several sets of skis or skateboards on a road trip can be a pain. If you find yourself at a loss for how to get your equipment into the mountains, you should consider another option: Ship! This guide is all about how to ship your skis and snowboards, which carrier to use for the best price, how to pack them properly, and how to save the most money. Let’s buckle up and start smashing!
Table of contents
Skis and snowboards are considered irregular packages
Considering their height, width and length, skis and snowboards are relatively large objects. Most packages come in the form of suitcases, and by this standard, carriers consider skis and snowboards to be irregularly shaped items. Irregular items like this require large boxes to ship… Generally speaking, UPS is the primary carrier for large boxes.
UPS offers similar services to FedEx (such as Emergency Next Day, Two-Day, and Ground). However, they cost much less. Contrary to popular belief, UPS also beats the USPS when it comes to affordability…we’re about to get into why.
Why UPS is cheaper than USPS in this case
UPS beats USPS when it comes to sending larger boxes because USPS imposes certain fees on larger items. For shipments over a certain size, USPS will impose a non-standard fee on all of its domestic services if the package reaches a certain size threshold. Below is a breakdown of each of the USPS non-standard fees, along with their thresholds:
- $4 If any length of your package exceeds 22 inches but is less than 30 inches
- 15 dollars If any length of your package exceeds 30 inches
- 15 dollars For packages larger than 2 cubic feet
- $1.50 For missing or incorrect dimensions that result in any of the above non-standard surcharges; consider this an “overdraft” fee charged by USPS for any of these non-standard surcharges
Since most boxes containing skis and snowboards are longer than 30 inches, you risk facing these non-standard USPS fees every time you try to ship your winter sports gear.
UPS Ground is the cheapest way to send a package containing skis or snowboards
Of all the services UPS offers, UPS Ground is easily the most affordable way to ship your skis and snowboards. In recent years, UPS has been lowering prices for ground service, especially to become more competitive with USPS.The difference is that UPS Ground service is a lot of Faster than postal service. Delivery times for UPS Ground packages typically range from 1-5 business days, while USPS Ground packages can sometimes take up to two weeks to reach their destination!when prices are low and Delivery times are faster, and there’s really no debate about which service is the better option.
Learn more about UPS Ground vs USPS Ground.
UPS imposes additional handling surcharges instead of non-standard charges
Unlike USPS, UPS does not impose any non-standard fees for larger shipments.However, remember that they Do Additional handling charges apply to shipments that exceed 48 inches on the longest side of the package. This surcharge is usually around $11…but since UPS Ground has become so affordable, even adding this surcharge to your label cost is still better than USPS.
Pack your skis and snowboards in custom jumbo boxes
Packaging is essential to properly transport your skis and snowboards. The good news is that these items are very durable and can withstand a lot of stress and pressure. So you don’t need to worry about using any kind of packing material to protect them. Really the only key is finding a box long enough to accommodate the length of your skis and/or snowboards, but not wide enough that they don’t move around during transport.
If you’re looking for brand new boxes for your skis and snowboards, you probably won’t find them at your local Target or Home Depot. Luckily, ULINE sells tall corrugated boxes suitable for snowboards. They even sell snowboard cases that fit any standard board!
notes: Don’t put your boots in the same box! Anyway, the boots won’t fit in the custom box that holds the skis and board, so you’ll need to ship them separately. Any square box will do the trick.
Use Online Shipping Software to Offset Surcharges on UPS Labels
Even if you encounter UPS surcharges, you can offset these additional costs by purchasing discounted UPS postage through online shipping software.
When you buy postage with online shipping software, you can get special tiers of discounts that carriers like UPS typically only grant to commercial shippers who send more than 50,000 packages per year. For UPS, this pricing level is part of the Digital Access program.In some cases, these discounts Save you up to 76% Shipping the same box at your local UPS store!
Locking in these discounts will put as much money in your pocket as possible when sending oversized boxes, such as packages containing skis and snowboards.
