Do you believe there would be any demand for this?

[CDRamming]

I just registered with a user name but have been reading this site for the past few months. I am attending the University of Dayton next year and I was thinking of how I am going to pack all of my clothes into my Passat. I ran a google search and found there are no actual companies that ship clothes. I was thinking to start a business that would either have a drop off, or at home service.From this point would take the clothes you wish to ship, vacuum pack them in a single use package, and deliver them via ground/air mail depending on how quickly the person wished for the items to arrive. I believe this would be very beneficial to college students. I knew a girl last year whose parts took two Suv's to take her to college which was 400 miles away. The second car being a Denali that had a driver, passager and the rest her clothes. I estimate this cost upwards of $160 (~$2.00/gal and 10 mpg) round trip, and the extra stress of driving. So why not pay less to deliver the clothes to the door of your dorm. Also, to plan with the client at what time in particular they would like to recieve the package, you are now able to make drop off appointments with certain shipping companies. I would greatly appreciate any feedback.

[akula]

What's the story with UPS and FedEx? Do they ship clothes?

[CDRamming]

You can ship almost anything with FedEx/UPS, including clothes. The problem comes down to making them in a reasonable size. Think of the number of cardboard boxes that would fill a Yukon Denali, and the cost to ship each of those. The rates are not based solely on weight, but "Dimensional weight" which uses a formula to calcuate the average weight for a certain size box, and they charge you that amount if the weight is under the Dimensional Weight. This would be very costly, and not worth the fees. Also, I have seem at home type vacuum packing equipment and it packages things very small, but the bags are $20-$30 for two standard sized ones. This would be much more convenient as a service. As opposed to buying the vacuum bags, getting the correct size boxes, pack the items, take them to the post office, get postage, and then send them. When we packed my brother up for college things were really hectic the last few days. I just think that a service would simply the lives of people. For example I could do my own laundry, but I can avoid the trouble and take it to the cleaners. I pay some money for something I could do myself, but it is easier, and less time comsuming. It might not be worth while, that is why I asked for peoples opinions.

[akula]

ok....feedback

1) the problem you're concerned with is "there are no actual companies that ship clothes".

2) the solution is obviously not to start a freight company, because the prices you'll have to charge would be higher than fedex (not to mention a million other reasons).

3) the other solution you're thinking of is a service that helps people pack their stuff using state of the art technology which minimizes their shipping costs

is this what you wanna do?

[CDRamming]

Yes, I should have better explained myself when I said, "there are no actual companies that ship clothes." I mean obviously you can ship clothes using FedEx and so on. My idea was like you said minimize shipping costs, and also minimize the time that people would spend themselves packing and transporting clothing.

[akula]

okey dokey...let's start your journey to stardom...it will lead you to either start this company, another company, meet somebody special, or achieve a million other great things (i.e. stuff for your cv) - most certainly it's guaranteed to change your life from what it is now

you might even make countless millions doing this startups stuff - which would be a nice little bonus

welcome to entrepreneurship!

1) go to http://www.intellicontact.com/
2) register for an account
3) create a 10-15 question survey about your idea
4) survey at least 100 potential customers
5) report the results back here and I'll tell you what to do next

[The Stealthy One]

I've worked for UPS for 2.5 years now. There are ways to ship clothes at as low a price as possible: visit a UPS Store and they'll advise you on this.

[SSM]

I've worked for UPS for 2.5 years now. There are ways to ship clothes at as low a price as possible: visit a UPS Store and they'll advise you on this.

Do you work for UPS or a UPS Store?