The other day I went to Ikea in New Jersey and bought an item for $100. To have it delivered to Manhattan (ten miles away) it cost an extra $150 even though ads all over the store screamed that shipping any item within a 75 mile radius would cost $75 (still a tad outrageous for a $150 item, but hey, I didn't want to deal with driving into the city and unloading). When I asked the disgruntled employee about the discrepancy in price, he looked at me and said, "Just because! Everything in the city is more expensive." This got me thinking about random pricing on just about any thing today; why is a gallon of milk of the same brand a different price at different stores? Why do gas stations battle for pennies? Why will I sit next to someone on an airplane heading to the same destination, yet we've paid completely different fares? Will someone pay the exact price I paid for my SUV on the west coast as I did in New York? While I could go on and on about how silly (and unfair to the consumer) price variations are, in my business shipping furniture can cost more than having it built from scratch. While I work with a great moving company to transport clients homes across country, when it comes to single items, like a few chairs, the cost sky rockets. I was recently asked by a client for assistance in sending a small bench to her niece in North Carolina from New York. While I immediately said OF COURSE I CAN I quietly thought to myself that I'd be taking a road trip to North Carolina in the near future. Then I met my new best friends at www.uship.com. Open to anyone wanting to ship just about anything, here's how this great company works; you log on, create an account, describe what you are shipping and from where to where. Once you submit the information UShip sends the information to various trucking companies who then bid for your business. Shipping something bigger, like a boat? No problem! Once you agree to a price, Uship arrives, packs your item (s) and delivers in an agreed upon amount of time (quick ships are obviously more expensive). For white glove/unpacking services, add a tad more. Is this perfect for an entire house move, NO. But if you're just trying to get Granny's chair to Uncle UpChuck, then this is the way to go without watching your money flow!
