So I'm finally getting around to selling the stock wheels from my mazdaspeed3. Before I do so, I need to get a handle on shipping. How do you pack a full set of wheels for shipping?
And yes, once I figure out shipping, I'll list them here as well in case anyone wants them, though they're more than a bit on the heavy side.
one box at a time. figure one out and multiply cost x4
I ship wheels all the time.
Go to the UPS store and get two 18x18x18 boxes. Put two wheels in each box. I pad them with cardboard and bubble wrap. It usually costs about $60 total to ship the two boxes.
Woody wrote: Go to the UPS store and get two 18x18x18 boxes. Put two wheels in each box. I pad them with cardboard and bubble wrap. It usually costs about $60 total to ship the two boxes.
X2 - that's what I've done too.
NEVER ship UPS!
They beat the crap out of everything. I can send you videos of rims I've received shipped that way that are so out of round that they bounce on a wheel balancer. I've never gotten anything heavy that wasn't almost out of the box when it arrived.
U-Haul sells 16x16x16 boxes that are perfect for wheels. Unless they're bigger than 16" :)
Greyhound?
I'm not sure 18x18x18 will be big enough IF there are still tires mounted, and will probably be a tight fit without. Stock Mazdaspeed3 wheels are 18" x 7" (1st gen)/18" x 7.5" (2nd gen).
I've got so many old rim and tire sets I gotta sell...
If the tires are on. Tape a few layers of cardboard to the front and back, ship.
Pad and insure.
RexSeven wrote: I'm not sure 18x18x18 will be big enough IF there are still tires mounted, and will probably be a tight fit without. Stock Mazdaspeed3 wheels are 18" x 7" (1st gen)/18" x 7.5" (2nd gen). I've got so many old rim and tire sets I gotta sell...
No tires.
And remember, while the tires would have an 18" diameter and such, that's not the physical size of the wheels. Actual measured size is roughly 8.25 x 19.5 since the wheel is larger in both dimensions so that the tire fits inside of the lip.
Bonus difficulty, no UPS store within reasonable driving range even if I shipped UPS. I can drop off at their facility, but there's no boxes or anything to be had. I wish we had one of the various shipping store chains, I'd just bring stuff there and be done with it. At least there'd be someone else to blame.
Also, no Greyhound service within a reasonable distance, though I'll still offer it to buyers here on GRM when I sell them. I don't mind going way out of my way for you guys, but it won't be an option I'll make available to everyone.
For the record: Within a reasonable distance = closer than Duluth which is ~90 miles away.
carguy123 wrote: NEVER ship UPS! They beat the crap out of everything. I can send you videos of rims I've received shipped that way that are so out of round that they bounce on a wheel balancer. I've never gotten anything heavy that wasn't almost out of the box when it arrived.
I've gotten wheels with tires from them, but shipping just wheels does leave me much more nervous.
In reply to keethrax:
Seriously, just quote the buyer the price to ship after you factor in insurance.....if UPS fubars them, you still win. 
keethrax wrote: Bonus difficulty, no UPS store within reasonable driving range even if I shipped UPS. I can drop off at their facility, but there's no boxes or anything to be had. I wish we had one of the various shipping store chains, I'd just bring stuff there and be done with it. At least there'd be someone else to blame.
These shops where you drop stuff off do not do it for free, actually they charge quite a bit.
You can get the same/similar boxes at Lowes/HD/Menards and often cheaper.
As mentioned above, get the insurance. Do a very good job of packing and wrapping. As an added precaution, take some quick photos of the rims and boxes before they leave. This can be handy in settling insurance claims. You can also forward those pictures to the buyer as a nice assurance that the items are on their way.
If there seems to be a dislike of UPS here then try FedEx. I have used FedEx Ground many times with great success.
Also when shipping UPS make sure the wheel(s) are IN a box. Not wrapped in cardboard. Makes a BIG difference in shipping price. Boxes fit on the conveyor belt. Other items don't and require special handling. Ca ching... (been there, done that..)
I would not ship 2 wheels per box, it weighs too much, they get dropped, and the weight bends the wheel on the receiving end. I've ordered 2 sets of brand new wheels. Both were shipped 1 wheel per box, but 2 boxes strapped together, so I'd say thats the cheapest way. Both arrived with one wheel damaged and I had to order a new one. For my MB motoring wheels, unfortunately it was the last one in stock in the US and they had to order a new one from overseas and it took 3 months to arrive.
If you want them to arrive in good shape, I would put one in each box, with an additional layer of carboard on top and bottom of the wheel, and stop by the dumpster behind an appliance store and try to score those foam wedges they put in the corners of the boxes on new appliances, and stick those in the corners of the box around the outside of the wheel.
I've also heard people say go to a local place that sells wheels and ask if they have sold any lately and if you can have the boxes. They tend to already have some cardboard padding built into them.
two in one box is a bit riskier, but definitely not more expensive overall. I ship things everyday where I work, it costs more to send 4 boxes at say 20lbs a piece than it does to ship 2 boxes at 40lbs a piece.....UPS doesn't rape you on weight until you hit 70lbs.....then the rate goes up 33 or so %. Basically, the more time you put into packaging/protecting the wheels, the less likely they will be damaged.
To the OP, make sure to insure the MS3 wheels for what it'd cost to buy new ones from mazda. 
As mentioned by others, the few times I've purchased new wheels, each wheel is in a box, which is another tight fitting box. Then two wheels strapped together.
I sold some heavy MRW beadlocks with the full rockcrusher beadlocks on ebay a few years back. I shipped UPS with no problems. I priced things out several different ways, but it was cheaper to ship them in 4 separate boxes. I spent a little less than $100 to send them from NW Arkansas to somewhere in Maine, they made it there fine.
I shipped a set of T1 corvette CCW wheels via UPS. They lost them and then when they finally found them (after I filed the came for $1000 as I had insured them) They arrived back at my place all damaged and beaten like they had all been run over by a truck and then used for target practice with a shotgun. UPS tried to claim It was poor packaging. It got real real ugly after that. A year later and me filing a claim under chapter 93A here in MA they ended up paying out almost 5K. I will never use them again.
Why did they pay out $5k if you had only declared the value as $1k? Not familiar with chapter 93a of massachusetts, whatever that is.
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