Option 1: For shipping smaller quantities of foam floats, the most economical and simplest option is:

https://www.uship.com/

UShip© is like an eBay®/ Uber® of shipping. You create a profile and can have either private individuals who are trying to cover fuel costs of a trip and/or professional shippers bid on your shipment- drivers and customers rate eachother when finished and we've had tons of customers use this service with great results. Because it works like a ride-sharing app, the shipping costs are often greatly reduced versus traditional freight companies, especially for small orders and many of the pros can haul an entire trailer-load if you wish. Some might even offer the option for you to meet somewhere along a different route to split the difference and you both win. Once you receive a satisfactory shipping bid and tentative pickup dates from your shipper (we generally need 2 business days of lead time, for pickup during regular posted store hours), contact Brent via phone at 269-217-7188 and we'll write up the order and get your credit card info over the phone, and payment must clear in advance. For UShip pickups, the floats will be loose (unwrapped and unlabled since it is too diffcult to wrap and labels don't stick) plus makes it more flexible for shared-load loading options, just as they would be for a regular customer picking them up. The floats weigh up to 35 lbs. each (on average, per whole 5'x6' sheet) and is best if you send them the picture from the top of our page showing all 3 forms of floats and/or the link which lists all the specific sizing on individual pieces so you get the most accurate quote. Since accurate traditional dimensions are almost impossible to provide if you get numerous sets of float strips or various combination of strips/ halves, that makes it simpler for everyone and your shipper will have much clearer expectations based on your specific order.

Option 2: LTL (Less Than (Semi) Truckload) Commercial Freight Companies:

You will need to ship to a business with a loading dock, otherwise expect a huge upcharge fee if a lift-gate truck service is required to a residential location. We have a loading dock and forklift at our shop to load onto the truck, which shippers will usually ask up front.

With a strict minimum order of 10 floats, we can band and plastic wrap 10-18 floats per pallet for a $100 handling fee (whole, strips, halves in the combination of your choice equalling 10+ whole), YOU can line up your own LTL shipping for pickup during our posted regular business hours with at least 3 business days notice, payment must clear prior to your carrier's arrival. We can generally band up to 2 boat lift cranes diagonally across the top of the stack as well!

Yes, we know unless you are a pro installer, you probably don't need 10+ floats for yourself, however if you get a combined order with 2 or 3 neighbors (they're going to be shocked at individual shipping expense and borrow yours constantly if you don't- trust us!) or simply  re-sell your extras locally, your shipping expense is generally very reasonable when split, or sometimes essentially free if you pass it on entirely to cover for your time arranging the order for them. Several customers have posted online ads showing our link/ videos and posted ballpark-expected shipping fees for them prior to ordering to gauge interest. Most have had a bunch of interest immediately, with numerous customers making repeat purchases/ shipments this way and selling the floats at $250-$400 each for example, to cover their own shipping.

LTL Carrier Quote Info- Use this info when you contact your shipping carrier/ LTL freight company of your choice:

Specify if you have a semi-loading dock (cheapest) or need a lift-gate service and that it is 'Non-Stackable' (both are extremely important for quote accuracy), 6 ft. x 7 ft. as the outer dimensions, height 5" per float based on your quantity plus 6" factored for the pallet, weight at 35 lbs. per float plus 60 lbs. for the pallet (there is some safety factor built into these numbers), NMFC Freight Class: 300.

You can probably expect $500-1,000+ per pallet, it takes up 4-8 spots in the truck since it is non-stacking and oversized. For reference, one customer shipped one single float to Florida on their corporate account (great rates compared to private) and was $380 for ONE float.