UPS Store on Longboat Key makes house calls and ships cars

Expensive paintings, copper eagles and mermaid statues. These are only a few of the items that the UPS store on Longboat Key has shipped.

Since shipping options are limited on the island, the store is trusted by many snowbirds to handle their prized possessions and new purchases when the season ends. 

Owner Mike Rusnak said this causes the Longboat Key branch to see some of the most unique shipping items across UPS stores. The store’s main goal is to make moving these items easy by accommodating customers and providing as many options as possible. 

According to Rusnak, the store became the first UPS store in the area to ship cars.

Courtesy image

“I saw the great demand for shipping cars here,” said Rusnak. “We also live in a unique area where snowbirds come back and forth, so I thought it was important to expand the shipping options here and how people can ship things. I think we are the first store in the country to ship cars.”

After seeing the struggle that car carriers have on the Key, Rusnak thought he could make it more accessible by having a specific location for shipping cars. After working closely with the UPS headquarters, he was able to start up the car shipping process this year. 

When shipping a car with the store, customers will park in the parking lot of the Centre Shops of Longboat Key and leave their keys with the team. Then, Rusnak works with a trusted car carrier to ensure it's shipped in around three days. 

Customers can also leave their luggage with UPS to make the trip even easier. Many customers have told Rusnak that it removes the stress of returning since all they have to do is catch a flight and their belongings will meet them at their destination.

Courtesy image

Along with shipping cars and belongings, Longboaters are known to collect interesting objects from the numerous shops in the area. Rusnak and his team make many home visits to package these usually heavy and fragile items to ensure a safe trip back. 

“Not a lot of UPS stores do house visits,” said Rusnak. “Once we shipped a lady’s whole pottery collection. We went to her house and packed it all up. We have done a bunch of lightsabers from trips to Disney. There is this one guy. Every time he comes in, he talks about this huge lion statue that he sent to the Detroit Lions. The owner wrote back and said they displayed it in their locker room.”

Originally from Texas, Rusnak resigned from being a fire chief to live out his dream of moving to Florida and owning his own franchise. He bought the UPS store three years ago.

Rusnak’s favorite part of owning the UPS store is finding unique ways to help customers with their shipping needs. He said that he loves that the variety in his clientele keeps him on his toes.