Hypothetical Situation:

You are living in the San Francisco Bay Area and you are looking to order some stuff online. In the checkout there is an option to ship or free in-store pick up.

Shipping will add $340 to the order.

In-store pick up is free but the place is located in SoCal.

You crunch the numbers because you are bored and a cheap bastard. It looks like the in-store pick up will consist of a ~700 mile drive (round trip) that will last about 12 hours and cost $100.



So what do you do? Just go for the shipping option or do you go for the road trip and potentially save $240?

 

What exactly is it that costs so much in shipping?

 

I dunno, this is just a hypothetical situation.

 

Hmmmm... it wouldn't be some xxr 006's would it be?

 

...








Nah.

 

hahahaha

 

Might as well go to other places down there and really make it worth the drive.make it to a mini vacation

 

If I had the time, I'd drive it for $100. Just do a quick turn around.

 

Not to discourage you, but it's going to cost you more than $100 to make that trip. Perhaps not a lot more if you pack your own meals in a cooler, but eating on the road isn't cheap. Also plan for more than 12 hours unless you time things JUST RIGHT - rush hour traffic in Southern California is a nightmare, and makes the worst commute in the Bay Area seem like a Sunday drive.

With that said, I'm voting ROAD TRIP!!

 

Not to shoot you down or anything but...

Hypothetically, Google says southbound is 332mi and will take 5:39. Northbound is 333mi but will still take 5:39.

According to Google, the trip will consist of 11:18 of drive time. 333mi is well within the range of one tank so no need to stop somewhere between destinations. 42 minutes is sufficient time to pick up the order, get a bite to eat, and refuel. Those 42 minutes would add up to exactly 12 hours for the whole trip. However Google tends to be a little slow and if I were making the trip I know I would most likely shave off an hour or so each way.

The total distance is 665 miles. Just to be safe I would round that up to 700. Average road trip I know I can expect 30+MPH fuel economy* but I will use 28MPG for my calculations. 700÷28=25 So ~25 gallons of fuel for the journey. The highest I have seen gas prices lately has been $3.25/gallon* which I will inflate to $3.50/gallon. 3.5x25=87.5 So fuel alone will cost $87.50. Set aside $12.50 for food, which is more than enough for fast food.

Boom $100 and 12 hours of cruising up and down California.

As far as sustenance while on the road, I am not a big fan of eating and driving, but I will have a few bottles of water and maybe some sort of bar like food ranging anywhere from chocolate to granola.

This is all hypothetical of course.

I am pretty good at road trippin'.


*N/A car

 

Bring a lady friend with you so she can keep you up while you're driving.

 

What destinations are you using for google? Since I used to go to Cal Poly, the trip was almost 400 on the nose from Pleasanton to Pomona. One of my trips, is basically exactly one tank of gas which takes over $50 to fill currently. And it takes a tad over 5 hours, traffic willing. However, you realize, it's impossible to plan a trip to pick up something where you'll avoid traffic both ways, unless the shop is open 24 hours.

Adding in tire wear, wear on the car, food, a trip for me would easily cost over $150 - $200. Taking the lower number of $150, thus, resulting in a best case scenario of saving $190. Over approximately 11 hours, making my trip $17/hour. Unless it was something that had a decent probability of being damaged during shipping or I needed it ASAP, I think I'd eat the shipping cost or look for other options (like having a friend hold onto it and wait for someone to come up north )

 

I would say make a trip of it.

If you have the time, you could make a mini vacation out of it as some previously have said.

If you're just going to head down, pick up, and head back, then you have to ask yourself is 12 hours of your life worth $240 (about 20 an hour)?



Oh and one thing i thought of, I think gas is more expensive in SoCal too.

 

For the locations, I am using my house and the shop. I have done the Cal Poly trip a few times as well. My worst time when I lift during rush hour like a dumbass it took me 2 hours, 45 minutes and $20 worth of gas to get there. Since it is a 12 hour trip I would be going against rush hour, southbound at 7AM and northbound at 7PM, in the bay and I will be in LA at mid day.

As far as car costs outside of fuel, I find irrelevant because I am going to drive the 700 miles either way. The difference will be if I do it in one day or one month. The real question is how much is my time worth to me.

I have thought about that, but unless I get a bigger car or a roof basket It will be nearly impossible to carry the stuff and everyone's luggage in my little Suby.

I just looked at gas prices and they range from $3.27-$3.45/gallon, but I bet that will go up in the future.

The worth of my time is really the big question. Is my time worth $20/hr?

 

ding ding ding...


winner winner chicken dinner!!!!!!!