FedEx, UPS, and Shipping Equipment to a Destination Shoot

One of my best organizational clients back in Illinois before I moved to Texas wants to hire me for portrait shoot of their national officers in St Paul, MN.

They basically want the same kind of studio session I'd done for them many times before...which means a fair amount of equipment. I'm trying to determine if transporting my own equipment would be better than renting on site.

There are a number of pros and cons, but a blank spot on my spreadsheet are the factors of shipping equipment by FedEx or UPS. My gear is set up to be transported in the kind of containers linked below, which are often used to transport golf bags.

Anyone familiar with shipping equipment? I can determine basic costs and those objective factors, but what has been the experience as far as the intangibles. Tough to deal with? Too much red tape? Dicey deliveries? What are the war stories?

I had a large out of town project last week and chose to rent from Borrowlenses. I ended up renting for a week for the three day shoot and there were no issues. It was cheaper than renting locally, UPS delivered and then picked up after I packed everything. I checked both local and online vendors and Borrowlenses was cheaper even with shipping charges. I charge a Digital Capture Fee for every job whether I rent or use my own gear and that fee more than covered rentals. It was nice getting on the plane with my camera bag and checked one bag.

tcphoto1 wrote in post #18653489
I had a large out of town project last week and chose to rent from Borrowlenses. I ended up renting for a week for the three day shoot and there were no issues. It was cheaper than renting locally, UPS delivered and then picked up after I packed everything. I checked both local and online vendors and Borrowlenses was cheaper even with shipping charges. I charge a Digital Capture Fee for every job whether I rent or use my own gear and that fee more than covered rentals. It was nice getting on the plane with my camera bag and checked one bag.

Yeah, carrying equipment (beyond my camera case) with me on an airline fell off the chart right away.

RDKirk wrote in post #18653478
One of my best organizational clients back in Illinois before I moved to Texas wants to hire me for portrait shoot of their national officers in St Paul, MN.

They basically want the same kind of studio session I'd done for them many times before...which means a fair amount of equipment. I'm trying to determine if transporting my own equipment would be better than renting on site.

There are a number of pros and cons, but a blank spot on my spreadsheet are the factors of shipping equipment by FedEx or UPS. My gear is set up to be transported in the kind of containers linked below, which are often used to transport golf bags.

Anyone familiar with shipping equipment? I can determine basic costs and those objective factors, but what has been the experience as far as the intangibles. Tough to deal with? Too much red tape? Dicey deliveries? What are the war stories?

If you have a safe place for the equipment to be received, I would recommend UPS insured, adult signature required.

I don't see a link for the containers, but I use Pelican cases and ship them in discrete cardboard boxes.

The trick is to have something on the receiving end you trust who will not cause a package to evaporate.

I've had UPS and Fedex ship a 1650 pelican case, not express cheapest possible, and it still seems more expensive than the airlines extra baggage charges. Am I sending it wrong??? One time with Fedex it was sent to their location at the airport (but away from the terminal) they were closed by the time we touched down (thank you expensive airline ticket) needed to return to the airport the next day just to pick up that case - pita. I would say the same with UPS never as seamless as I've hoped.

There was one shooter on one of the association boards who mathematically showed how anything less than 2,000 miles it was cheaper / easier to have an assistant drive them verses using airlines. Granted I believe the person uses a lot of lighting. Although with St Paul there is bound to be good rental houses for the video market so c-stands and any of the hardware should be rather easy - if you give yourself an extra day to round up equipment and a local assistant with a good vehicle to return it.

For me I have no problem driving and grabbing a hotel(not plural) within reason - airlines suck and books on tape make the drive ok.

FedEx for one has a service for "Hold for pickup" at certain locations. When I shipped items, there hasn't been any extra charge but I'm usually only shipping a single container, maybe 50#. You can check available receiving locations at http://www.fedex.com …ation_find_loca​tions.html. Check hours for pickup as well. You may not want to arrive on Sunday and not be able to pick up your gear until Monday.

