Fastenal Shipping?

yeager_0339 · Sep 9, 2016

So I've had a lot of people ask if I would ship parts through Fastenal. I've never done this and from what I here it's the cheapest way to ship larger item! Have any of you done this? Does any one know their prices? What's your thoughts?

Marty · Sep 9, 2016

I have used them a few times, mostly for tires/wheels. It seemed like it was always at least $100 bucks for 4 stock rzr tire/wheels. You can go online and put in all the info and they will email you back with a quote, then just strap the stuff to a pallet and take to the store. Seems easy enough for me, I would think ups freight or any other freight company would be a big PITA, but i have only used Fastenal. And obviously the person receiving the goods needs a Fastenal close to them. You can also bill the shipping charges to the receiver so they pay when they pick up.

02Jimmy · Sep 9, 2016

I had 7 42" tires and 4 Racelines shipped from Cali to Missouri for $150? That was 2 large skids of tires and wheels, took about 5 days. All went well tho, would use again!

yeager_0339 · Sep 9, 2016

02Jimmy said:
I had 7 42" tires and 4 Racelines shipped from Cali to Missouri for $150? That was 2 large skids of tires and wheels, took about 5 days. All went well tho, would use again!

Dang! That's a lot of tires! Well I'm only shipping 3 hrs away so maybe it'll be worth it! I sent them an email so hopefully they will get back to me soon.

Chuck19 · Sep 10, 2016

I have used them a few time I just went to the store and got a quoit takes a little while but it's worth it .
And it's simple to do also!

patooyee · Sep 10, 2016

It is generally simpler than freight. But their pricing is all over the board. If you're staying in the SE it is hard to beat them. But once you get off of their main SE lines they go up really fast in price. I use freightquote.com and freightcenter.com to get quotes on all LTL shipments. I've found that about a third of time freightquote.com has the best rate, another third freightcenter.com does, and another third Fastenal does. So if you're really trying to save money you still have to shop around.

Overall price depends more on which carriers have the strongest presence / most efficient routes in the areas being shipped to and from than where you shop.

You can play freightcenter and freightquote against each other as well. Most of the time after you get an online quote they will call you and ask if you're ready to book the shipment. If you tell them the other one came in cheaper they'll almost always come down $100 - $200. I normally try to give them a day or two to call me before I book. It leaves me time to play them.

zukimaster · Sep 10, 2016

I hope everyone has better luck than I did with my Fastenal store, went to check on shipping a Toyota transfer case, and the guy working there was about 20, didn't have a clue what I was talking about, said come back when his manager was there, so I come back later that day, and the manager was about the same age! They were both were clueless! So, he said he would call and find out, after a couple days, had to carry the case up there to weigh it, measure etc. then wait a couple more days to get a quote. So after a week of messing with them, they called and said 125 bucks. I just ended up going thru UPS with it. But I know if I had something large, they would be about the only choice.

patooyee · Sep 10, 2016

zukimaster said:
I hope everyone has better luck than I did with my Fastenal store, went to check on shipping a Toyota transfer case, and the guy working there was about 20, didn't have a clue what I was talking about, said come back when his manager was there, so I come back later that day, and the manager was about the same age! They were both were clueless! So, he said he would call and find out, after a couple days, had to carry the case up there to weigh it, measure etc. then wait a couple more days to get a quote. So after a week of messing with them, they called and said 125 bucks. I just ended up going thru UPS with it. But I know if I had something large, they would be about the only choice.

They have a team of about 3 people at the home base in Atl. that handle all the LTL for the entire nation. Spring is one of their names, I forget the other two. When you use the online form it goes straight to them. When you go to the store the manager there is going to them with your information. You are adding a middle-man, and therefore the laziness and idiocy of a middle-man, by going to the store. Use the online form and you go straight to the people that matter. I have their email addresses stored somewhere and I just email them directly. They are always quicker responding to email than the online form. But they are always quicker using the online form than going to the store. My local store manager is fairly competent and motivated though, so I've never had your issues. When he is having a sale on things he knows I buy he calls or emails me to let me know.

yeager_0339 · Sep 10, 2016

Thanks Guys for the input! Helped a lot!

1993toy · Sep 10, 2016

I've used them to ship a rim. It all worked out good and would use them again if needed.

Follow the link and fill out your shipment info and they can get you a quote.

Also, if the item isn't big enough for a pallet it must be boxed.

https://www.fastenal.com/en/22/third-party-logistics-(3pl)

grcthird · Sep 11, 2016

Maybe I am the only one, but I have quoted several times through them and they weren't any cheaper than usp, even with having an account there. :dunno: