CONUS or Lower-48 only

[snajpr]

Why is it that people say "CONUS or Lower-48" only and then say they will ship USPS Flat rate Priority mail?

My buddy in St Louis has shipped me 2x25 lbs. bags of lead shot to Alaska for EXACTLY the same price as it would cost to ship to his next-door neighbor. It's flat rate anywhere in the US, all 50 states, yes, Alaska too.

People can certainly ship how ever the please, but there is no practical reason as to why to preclude Alaskans if shipping Flat Rate.

I once asked a guy what he wouldn't ship and he said it was that he say a lot of others say it and figured there was a good reason.

Ammo on the other hand is a pain to get where I live because there is a declaration that needs to be filled out because it has to come by boat or plane. For that I totally get it. Some vendors just don't want the extra hassle.

The EXTREMELY good folks at Black Hills ship to the before mentioned buddy in St Louis and he re-shipps with the appropriate paperwork to me.

Next time you want to offer something for sale, think about giving the folks in the Last Frontier an even chance.

 

[xray9]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

I shipped USPS flat rate to Unalakleet, Ak. last month because he replied to my for sale ad. xray9

 

[pdogsbeware]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: snajpr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Why is it that people say "CONUS or Lower-48" only and then say they will ship USPS Flat rate Priority mail?</div></div>
Because they want to sound cool by using CONUS. CDI man.

 

[EddieNFL]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

Lots of folks refuse to accept those "Johnny Come Lately" states.

 

[snajpr]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

Hey, New Mexico and Arizona became states only 47 years before Alaska.
Alaska has been part of the US since Lincoln was president.

 

[JCH]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

When i say "$xxx.xx shipped CONUS" in my ad, it doesn't mean that I won't ship to AK and Hawaii, just that it will be more than what I'm advertising. Not everything can be shipped in a flat rate box.

 

[cavscout1983]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: snajpr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I once asked a guy what he wouldn't ship and he said it was that he say a lot of others say it and figured there was a good reason.
</div></div>

Well, that pretty much answers the question of the day.

*This question and answer do not only apply to CONUS.

 

[snajpr]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

JCH,
The post that inspired this was not yours. It was some guy in LA selling 300 pieces of Lapua brass. These can easily be fit into a flat-rate box. In his ad he said CONUS ONLY!

I was not trying to poke at anyone, just educate them IF they were not already aware. Like I said, people can ship any darn way they wish. In most cases when I ask, people are happy to ship Priority Flat-rate. The nice people at Turner Slings ship to AK that way, but you just need to wait till they make a PO run.

I like to say we are an asterisk state*
There are always these deals for free shipping or $10 pizza at Domino's and then the old *not available in Alaska or Hawaii

Brownell's Midway and Cabela's have all been PERFECT for shipping to AK.
Even Apple does not screw us.

Again, I was not questioning anyone.

 

[mis-guided child2]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

Continental United States
Because Alaska is also on the North American continent, the term continental United States, if interpreted literally, would also include that state, so the term is sometimes qualified with the explicit inclusion or exclusion of Alaska to resolve any ambiguity. The term was in use prior to the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as states of the United States, and at that time usually excluded outlying territories of the U.S. However, even before Alaska became a state, it was sometimes included within the "Continental US"

While there is more than one interpretation of CONUS, this is how I read it and use it. FWIW.

 

[Graham]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: snajpr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Why is it that people say "CONUS or Lower-48" only and then say they will ship USPS Flat rate Priority mail?

My buddy in St Louis has shipped me 2x25 lbs. bags of lead shot to Alaska for EXACTLY the same price as it would cost to ship to his next-door neighbor. It's flat rate anywhere in the US, all 50 states, yes, Alaska too.

People can certainly ship how ever the please, but there is no practical reason as to why to preclude Alaskans if shipping Flat Rate.</div></div>Are CONUS and Lower-48 the same thing? Because, last time I checked, Alaska was indeed on the same continent.

 

[ceylonc]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

This is certainly a valid point. As a dealer, here is where issues creep in when it comes to shipping to AK, HI, or any other location outside the lower 48 states (in no particular order):

--Items larger than what can be shipped within a Flat Rate box. Priority Mail has become tremendously expensive for large boxes, even if the total weight is low.;
--If the item is to be "drop shipped" as opposed to coming from the dealer's warehouse, they are bound by the shipping rules of the vendor. Many times, said vendor refuses (or isn't set up) to ship USPS, which means that we have to go with the system they have in place with FedEx and UPS. So, while a dealer CAN drop ship an item outside the lower 48 states, it may be cost prohibitive since it must be shipped via UPS or FedEx;
--Profit margins for a lot of gear sold here are pretty low and the higher shipping cost can turn a low margin sale into a negative margin one pretty easily. If the cost can't be estimated or accounted for at the front end by the dealer, then they'll try to eliminate the wild card of AK/HI shipping by saying "within the lower 48 states/CONUS". Remember, this isn't necessarily saying that they WON'T ship to those two states, but that they may need to adjust the total shipped price a few bucks to account for the added shipping cost.;

In the end, I don't think there is a dealer on the planet who doesn't want the business from you guys living outside the lower 48 states. However, we are running businesses and underestimating shipping costs is a great way to do a lot of work to sell a product to end up giving up the profit in a high shipment cost. My advice would be to contact the seller directly and ASK them what the cost to ship the item to said state would be. I think you'll find that we'll do the best we can to lessen the pain AND help you get the gear you need.

Just my $02.

 

[mrfudd]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

Conus also may mean contiguous states instead of continental states.

 

[AK10mm]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

Never had a problem with anybody selling me something and shipping to Alaska.Unless it can go USPS Flat Rate,most of us in AK understand the high cost of shipping very well and have no problem paying the extra shipping cost.USPS is still the cheapest,UPS and Fedex flat screw us on rates.JMHO

Tom

 

[45.308]

Re: CONUS or Lower-48 only

I ran a business in Alaska and shipped all over N America.
I had product shipped to me, mostly in preseason POs but I did have fill-in POs.

This is a fact: conversations with vendors in the south 48, I was amazed how many did not know or understand Alaska is the USA. I had numerous conversations with CS that I said yes, you do offer ground rate shipping to Alaska, it is part of the USA. Sorry sir but ground is not avail to foreign countries. That is just a fact.

And I had customer place orders wanting to know what the exchange rate was for placing the order, is the price US or Alaska money, had one guy who thought Ak was part of Canada, it goes on.

UPS is worse, I just cannot understand why any business uses them. They are the most expensive and take the longest. Add 2 days to what their quote / rate charge. I did not get a discount for high volume shipping from UPS either. Lost more packages than all the other combined. I was charged $52 shipping for one pr of trail shoes that cost me $48 and that soured me, the customer service agent on the phone, what do you expect shipping to a foreign country. I had to ship a 2 day a package to Squarebanks, the driver took my package to USPS post office and mail it UPS charged me $30, customer called very upset that I charged him s day but it came by mail, he shipped the label to me so I could fight UPS...and I am not alone with this happening to other business in Alaska, UPS at the time did not offer 2 day inside Alaska but took the package and money like they did. Driver rarely unloaded my packages, asked us. Lesson learned! As I learned and built it up, I would use my Fed ex account for those vendors who used UPS, saved me tons of profit in shipping.

Fed-ex is cheaper and a day faster. The gave me a discount for high volume customer. Never lost a package. Fed ex ground goes air to and from Cali to Alaska, then by ground. Spot on for shipping times and cost.

US Postal is best. Log in, add package, mail carrier comes by, throws packages into his rig, package goes by air arriving 4 days at a fraction of the cost of the other guys.