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Shipping a C-100 using Fastenals inexpensive method

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Recounting a recent - pleasant - experience with shipping  a C-100 with Fastenal across country for what the buyer and I think was an especially good rate...

 

I recently listed a refurbed C-100 for sale in our classified and within a few days I was asked by one of our members if I could ship it from Louisiana To Mass! Yikes! My first thought was no way hosea! But, I had recently skimmed through a post on this very subject, so went back and reread it more closely and saw Fastenall mentioned --- Hmmm, I've got a store real close by. So I agree to at least ck on shipping. I go by the store and am greeted by the nicest guy, who as it turned out wasnt all that familiar with how to go about it, explaining that its a fairly recent thing - last couple yrs? -  Fastenal has started. --- this would be his first try at it

 

Heres how it was explained to me. Fastenal ships their stock all over the place to their many stores, often times with extra space in the trailer. So I guess somebody says Hey! why dont we utilize that space and offer a really good rate to a shipper with the stipulation that the item be brought to your nearest store and it would have to be picked up at the delivery store, it couldnt be time specific, just that they would get it there for a reasonable price in a reasonable time frame.

 

He gives me a web site to go to and fill out a 'rate request',  a very short and simple form with my name, what I was shipping & weight (I showed 'garden tractor'), where it was going, etc. The next morning I get a call from another very nice guy to verify what I was shipping and to explain that it would have to be fully crated -- uhoh! I dont know if I like that! But then... he gives me the quote --- $250  to go halfway across the country! The prospective buyer is tickled and we agree on how to handle it, so I agree to making a crate.

 

The problem for me on a crate was making the base of it be fork lift friendly, figured the rest would be easy. Since its almost grass cutting time here and the new years lawn tractors are popping up all over maybe I can get something at a big box store or ... No luck there but then I remember I have a Kubota dealer near by and I make an almost perfect score there. Dont know what was on it originally but it was a perfect fit for the C. Once the base was solved it was relatively simple to enclose it using 1/4" OSB/chip board over a 2x2" frame work. I dropped the crate off at the store on a Thur afternoon for pickup early the next morning (Fri). Well, the shipping might not have been 'time specific' but the buyer picked the tractor up 7 days later (Fri)

 

The C-100 that was shipped

post-9681-0-30591000-1394320677.jpg

 

The skid/pallet/base I picked up at the Kubota dealer

post-9681-0-06425700-1394323904_thumb.jp

 

The C-100 nestled in its crate

post-9681-0-06662700-1394324001_thumb.jp

 

The tractor/crate ready to go to Massachusetts. I left the opening in hopes nothing would get stacked on top of it

post-9681-0-95676300-1394324098_thumb.jp

post-9681-0-27408400-1394324142_thumb.jp

Edited by pacer
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doc724

Wow, $250 was pretty reasonable I think.  I cost me over $100 to have a mower deck shipped from northern VT to SE MA.  The biggest challenge with shipping, I think, is that the footprint and cubic feet of the package seems to drive the cost.  Distance and weight are almost secondary.  After reading up a bit on the shipping idea, I walked away shaking my head-way too complicated for me.  Looks like you stumbled on a very reasonably priced solution.  Thanks for sharing

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squonk

Question, did you build the crate on a trailer? If not how did you get it to the store?

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dennist

Great info, I am curious on how you got it off the ground also? Forklift nearby?

Edited by dennist

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Cutlas3391

Sounds cool

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

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pacer

Okay, okay, I tried to think of all the pertinent things on the ship (hence the long post) but I was bound to miss something - like how DID I get that thing to the Fastenal store?? My buddy had a steel bottomed trailer with ramps and a moveable HF winch rigged on it. Moved the winch to the very back of the trailer and started the crate up the ramps, moved the winch to the next position and moved another 2-3 feet, moved the winch again, etc, etc --- and of course Fastenal had a fork.

