Anyone have recommendations for board shipping services used recently?

I just checked with Fedex and they are only shipping windsurf boards by freight. The freight cost they quoted me was $890 from Chicago to Hood River Oregon in 7 days. Seems kinda high. I could drive it myself for less, maybe.

I have heard amtrak, but I can't seem to get a quote off the website and wonder if this service is discontinued. Anyone used this recently who recalls how it works?

Any other options out there? How do the windsurf board shops ship for $150? I am mystified.

Thanks in advance.

The 2 boards I bought from Big Winds were shipped to me by DHL air cargo.

Mike,
I used Amtrak once for a board from the Reno, Nevada station to the Columbia, SC Station for $82.00 using their "Package Express". Also, the board could be insured for 50cents per $100 dollars (e.g., $1000.00 insurance will cost $5.00). And, Amtrak takes cash or credit card. The trick is finding a station that handles packages near the origin and the destination.

I called Amtrak (1-800-872-7245) and found they have a Package Express but, only handle calls M-F.
A surfboard is considered a "Special Item".
This website has rules/guidelines (Scroll down to the "Surfboards/Wakeboard" section) :

www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=P...T.z_va_group=Baggage

Surfboard limits, for checked baggage, are: Checked — 50 lbs. — 120" in Height (72" Pacific Surfliner).
The 6 foot (72") limit is for the Pacific Surfliner which is a special train service on the California coast. Using the 'Pacific Surfliner train' in California you can board 'carrying the board' if it's less than 72".

Notes:
- Not every Amtrak station can handle checked baggage.
- Not every Amtrak station is open 24 hours a day.
- Not every Amtrak employee knows their own rules on "Special Items" (it's good to be patient. Reference their website to them.)
- The board shipped to me was in a nice cardboard box (shaped from a large cardboard box from a furniture store). And, it needed to have a handle. So, the person I bought it from used 'fiber reinforced strapping tape' and made one - on the spot at the station. Nice, strong solution.
- When the board arrived in Columbia, they called me to come pick it up..... at 1:00 A.M. in the middle of the night. No problem, it was less than an hour away. Sweet board. Arrived in great shape. Good service.

I hope this helps.
Doug King

I've had good luck with uship.com. People bid on your shipment. I could probably look up contact info for some of the better people that I've used on uship if anyone is interested, then you could contact them directly and save on uship's fee (though pretty small).

Thanks for the tips everybody!

Doug, that was the best explanation of the Amtrak shipping option ever, thank you for taking your time share all the good info.

Thanks, Arden, had not heard of UShip, but I will check that out next time. I tried to get in touch with DHL but they never got back to me Ady, thanks tho!

I ended up using XSbaggage to broker the ship to hood river. They were quite helpful so far, even though hurricane Irma had just passed by the office....