It always costs me around $25-$30 to ship a rod in a cardboard tube to, say, the midwest. I cut the tubes down so that they are under 104" total, but its still very expensive. I ship USPS. I want a cheaper route. Anybody out there know how to or WHO ships cheaper?

I found the USPS to be the cheapest, but only to some zones.   I can ship a rod to California for $18, but to Ohio it is $28.   I really don't get it myself.

I have not found anything cheaper than $20-$25, and most of the time now it's pushing $30. USPS or UPS, dosen't seem to matter. It's to the point now that unless I get $200 for a single rod, OR have multiple rods that I can ship in one tube, I won't get rid of them anymore. And seeing as how I now use $80-$100 Abu Vendetta's and Veritas's they are not worth re-selling individualy, if I get sick of one, put it in the corner and go buy something else. Sell them when you can ship 3-4 at a time.

Like already said there's nothing cheaper. Pvc tube through UPS is the best route because it comes with insurance but that's your call.

I have bad luck with usps they broke 2 rods and cant make a correct shipping lable even with the address in front of them.

I live in midwest so shipping for me is roughly $20 bucks to other midwest states

Like already said there's nothing cheaper. Pvc tube through UPS is the best route because it comes with insurance but that's your call.

 

I go this route as well. Pvc cut as short as possible with usps typically is the cheapest. Ive had fedex and ups break cardboard tubes now.

I was wondering about this when I see some folks selling less expensive rods. I am being more careful buying rods online than reels. I will sell rods locally or keep them just in case. I have had times when I thought I didn't need certain rods anymore, only to find a better use later.

 

Anyhow, aren't PVCs a lot heavier than cardboard tubes? You are talking about regular plumbing PVC pipes, right?

Yes PVC that's used in plumbing but you can get different wall thickness'. A heavy duty cardboard tube "tackle warehouse' is usually heavier then the thin wall PVC.

Honestly it's not worth selling a rod unless you really need some money or just don't care about the loss. Or you can bundle 3-4 of them together. I have an *** that's been used 12x and it was $125 new. Selling it for $100 shipped I'd be taking a $50 loss. That's if you don't have to buy a PVC tube. Add another $10 for that. So $55 for what paid $125 for. No thanks!

The lightest strongest containers I've seen are the gray HVAC tubes.  Heavy cardboard or PVC is considerably more expensive.