 

And yes I too knew of the foot print/cubic feet thing in shipping, that being one of the things I thought would make it much too cost prohibitive to even think of, But all Fastenal wanted was the weight, never once mentioning those things - and as you can tell by the pics, it was a sizable crate.

 

I'll say again, from the friendly helpful personnel, the cost, the the delivery time, convenience, etc it was a pleasant experience - building the crate was really the only pain :)

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neil

Wow $250 shipping costs, what a bargain & what a beautiful tractor.

 

I paid quite a bit more than $250 to ship my tractor across the pond last October 2013

i wished i had gone to the company that you used, it may have been a lot cheaper .

I used UPS to ship 5 of my tractors from US & they required me to also have them crated up , but i am glad i paid the extra cost to crate them as the guys in the loading depot are not too careful with the forklifts ,  as the crate in the first picture has been damaged & that could have damaged the tractor if it wasnt crated .

post-2119-0-52137700-1394346032_thumb.jppost-2119-0-16845100-1394345981_thumb.jppost-2119-0-67134500-1394345997_thumb.jppost-2119-0-60286200-1394346377_thumb.jp

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varosd

Pacer:  thanks for the great info. another poster had alerted the RS crowd here on the option of shipping with "Fascination" (get it? like fleabay, harbor fright?)  I wonder how they would do with say smaller  (but still bulky,heavy) pieces like fenders/hoods/engines?  speaking of engines...what was the oil/gas shipping precautions?  completely empty of engine oil, tranny oil??

 

Neil: I think the 3rd photo down is great! almost like a scale model in a box!  nice cat!

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Cutlas3391

Here's a good tip I work at Home Depot and when we sell the ariens tractors we give away the crates or toss them out. So stop buy your local home depot and ask for a tractor crate.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

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squonk

Wow $250 shipping costs, what a bargain & what a beautiful tractor.

 

I paid quite a bit more than $250 to ship my tractor across the pond last October 2013

i wished i had gone to the company that you used, it may have been a lot cheaper .

I used UPS to ship 5 of my tractors from US & they required me to also have them crated up , but i am glad i paid the extra cost to crate them as the guys in the loading depot are not too careful with the forklifts ,  as the crate in the first picture has been damaged & that could have damaged the tractor if it wasnt crated .

attachicon.gifP9280258.JPGattachicon.gifP9280256.JPGattachicon.gifP9280257.JPGattachicon.gifP9280043.JPG

:laughing-rolling: I can just see the Fastenal guy now! You want us to drive our truck across the Atlantic? :laughing-rolling:

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rexman72

that's a great price and a nice looking tractor

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groundhog47

Bill, very informative post.  :handgestures-thumbup:  I wish you had included a picture of what you started with even though that wasn't intent of post. Most wouldn't believe what you did in such a short time. It still awes me :handgestures-salute: .

From time to time the question on shipping engines pops up...I believe that is the answer!

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KC9KAS

Very sharp looking C-100.

Thanks for the detailed shipping process.

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clueless

Carpetbaggers!

It's bad enough that you Yankees have these things available in your back yard, but to take the good ones that rarely show up down here is just mean. 

Shipping to Mass, really??!!

But seriously, I was ready to buy this from Bill, a days drive for me, but he already had a deal going depending on shipping. He could of sold it to me and saved himself some trouble but he didn't. In today's world that is rare. I applaud your integrity Sir. Maybe next time Bill.

For the rest of you guys, how about leave a few acorns for your southern brethren.

 

 

Chris 

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groundhog47

Carpetbaggers!

It's bad enough that you Yankees have these things available in your back yard, but to take the good ones that rarely show up down here is just mean. 

Shipping to Mass, really??!!

But seriously, I was ready to buy this from Bill, a days drive for me, but he already had a deal going depending on shipping. He could of sold it to me and saved himself some trouble but he didn't. In today's world that is rare. I applaud your integrity Sir. Maybe next time Bill.

For the rest of you guys, how about leave a few acorns for your southern brethren.

 

 

Chris 

PM sent

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JERSEYHAWG /  Glenn

Thank you sir, very good information to have.

