You picked out the the fiberglass pool that meets your needs. You crunched the numbers and know the fiberglass pool cost.
Then you see it and you begin to wonder... why do I have to pay for the shipping of a fiberglass pool? That line item, if your pool contractor is being honest with you, will always factor into the price of the pool.
Cost of Fiberglass Pool
Besides the raw materials it takes to make the pool, you also have to get the pool from the factory to the job site. Fiberglass pools are great as they are created in a controlled climate controlled factory, however they generally aren’t located next to your house... and for good reason, they generally don’t smell great.
The pool must be shipped to a distribution center, your pool contractors yard, directly to your site or some variation of all these.
Tag Along Shipping
In an effort to reduce shipping costs, many pool contractors will ship in multiple pool of the same model so they can get stacked on the truck. Now instead of shipping one pool, they ship up to 5 pools at once for the same price.
Now when you purchase your pool, you are getting a pool that has already be shipped up to your area for 20% less cost! While getting a discount in shipping, you also don’t have the full flexibility to select your shape or color as the fiberglass pool has already been made. Tag Along Shipping should reduce the fiberglass pool cost.
Manufacturing Locations
Many pool contractors have their pool built as needed and then shipped directly from the manufacturer based on when they are ready for the pool. The location of the manufacturers plants will also impact the cost of shipping the fiberglass pool.
The best part about having it shipped directly from the manufacturer is that you can make YOUR POOL. Your shape, color, water features, tile, mosaics, etc. The cost of fiberglass pool will be a little more as it is generally the only pool being shipped.
How Much does it Cost to Ship a Fiberglass Pool
The majority of the time the cost of shipping a fiberglass pool is based on how many miles it needs to travel & the width of the pool. If you are purchasing the pool from pool contractors that have them stocked on their property, you should expect to pay $1,000 – $1,8000 for the cost of shipping that pool... they utilized “Tag Along Shipping).
If you have your pool built and shipped directly to you based on your color and accessories, expect to pay (on average) $1,500 – $3,500 depending on how far you live from a manufacturing plant.
The cost per mile is generally broken down based on widths.
- Pools < 12′
- Pools 12′ – 15′
- Pools 16′
Latham Pools for example has 8+ manufacturing plants that allow you to get your pool from the closest facility.
Flat Rate Shipping
There are a couple of companies manufacturers that employ flat rate shipping, however the cost is generally built into the pool shell cost. The shipping cost is built in somewhere, just a matter if it is disclosed to you or not.