I shipped a longbow from MS to WY today. Can you believe they charged me $40 !!!!  I was speechless. Last bow I shipped was half that.

I've bought a few off the classifieds and that's about what most of them were marked with. Everything has gone up and it's not going to get any better.

I've become a fan of 3 pc bows lately. Much cheaper to ship!

I got a longbow from Dave Johnson a few weeks ago via USPS and the shipping was a little over $8.  That was from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth.  Back in June I got a bow from HHA in MT, again to Texas, and according to the sticker on the postage stamp it was a little over $18.  $40 sounds pretty high assuming you used USPS.

Tom,

The last bow I shipped (longbow) was about $25-$27 from MS to MI. That was through the USPS and Priority, in the last 6 months or so.

I took a bow to the PO today that I had already paid to ship with the Click and ship program.  When I got to the po they hit me with a "balloon" charge of $13.60.  The bow is a 68" Hill style, so it's long box, but I entered the 72x7x5 dimension when I bought the postage.  I have the # for their customer service and will discuss it with them tomorrow.  Right now, I'm not happy.  With the cost of the pvc tube, I have over $45 in shipping this bow.

UPS ground. I did have to insure it for $600 but that used to not be but a few bucks. I never use usps anymore but might have to start back. lol

I went to ship a bow today and got quoted $108. I went home and trimmed the box a couple inches and shipped it for $40. Ask your shipper of choice what the cost would be for smaller measurements if its possible to get the box smaller it can save you quite a bit sometimes

USPS hits a balloon charge at 84", Fletcher you hit it right on the button.  My PO will not cut you any slack, always rounding up.

The 84" is measured by length + circumference.

I shipped 2 bows about a month or 6 weeks ago and the expensive one was $42 to British Columbia
with $350 insurance. The other one went to Tx from MO insured for $400 for $18.00
Rates must have gone up drastically or you guys are packaging different than I do.

It's weird, it seems like the cost to ship is arbitrary depending on who you talk to.  I had a bow shipped to me MN to WI that was like $25-30.  A year later I shipped the same bow in the same tube from WI to Texas for $17.  Both times it was shipped USPS Priority insured.

I've seen a lot of differences in the local post offices...I think there's a lot of room for error...some don't know as much about priority shipping as I do...but I have shipped a few bows!!! LOL!!

Pete I agree..I've seen the same thing...

If I ship another one Im gonna try usps to see what they charge. Cant be much worse.

I have two post offices to choose from, one about 20 minutes one way and the other 20 minutes in the opposite direction.  I have shipped several bows from each.  The one usually charges me around $18.00-$20.00.  The other almost twice that.  I shipped one bow a week or so ago from the one post office and it cost me $18.25, insured.  I shipped the same sized package from the other post office this past week and it was $40.00 insured.  I agree it almost seems arbitrary what they charge sometimes.

When I import a bow to The Netherlands, I have to pay US $ 100,- for the shipping. And then I have to pay something like 30% taxes over the total amount. That's what I call robbery!
I would be very happy to pay only US $ 40,-!

When I ship USPS it usually runs around $20 for a rectanglar box, If I ship in a round tube it is double for a 72" package. A kids bow boxed at 54" usually runs less than $10.

Shipped two this month, both in PVC tubes.  Both insured for 325 and 350.  Total was $56.

I use PVC tubes but will buy a new tube to ship inside rather than use a longer one from a previous bow...the costs are just too much once they do their math....but they do it in their head so I would double check their computations before they enter into system.  Just saying...  ask to add it up yourself...length plus circumference rounded up to nearest inch.

Brock, at my PO it's length rounded up + circumference rounded up. 84" & > gets the balloon charge.  

Another thing I've noticed.  Some of the smaller PO's charged only half price.  I'm told that's because their equipment cannot be updated.  I shipped anywhere in the world < $25 for years.  After the local update I'm getting the same pricing as most of you guys.