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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Do you guys ever wonder where some people on ebay come up with these crazy shipping costs? I recently sent an email to a seller and asked him if the guitar came in a gold plated case for the amount he was charging for shipping. I never heard back from him. What a joke some of these shipping charges are. I can't believe some people pay this. It really is a sad way to rip someone off. :( |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | For comparisons; I sent my CP2003H back to M123 with a shipping cost of $65 including box, packaging and insurance. I have no discount or affiliation to save my butt. I see most power sellers quoting $30 for shipping.
When I received my CP2003H from M123 the shipping label showed $15 for shipping.
I would be interested in what sort of memberships would be benneficial to 2-3 times yearly Shippers? |
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Joined:
April 2003
Posts: 2503
Location: Fayetteville, NC | Paul,
You are right about some charging eccesive shipping costs. I think the average rate for UPS ground to ship a guitar ranges about $25 to $30. depending on where it's being shipped from and where it's going. That's not really unreasonable. BUT when they start charging above $35.00 that is a bit Excessive. They are apparently trying to recoup Money they wanted for the Instrument to begin with. Not Right by any stretch of the imagination, But It is most likely what they are trying to do. I've been lucky so far by not having to pay really high shipping rates. But I have seen shipping costs that i thought were unreasoable,and when i see that, I don't bid. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | Paul
did you really expect a reply?
If the person is taking the instrument to a ups store or mailboxes etc the cost could be more than that. Maybe the person does not ship often and does not have boxes and packing materials avaiable and needs to buy these items.
I always include a handling charge in my shipping costs. It covers the time involved along with the materials. overseas shipping is rather time consuming and well I am not sure anyone can afford a billable hour of my time. LOL
although the price is high it is not extremely unreasonable. Just the shipping and insurance ups from jersey to CA is around $40 that does not include packing or time. I have seen people wanting to charge $150 and more |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | I agree with Al.
If you've got somebody shipping you something, and they're just gonna charge you the "barebones" cost(s), more than likely (but maybe not always) they're not likely to go the extra mile with it, and you'll receive it with "barebones" protection.
Companies who ship dozens (if not hundreds) of packages a day are paying the rates that they do just because of the sheer volume of their account with the carrier. My own company usually changes carriers every couple years because somebody's "struck a better deal" on volume/rates".
It all comes down to if you want to piss and moan because the guy's charging too much to ship it, or you're bitching because enough care wasn't taken in packaging and now you've got a damaged guitar and a "claim" to now contend with.
For something like that, I'd rather just pay and have it done RIGHT.
I'm with Al . . . I know that my own time is very precious, and if had to charge one of you guys for an hourly "burden rate" . . . you wouldn't be happy with what I'd have to charge. |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | re: "asked him if the guitar came in a gold plated case for the amount he was charging for shipping. I never heard back from him." Maybe you are lucky you didn't hear back.
Nothing wrong in clarifying if the seller made an entry error but sellers can charge anything they want. Course they may not make the sale.
Foolish buyer who bids when seller has stated shipping to be determined after bidding ends. How can you determine the cost of the item? So, ask before making the high bid.
I agree that time is worth money. For me to pack, stand in line, etc., to ship - that has cost me time and my time is worth money to me. So, I either have to have a high enough minimum bid or reserve to offset that.
By the way, I have a Glen Campbell 12-string for sale for $1.00; shipping to be determined after sale. ;)
Of course, the shipping for the Glen Campbell 12-string is $1,200 (expensive cardboard box and use real peanuts.) Any buyers?
And no, Dave or Paul, you can't come over and pick up to save the shipping!! |
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Joined:
April 2003
Posts: 2503
Location: Fayetteville, NC | Al,
You bring up a good point I hadn't even considered. Time is Money, and materials cost as well. So in that instance knowing that the charge is worth the protection you recieve from the item being shipped right. It's worth it!
I bow down To the Wise One...Known as AL! :D |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | Just another point. When a company ships an instrument to me, I have to pay for that shipping. IN essence it gets put into the ultimate cost of the item.
Companies that offer free shipping actually can do so only because of the volume of shipping they do per day and they work on very close profit margins. I have seen some of these "so called" professions barely put anything in the box when they shipped something and it resulted in damage. Guess what? try to get them to own up to it and make a claim. I even had my own OVATION rep tell me that if something comes damaged to me I have to make the claim and in UPS 101 they teach you that the person that pays for the insurance must make the claim.
As a small business owner, I cannot get the bulk shipping rates and I cannot get quantity discounts. That eats into profits. I am not complaining just stating facts. Often I have to offer an instrument at a lower price than a major retailer AND provide free shipping. that is great in a perfect world but if the item gets damaged then you lost money on the sale with the time and energy spent trying to get the claim settled.
You know what, every e mail I get that has an attitude or complains about shipping gets deleted. case closed. Why deal with the aggravation? And ultimately you have to ask yourself "is my life so devoid of content that I need to send unsolicited e mails to people that are sarcastic and confrontational for no useful purpose" Hey some days I may just do it for the sport of it, but really don't expect a reply. Or catch me on a bad day and you may get a 4 page reply that you would not like. |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | When I've purchased items (including my 2001) from St. Al, I told him to send it by the fastest and best carrier he could and I'll GLADLY pay the cost. He packs them well and to me it is well worth the extra cost in order to have the items arrive quickly and in good condition.
