Let’s say a friend bought your old bike after months of trying to get rid of it, but you’ve got no way to get it there. You don’t know how to ship a bike, so you head over to the first place that pops in your mind: FedEx.
If only this was the best way. Shipping a bike can get complicated and expensive, so here’s how not to do it.
Send Anything With Roadie
(Spoiler alert: Here is the easiest way to ship it)
- Stand in line at FedEx for an hour
All you need is some quick advice, but you realize this turned out to be your first mistake. You end up waiting an hour just to hear that the process of shipping your bike will take more than you expected.
- Buy a bike box, bubble wrap, and packing peanuts
You decide to continue down the FedEx path and buy their bike box. Goodbye $25. Oh, and you need some extra packaging materials to pack the bike too. You pull out your wallet yet again. It’s actually $30.
- Spend an hour on YouTube figuring out how to pack your bike
Now that you have the box and packaging materials, you figure the rest should be smooth sailing. Surprise! It’s not. You find a video guide online on how to pack your bike, and it gets complicated quickly.
- Take apart your bike to pack it
Just like the guide said, it takes over an hour to get your bike ready to ship. It requires some obscure tools and removing parts of the bike you’ve never touched before, but you finally figure it out. If only that was it.
- Make your second trip back to FedEx
Back to FedEx. But, this time you have a heavy and awkward box to lug in line with you. When you finally make it to the front, you ask them, “What’s the cheapest way to get this to Athens?”
- Get hit with a rate you didn’t expect
The sales rep tells you it’s going to be $43 to ship to your friend. Keep in mind that’s on top of the cost of their bike box ($25), the packing materials ($5), and all your time. That’s a total price of $73! You can’t believe it, but you pay it anyway. After all, you’ve already put a ton of effort to get this far into the process.
You’ve shipped your bike, but you leave the store feeling frustrated. You think to yourself, “There’s got to be another way to ship a bike.”
And there is: Roadie. No bike box, no waiting in line, no hassle. And of course, if you have any questions about price, you can always get a quick estimate.
