I just used UPS to ship a big box of parts for another forum I frequent. The box was from a flat screen TV (34" long) and weighed 68 lbs. It was shipped from Colorado to Florida and made it there mostly unscathed except for some damaged corners. 2 days after it was delivered I received a note from UPS saying they were billing me an additional $18 because the box was 4" longer than I had entered. I was pretty sure I'd measured correctly (it's not that hard after all) so called today to challenge it. The very polite operator immediately agreed that there was a mistake and refunded the extra charges. I asked her how their system could be so far off and she said that they pack these boxes in a large shipping container and they get squished making them longer. They measure the boxes quite often during their journey with UPS and she could see that the box had "grown 4 inches" after a segment, hence she knew I had been accurate with my measurement. I asked her why their own system didn't have any logic that showed the box "growing" during the journey and instead recognizing that it was their issue, not the shippers, and hence not bill me. She had nothing to say.

Of course, it's highly profitable for them to do this as I'm sure most of the time nobody challenges them. I really dislike UPS and would not use them, except that FedEx is even worse in my area. So keep an eye out the next time UPS bills you extra.

 

Just curious. A 68 pound television?

Is that from the 1950s? Typical "32 inch" TV fits in a 36" box and has a shipping weight of under 15 pounds.

-- Chuck

 

No, guess I wasn't clear. I reused a box for a flat panel TV (probably was 32") to ship an L28 straight 6 head and radiator. Even though the head is aluminum, it's not light.