Purolator Ground Shipping to USA - is it worth considering?

[3jcc14]

Hi, just a general question for others. How do you find Purolator Ground Shipping to the USA? I'm considering offering it as a shipping option (there's no FedEx or UPS where I live). Does anyone know how long the transit times are and if a signature is obtained on delivery? I tried a few shipping estimates but the transit times came up as n/a and it didn't say anything about signatures. Thanks!

[whoscloset]

Before I negotiated my account with UPS I used Purolator Ground to the U.S. I didn't have many problems, BUT be aware that Purolator does not have a large presence in the U.S. so they contract out their work. I think most of their items end up getting delivered by Fed-Ex.

You will get siggys and transit times are pretty good...VERY good compared to Canada Post.
Monique

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[power_batteries]

I'm quite happy with their service overall. As Monique said, VERY good compared to CP. (Faster delivery times than Xpresspost USA for ExpeditedParcel-like pricing.)

Online tracking not great, but it actually IS tracking and you can call and get someone to answer your questions right away most times. Transit times are generally 3-6 business days depending on location (yours and theirs -- might take longer if you are not close to airport/border). I think that they usually contract out their U.S. deliveries to DHL.

See what you can work out with your rep for pricing. We got good pricing on Puropaks for our air shipments. Good luck!


C.G.

[orbitdrop.ont_01]

I love Purolator service and use it for anywhere in the 10 provinces and all mainland US. They have great delivery times and are partnered with DHL in the US so it is received by a familiar face down there. Northern Ontario to California is usually 5 days and many times less.

[katiusciav]

i just tried getting a rough estimate to compare costs, it doesn't ask for dimensions-only weight-is that the norm? do dimensions not matter? orbit-i don't have huge volume, maybe 40-50/month, maybe more, i guess i couldn't get a discount with that? do you ship more than that, or about the same?

[orbitdrop.ont_01]

I use Purolator for just about everything. I ship all my eBay sales, bill deliveries to me with my Purolator account number and ship local sales via Purolator. They will quote you based on estimated sales volume. 50 packages a month or 10,000 doesn't matter. They base your rate on an approximate dollar value.

They are very flexible however and will try to match or beat the competition. Depending on your needs, they will focus your discount rate based on your use. If you ship in envelopes a lot you will get a decent envelope rate. If you buy product by the pallet you will get discounts on your freight costs. If you primarily ship overseas... well you see where I am going. My opinion is highly biased but that is only because my local rep has been amazing with me.

When using their shipping estimator on the web site you can only enter by weight. If you actually went in to ship something you can enter in specific dimensions.

Purolator and I have recently created an "eBay seller" group account. In a nutshell, Purolator has agreed to pool my (and any seller interested) shipping volumes and give the large discount rate to everyone. Each seller would get their own account and pay their own fees but we share the discounted volume shipping rate. The best way to compare it would be to imagine the savings a nation-wide retailer would get due to their corporate account. I personally know a well-known electronics chain in Canada that can ship a 27" plasma TV to anywhere in Canada for about $10.

While our discount rate isn't there yet, the more people willing to give it a try will make it better for everyone.