I also believe UPS has a similar service but the number of locations is very short as compared to FedEx here in Philadelphia.

RDKirk wrote in post #18653478
One of my best organizational clients back in Illinois before I moved to Texas wants to hire me . . .

archfotos wrote in post #18654422
For me I have no problem driving and grabbing a hotel(not plural) within reason - airlines suck and books on tape make the drive ok.

Yeah, Texas to Illinois sounds like a fairly quick, easy drive. . A day and a half. . Only one overnight. . Plenty of Cracker Barrels along the way for easy, fast meals. . No worries or concerns about shipping all that equipment. . And you'll have your own car when you arrive, instead of having to rent one or rely on somebody else for transportation.

I often wonder why people fly when driving is so easy, and not as time-consuming as people tend to think it is. . When you add up all the time getting a ride to the airport, showing up two hours before the flight, retrieving checked bags, getting a rental car, packaging all of the items for shipment, re-packaging them and shipping them back home, etc, etc, etc, ...... how much time are you really saving when you fly?
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RDKirk wrote in post #18653478
My gear is set up to be transported in the kind of containers linked below, which are often used to transport golf bags.

"Linked below" ..... hmmmmmm, I've looked and looked, but still don't see the link.


.

I don't know if I'd want to drive a day and a half when I could fly. Yes, you would bill mileage, travel time and kit fee but I'd be worn-out from the drive. Secondly, would your gear be secured in your vehicle with nothing visible when your at a restaurant and hotel? I have a new client located in Dallas which is a 12 hour drive and I don't think that I'd want to do that drive 4-6 times a year.

tcphoto1 wrote in post #18656768
I don't know if I'd want to drive a day and a half when I could fly. Yes, you would bill mileage, travel time and kit fee but I'd be worn-out from the drive. Secondly, would your gear be secured in your vehicle with nothing visible when your at a restaurant and hotel? I have a new client located in Dallas which is a 12 hour drive and I don't think that I'd want to do that drive 4-6 times a year.

If a trip involves more than a few hours of driving I would prefer to fly, it's a pain, but a lot safer, last thing I need to do is get into a wreck and be stuck in Podunk searching for a rental, and paying out the nose for a tow job to get my vehicle back home.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18656763
Yeah, Texas to Illinois sounds like a fairly quick, easy drive. . A day and a half. . Only one overnight. . Plenty of Cracker Barrels along the way for easy, fast meals. . No worries or concerns about shipping all that equipment. . And you'll have your own car when you arrive, instead of having to rent one or rely on somebody else for transportation.

Oh, I drive that distance quite frequently. The actual gig is not in Illinois, but in St Paul.

https://www.bhphotovid​eo.com …DIUM_STAND_TRAN​SPORT.html

tcphoto1 wrote in post #18656768
I don't know if I'd want to drive a day and a half when I could fly. Yes, you would bill mileage, travel time and kit fee but I'd be worn-out from the drive. Secondly, would your gear be secured in your vehicle with nothing visible when your at a restaurant and hotel? I have a new client located in Dallas which is a 12 hour drive and I don't think that I'd want to do that drive 4-6 times a year.

In my case, what they want is what I've done for them in the studio. That's going to take a couple of big light cases which are no problem to carry in my minivan, but cause me a lot of trepidation to attempt to fly with.

I live in the twin cities so if there is anything I can do to help let me know.

How much equipment are we talking?

I have 4 light stands (2 c stands and 2 Manfrotto portable light stands) that you could borrow.

Shipping either UPS or FedEx is very simple and reliable. Neither is perfect, but both are very good. Even with cases small enough to travel in the hold I'd choose advanced shipping every time, especially with a business address. My only war stories are with checked bags and good old Utied Airlines.

If you have a big load of stuff and don't mind paying rather seriously, you might check out TTI. They do great work and will even do disassembly and set up for you. http://www.ttitranspor​tservices.com/