Some of the shipping companies will not handle exterior body parts ie doors due to the damage that occurs in shipping. Intentional or accidental ? Sometimes it pays to road trip for the parts it's more expensive yes but you meet the nicest people that way. Think Michigan to Texas.
Geezus! All of this because someone changed their mind? He didn't just walk, he told him he was out. That is his option. I think calling him out on the HAMB was low brow. Like someone said earlier, until you have the cash, the sale is not final. I sold a cute little Nova a few years ago, took a grand as a deposit, the guy called me the next day, said his wife wouldn't allow it. Shit happens, I understand it. I kept his deposit and sold it someone else. Next time, don't box it up till you've been paid. Duh. Moving along
Had a TIG welder for sale , guy contacts me , asks what size spool will it hold . Really ? I ask him if he ever welded ? He says no but friends tell me it’s a great buy and machine , any one can learn with that welder . I was honest with him and explained it was TIG machine and not a MIG machine and this is not what he needs to learn welding on . He should look for something else ,” I don’t want to sell it to you , you not knowing the first thing about striking an arc .” He says well I’ll give you 100.00 less and I can learn with it . Didn’t end the conversation well with him . I don’t like the game play me as broke fool , and they can steal it . I never try to low ball anyone , I know what it feels like on the other end to have it take place .
I’ve had excellent luck in transactions with HAMBers . If your selling get an estimated shipping cost (weight and size) also receive payment before shipping. If buying ask for same - shipping and packaging costs. Pay for goods before shipping. Often times shipping makes the item unrealistically costly. If the total cost is to much let the seller know the reason. I’ve found that being upfront and honest works well in sales transactions. Yes there are some dirt bags out there but I still believe they are small percentage of the population in general. I learned a long time ago “A man is only as good as his word” A person can have a signed contract and get screwed, or do a hand shake deal and have everything go fine. Kind of like a locked door only keeps the honest man out and only slows the thief down. Therefor receive funds for item and shipping before considering said item sold. Dan
there is no maybe. all shippers charge by weight, size and distance. if it is light and big, they use "dimensional weight" which compensates for large light items.
the way I read this is you had parts (?) to sell, someone was interested and asked for shipping costs, which spoiled the deal. that's how it works. it is part of selling online. that's why on ebay they have shipping costs up front. I don't sell much here, but sell a bunch on "the CABE" .. the vintage bicycle version of the HAMB. I'm in California and give a price for California and New York so they have an idea of what the charges might be going in. I learned 45 years ago that nothing has been sold until the money changes hands.
I tried to buy a small light here on the H.A.M.B. for $30 but when the seller said it would be $50+ to ship it from Virginia to eastern Oklahoma I told him that was too steep for me. I wasn't trying to buy something big and awkward, it's just a small light. I've paid $20+ for shipping before for an item from a HAMBer and when I received the package there was no packing material of any type, just the part thrown in a USPS box that only cost the seller $11 to ship. That to me is uncalled for. Ok, I feel much better now.. I have also had the occasion of when I over payed for shipping the seller included the over payment amount in the package with the part I had ordered. That's the way it should be. Larry
My experience buying from other people on the hamb is they won't let me pay for shipping or them delivering lol. Of course my purchases aside from a transmission I bought from a hamber in Iowa via FB when I went to his house have not been through the classifieds here. It's been the old school bsing and finding out someone had something I wanted they'd sell lol
Lay out the Terms - payment, expectations, and courtesy, be very specific so both parties know. Make it known up front that (historically) deposits are non-refundable as if you change your mind it's payment for the time putting you first in line that could result of potential loss from another buyer that wanted it and moved on. I expect people that if they change their mind, I get it, that they PM, it's called courtesy. It's the respectful thing to do and if you don't and just disappear, bad news usually will follow you amongst the fellas ( on-line or swap meet - car show etc) that you're a flake ( why have that reputation) one way or another news travels fast.... it's a small country.
Sold a bunch on here over the years and most were good but got burned a few times on shipping. Found USPS the best rates and PO adds $4 for oversize shipping. Always try to take to PO before ship to get quote and they are happy to give quotes but sometimes after I wrap and box it ends up more $$$. Most cases if you tell people it was a few bucks more they send you the extra after they receive it. Shipping is a pain but the cost to move some of your stuff to someone else's garage. MantuaJohn
Don't know if I would have kept the deposit. I know, I know..... you are within your rights to do so. Still, seems harsh to me.