I would much rather purchase from a businessman like St. Al who runs a small company even if I have to pay a little extra. At least I know that when he tallys the day's till, my purchase is important to him and not offset by pilferage or corporate legal issues. If it helps him stay afloat, so much the better!
tim |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | Took a couple of deliveries from Al before I realized "We never close" - it is all of the caffeine he has to consume for packing material. ;) |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Don't let him fool you, Tony . . .
. . . Al goes "dumpster diving" at the Dunkin' Donuts two blocks from his house for all that specialized "packing material".
To this day, whenever I play the dobro I bought from him, I still catch a faint whiff of Hazlenut & Boston Creme. ;) |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | As an eBay seller, I have gotten e-mails about how "ridiculous" my shipping costs are, usually from someone who wants it to be to the penny to some quote he got from a website. I DO answer them....and usually manage restraint....
My approach is to state a flat fee up front, that way the bidder can decide during the auction how high he cares to go, knowing what the shipping is going to be on top of it. I usually decide on the shipping fee by the weight and bulk of the item, and price my shipping for what it takes to ship the item via USPS Priority Mail to CA or HA.
If the winning bidder is not that far away, I sometimes will cut the shipping by a dollar or two. My intent is not to make the shipping a "profit center", it is to not get hurt on it. I got hurt on shipping on an item this evening by a dollar, it happens even with my best efforts.
I take great care in packing my items...I use lots of bubble pack, newspaper, peanuts if that works better. I don't cheap out on packing material to save weight/money.
Uh....shipping a guitar by UPS????.....try more like $45. That is what it took to get my GC 12-string here to Detroit from NJ. Actual cost, no padding.
I did buy my GC 12-string with "shipping to be determined after auction ends", but that came out OK, the seller let me decide on shipping carrier and options.
Roger |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Al does do a great packing job. Plus you get to see what pizza boxes he gets up there. Al's boxes are like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get. ;) |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | re: "Al's boxes are like a box of chocolate"
yea, but they are always empty |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | My experience has been that shipping UPS ground to a business is about $28.00. UPS to a private residence is more. I've just done this sending some of my guitars from Fla to CT for the summer (there's a little factory down the road). It was 28 without insurance. With an insured value of $8000 it was more like 60 I think. I've sent guitars Fedex 2nd day from fla to ca insured for 5000 and that can run closer to 125.
None of this includes the boxes or packing material or my time(which is 0 since I'm retired now and they're my guitars anyway!) As you can see there is a wide range of what it can cost. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | UPS, USPS, FedEx,... all the shippers (just about) have rate calculators on their websites.
Keep in mind - that UPS/Pack-Send places charge usually 2x the going rate that UPS actually would charge you if you brought it directly to UPS.
Also keep in mind that packaging, and time probably count toward some of the shipping cost, depending on the seller.
Finally, LARGE shippers... like say... Musicians Friend get a discount from even the lowest price you'll see on UPS's website, when they ship in a certain way. For instance, the company I work for (TescoSE) ships maybe 250-300 orders a day. We use whats called "hundredweight" service, whereby, our shipping computer is networked with UPS's, and we have a symbiotic relationship there. They make it easier for us to label, weigh, ship and track parcels, and in that process we are doing some of their work for them, and reap a discount. Ie, when the empty truck comes to my dock, we just get em on the truck, no scanning, no time wasted. Works well that way. |
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Joined:
January 2003
Posts: 1498
Location: San Bernardino, California | I don't mind paying a fair price for shipping IF the guitar is packed well. I've had some that were in a box with no packing at all, and in another instance: no box, bubble wrap around body with neck exposed, and another shipped in the case only (not even locked!!). |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Online rate calculators are wonderful if you have the item packed already so you can get a weight and size.....if you trust them. It always seems to be MORE expensive than the value I get online when I take the item in to ship. :eek:
Roger |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | Size doesn't matter, unless you're going oversize. With musical instruments and such, we rarely get into oversize.
I mean... the calculators... they're ok for estimating what you're gonna be paying.
Also, far and above, the best cost, to shipped weight to loft ratio is in the "peanut" packaging. Forget the "blood cell" shape, they compact too much. Totally forget any sort of paper as packing material.
I did the study, got the results, and based it on 20cubit feet of peanuts, 20cubic feet of shredded paper, and 20cubit feet of wadded newsprint. The analysis was weather it was cheaper to go out and BUT peanuts versus using our inhouse generated shredding as packing, versus getting newsprint from the recycler for free as well. It was far more cost efficient to buy the peanuts, and pay less for shipping, than get free packing and pay the weight. I didn't even factor in the manpower savings in using peanuts from a "udder" suspended over the shipping table (then again how many private folks need THAT.... so its moot). |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
electric guitars ship at 1x oversized or 30 lbs and acoustic guitars ship at 2x oversized which is 70 lbs. Sure it depends on where to take the instrument and if they want to enforce the rules or not but believe me that is the case. I ship guitars every week, If I was MF of SA or music 456 I would get a discount on shipping but I don't so I know what the full freight is on shipping.
CWK
when I was in my 20's there was an old guy that would stop around with his little dog skippy. And he would rant on and on about how he was retired, he wife died and all he had was skippy and his flowers in his beautiful garden where he would listen to beautiful music.
please tell me you aren't moving towards this lifestyle. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | . . . I don't think Morris would take too kindly to wearing a leash. |
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Shipping costs??????
