So after making a deal with a fellow HAMBER here and packaging up the items, which were awkward to say the least, he bails on me. I would love to post his name but figure it would get me in trouble with moderators. But he lives in Midlothian Ill. Just for grins.
Happened to me three times in the last year. Before, 18 years of no problems ... they don't even reply to "do you still want it ?"
We don't know the whole story. Likely you don't either. Shit happens. You never know what's going on with people.
One of the biggest drivers in this scenario are shipping costs. Buyers suddenly look at the "delivered" cost of things and ouch. I equate your terminology of awkward to meaning large and cumbersome and being expensive to ship. Things such as fenders, hoods, and seats get pricey quick. Even tubes of trim over 48" long command extra shipping fees. Of course, sometimes people are just plain butts.
It's happened to me on here too. I try to discourage them from the start on the big stuff. If they still want it, after explaining what shipping will cost, great. Shipping a bench seat halfway across the country, isn't monetarily feasible. I've also had the "yes, I want it, get the shipping costs." Then, after boxing it, taking it to the P.O., and messaging them the total - crickets.
Nothing is sold until you have the cash in hand, sorry that happened to you but maybe the guy just got in a bind, did he give you a reason why he bailed? HRP
People that give me the courtesy of telling me they are out, I'll give them a pass for bailing. It's the ones that say nothing that piss me off. Only takes a minute to send a message saying "sorry, I'm gonna pass"
I don't pack up anything until I get paid. It can be a little tough to accurately figure out total weight and dimensions beforehand but you can usually get pretty close, measuring and weighing the item and then adding a bit to each for packaging. I generally guess a bit on the high side and if it's way over I'll offer to send back the difference. Really big/awkward shit is pickup-only unless it's worth a ton. It sucks when people bail, it happens a lot. The average guy has no idea what shipping costs. Or their priorities and interests change with the wind blowing. This is why resellers have to charge a premium. You gotta make it worth your time, it's a ton of screwing around.
I had a guy on here beg me in many PM's to sell him a chromed generator that I have. (he saw it in the background of one of my pics) I told him I didn't want to sell it. He PM'd me every couple of months asking for a year. Finally I gave in, shot him a price with shipping and he agreed. I gave him my Paypal info for payment and I boxed the part up so it would be ready to go (double boxed because it was heavy) and the son of a bitch ghosted me....
the problem is when you buy and sell items you have to deal with humans. if we could sell our parts to dogs, we would not be having this conversation.
MAYBE............... there is some magical "oversize" rate that comes into paly some times. UPS it really good at figuring what I got paid for an item WITHOUT me telling them. OT Pickup tail gat trim sold for $175.00 UPS shipping fee $175.48
Businesses that ship parts all the time usually have a good handle on shipping costs up front. I bought a rear glass from Mark's favorite place (French Lake) and the shipping was as high as the item. But where are you going to find one local? Only used in 2 models for two years.
Rickybop, i sure do know what went on. After i went to the trouble to pack, get shipping quote from fed ex and get back he tried the old would you go lower? We agreed on price from git go and shipping, i guess shipping was to much for him
Shipping is ridiculous nowadays, I just bought a pair of rims and the shipping was more than half of what I paid for the rims ! Then to stick it to me a little more the package has been sitting in the local fedex warehouse but they can't seem to put it on a damn delivery truck to drop it off !
In that case he is in the wrong! We all want the best price we can get but when you have agreed to a price you should be a man of your word. Just for sh!t's & giggles, just how much was the freight? inquiring minds & nosey people like me want to know. want to know
I had a rear end I offered here with absolutely no shipping. A guy in I think Arizona wants it and will pay any shipping cost. We go around on it for a couple of weeks and still insists any cost is good. I spend a week figuring plywood cost, shipping weight, dimensions, several carriers. You guessed it. No reply. NO REPLY. GONE. NEVER HEAR FROM HIM AGAIN. I will never do that again!! On big deals I am going to get paid up front to figure shipping.
Been through this countless times........ Never box until a # is agreed upon, and I won't box until i'm paid.The shit part is my homework for weight, dimensions,destination....Small stuff get's the flat rate box...agree or don't...... Back when, and not that long ago, there were members here that would ship stuff before ID'E paid! The honor system has gone to hell! I guess i'm an old soul with a handshake over the phone/internet.... Now, and of course like always. money talks, and BS........As day's go by, thing's change. But flakes are a constant. Been that way forever...........
Several years ago I sold a flathead oil pan to a HAMB'r down under. Went I got the shipping quote from USPS it shocked us both. That said I cut him a better price on the pan. I figured he needed it and it's hard enough getting hot rod parts down under with customs, taxes, exchange rates, etc. without getting screwed on shipping. JMO
Shipping is tough, but is the cost of doing business. I’ve had two HAMB members that were shocked on the price to ship items. “Just send it, I need it” Beats pounding a swap meet and hoping I stumble across it.
You guys gotta start using PirateShip to pre-print labels, it's so much cheaper than the prices quoted on UPS or USPS's websites. I sold something to someone here on the HAMB a while back and it was cheaper for me to make a low priced eBay listing for him and have him buy that, just so I could get the super discounted eBay shipping price for him. That's another avenue. Also note, prices vary wildly between carriers. USPS Ground Advantage is almost always cheapest for small stuff (under 3 lbs, dimensions under 12" usually), bigger than that, then UPS and Fedex get cheaper. But sometimes an inch or two added to the box can double the price. It pays to check out multiple dimensions online with their price estimator tools, I've already cut an inch or two out of a box in one direction and saved 50 bucks or more. Weight can rarely be helped, but dimensions often can.
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