that is what deposits are for, a guarantee that you are going to follow through with the purchase and also a guarantee that the seller will take it off the market and hold it for you
This right here!!! I had a deal about ten years ago or more; I listed a close to complete collection of Rod Builder and Customizer little books from the 1950 for sale here with a $25.00 price for all. Someone from Australia contacted me about the price with shipping I told him it was going to be very expensive to ship them, but he me told to check. We ship UPS from work, so I checked there first it took the woman who handled shipping over an hour of to get an international shipping quote and the shipping was going to be far more then my asking price! I also checked regular U.S. mail, which took almost 45 minutes and again the shipping far exceeded what I was asking! I thanked him for his interest but that the I had time in getting the quotes far and that I would have in preparing them to ship would exceed my asking price. He replied that I had screwed him and wasted his time etc... I pointed out to him that no money had been exchanged, I was the one along with my coworker and the local postmaster who had time invested and by the time it was all said and done I was likely to have 3 to 4 hours in (half a working days labor) in a $25.00 sale! This is way I list No sales Non U.S. sales.
I have a very difficult time understanding why people bitch about shipping costs Simply do the math, if you had to go pick up the part your self driving both ways The cost would far exceed what shippers charge, or should they take a loss?
I have nothing against the shipping costs, what irks me is a seller listing an item at a low price and making up the difference by charging more for the shipping. Larry
The topic in this that chaps my ass is that my local UPS customer center is now closed. Gotta use the "UPS Store" which is like a govt program. You know, add more people to pass the work off to more people, and of course raise the price by 50% or more. I could ship a normal part, conservative size box, go the customer center, $28.00. UPS Store? $41.00! MY PACKAGING! I'd bet the reason I'm seeing swap meets grow is just this, trying sell our stuff delivered by Sodomy Shipping Inc. Seems the new "priority service" is whether or not you want KY...
Cant win on here. Got folks moaning about swap meets then next thread down is moaning about shipping costs, then next folks moaning about deals falling through. Go out and drive your shit!!!!, you'll soon forget about it all and remember why we love this crazy hobby.
I know this has been posted before by others, but I have used Pirate Ship for many years now, and have been 110% happy with their service, discount shipping rates, (and they use USPS and UPS). Totally free, no hidden charges, easy to use app to estimate your shipping costs for the buyer Plus, if you are buying something from someone, you can email or send the seller a pre-printed, postage paid label to send it to yourself. All you need is the weight of the package and dimensions. Great way to save on inflated S/H costs by the seller. Below is a link if you want to test it. Bob Free UPS and USPS shipping software | Pirate Ship
I don't sell a lot of parts but I used to have a FedEx account that I used to ship the parts I sold that were too large for a USPS flat rate box. I would take the boxed part to the FedEx location, have them measure and weigh it to get a shipping cost. I would then contact the buyer to get an OK to ship. Once I got funds I would go back to FedEx and most of the time the actual shipping cost would be more than the initial quote (sometimes only an hour or too later). When questioned FedEx gave me a vague "it was only an estimate and costs change due to fuel costs, etc. BS. The final straw was when I paid with my credit card and when I got the statement they charged me more than what my receipt showed. When I pointed this out I was told I had to file a claim in order to get the over payment reversed. I ended up disputing the bill with my credit card company. Bottom line, no more FedEx for me.
Last month on here there was someone who needed an S10 T5 extension housing. I have one but realized that with the hassle of shipping the part, it just wasn't worth the effort. We have been spoiled by the "free" shipping we get from Amazon and Alibaba.
Can I ask what the weight and dimensions were? Not to belabor the original point, but it might be a great exercise to see what rates a guy could get through Pirateship or some other carrier, could be real useful in the future. Fedex fucked me a couple times too when I used to have an account, shipped a couple things internationally and like 2 months later Fedex charged me the import taxes because they released the package to the buyer before the buyer paid the taxes, they pulled some other shady BS too that I won't go into here. But shipping Fedex through eBay gives an even better discount and I've not had the same problems I did when I just had an account there and brought stuff in directly. Having a direct account is just a way for them to tack on extra fees to an attached credit card for Fedex, not worth it. Using them through a big intermediary is the only safe way to go. Plus, with pre-printed labels, I don't have to go to a Fedex, the local Dollar General store will take my Fedex boxes for me, and we have a hardware store in town that'll do the same for UPS as long as it's prepaid and labeled. Super convenient here in the middle of nowhere.
Most of you guys are old. Like really old… Are you sure he didn’t die? Edit: this is a joke. I love you guys for some reason.
I guess I have been fortunate with my sales & purchases here on the Hamb, I've never experienced any problem here but I look at the users profile and make sure they have been on the hamb for a while and the have participated in the forums instead of just selling parts. HRP
It's therapeutic to get things off your chest........... like you just did. C'mon, you must feel at least a little bit better.
Yeah...because a box, packing material, time carefully boxing to make sure it will arrive safely and driving to and from the post office is all free. I charge a few bucks extra to cover all that. If I front load it into the price then someone will crab that it's overpriced.
The Jalopy Journal