 

Glenn

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Ken B

And it looks as though someone is gettin a very nice C-100...

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baerpath

Carpetbaggers!

It's bad enough that you Yankees have these things available in your back yard, but to take the good ones that rarely show up down here is just mean. 

Shipping to Mass, really??!!

But seriously, I was ready to buy this from Bill, a days drive for me, but he already had a deal going depending on shipping. He could of sold it to me and saved himself some trouble but he didn't. In today's world that is rare. I applaud your integrity Sir. Maybe next time Bill.

For the rest of you guys, how about leave a few acorns for your southern brethren.

 

 

Chris 

Trucks run south as well as north !

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marvairplanes

post-16-0-37191000-1394557826_thumb.jpg

 

Semi picked this up at my farm yesterday.

On its way to Australia.

 

post-16-0-77788100-1394557314_thumb.jpg

 

Thanks to one of our non-paying members  who bid on my tractor and then backed out, my TRI-CYCLE was available when the fella called from Australia and asked if shipping was an option.

Only requirement was that it be on a 48" pallett. Wrapping it was my idea.

 

I guess that sometimes it's NOT WHAT WE NEED, but WHAT WE WANT !!!!

 

 

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hm12460

That looks to be a little sweetheart Marv! I suggest to our moderators that we make this post "Post of the month".  Pacer did us a tremendous service sharing this information with us. I shipped a 42" deck from Muskegon, Mi. to Youngstown, Oh. by UPS AND IT COST WAY TOO MUCH!!

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Rick_in_CT

I was recently on a hot rod web site and they were talking about using Fastenal to ship hot rod parts around.  They were shipping doors, engines, transmissions.  It was getting real good feedback, and the prices that people paid to ship were excellent.  You have to drop off and pick-up at the local store, and the shipment moves as they have space on their trailers, but from what I read the transit time was also reasonable.  You also want to pack well to prevent damage.   

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marvairplanes

For some folks price is obviously not an issue. The fella offered me $100 more than my "Buy-it-now" price, and paid me an additional $100 for strapping it on the pallett. He paid in advance with pay-pal and also paid all their commission charges.

 

I have no idea how this semi pick-up business works, but I had at least a dozen phone calls the day after I notified him that it was ready for pick-up.

Drivers asked about access with their rigs, weight, etc.

Yesterday I got a phone call from a driver who asked if it was still here...said he was bringing a helper and would arrive in 30 minutes.  They had no fork lift...two guys just picked up the whole unit and slid it on the back of the semi trailer. Driver said "Easiest $150 I ever made."....

 

I can't even imagine what the final cost will be on getting the tractor to Australia.

 

The buyer has called me three times in the past week...yesterday I got an e-mail from him. Said he would be calling me shortly to tell me "a yarn" !!!!..

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jwl

I think this is an excellent post and really good useful info has been presented. Personally I've never really found the shipping cost part a big trouble. Mostly its the guys that seem to think its costing them something to ship anything they cant put in an envelope. Cant understand where this comes from, as a lot of shipping places will come pickup the item. Most people will understand if you want something for making a crate or getting it on a pallet, as long as you don't act like a bandit.  If your a serious seller, and want to get into a bigger market, it would be kind of dumb to limit what items you would ship and ones you won't.

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papaglide

What a super interesting post. Thanks to everyone for chipping in!

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Aussie

I am also in Australia and would love to get an early Wheel Horse as we didn't get anything before 1985 when Toro took over. I can arrange a container from Seattle WA, but obviously not many (any?) Wheel Horses in that part of the country. This post has renewed my interest in pursuing importing one, the only missing link for me is getting it from the depot to shipping agent.  Being half way around the world it would also give me much greater confidence to deal with another Red Square member.

Great to hear of a collector in Australia, I feel a bit of an orphan over here as there presently doesn't appear to be much interest in American garden tractors at all. That is great for buying them locally when they do turn up though.  

 

Another thank you for this post, I'm off to check the classifieds!.

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