There's really no best shipping company when it comes to finding something that logistically works and is a good price. The price will defer greatly depending on where the shippers hub is located at. I like freightquote which is a brokering service for finding various prices on different shippers. For shipping between Wisconsin and Virginia, R&L shipping comes up as the best. Sometimes I use Estes shipping, its close to me. On average, they have a 3% failure rate where something goes horribly wrong shipping. I buy supplemental insurance through freightquote, the shippers default insurance sucks. Unfortunately freightquotes and uships supplemental insurance has a $500 deductible. If something does go wrong is nice to have a large broker, like freightquote or uship, working on your behalf, they can give the shipper a beat down that you could not personally do directly to the shipper.
Sometimes you can save a little money dropping the shipment off at the shippers terminal, sometimes it is the same cost as pick-up. Try to ship to and from a business address, will save a lot of money. And be careful because sometimes people try to say they have a "home business" and that will not work, can't be a residential area. I like to drop off at terminals because its one less transfer point, one less place for things to get damaged. I'm all about reducing the risk in shipping, I make nice crates that have safe pick-up points on the bottom for a forklift.
Some people use fastenals shipping company, I've never tried that. Fastenal has been so unfriendly here that I've been avoiding them.
Last edited by Paul Bell; Sat Jul 03 2021 02:45 PM.