Betty LaRue Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Not sure if this is an approved topic, if not, it will be removed. Today I shipped my 50mm lens to North Carolina. It cost me over $16.50! Fed Ex. And they provide protection under $100, which fit the 50mm. Everything else I have is much higher priced. After I picked up my miserly body from the FedEx floor and paid him in pennies, I came home wondering if my U.S. friends can tell me the most economical way to ship. The camera or lenses won't fit in the USPS boxes provided for special pricing, I have to add too much padding. Need to insure. I can remember not so very long ago (ok, a few years) shipping a D70 for $10 or so. Looking for direction, again! Post office? UPS or FedEx? I shudder to think what shipping my 80-400 will cost. Betty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Betty, that sounds about right these days. Can you charge the buyer for shipping? I would stick with UPS or Fedex. Much better at getting things where they need to go in a timely manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Betty, that sounds about right these days. Can you charge the buyer for shipping? I would stick with UPS or Fedex. Much better at getting things where they need to go in a timely manner. I did go back to my postings and edit to splitting costs. I hated to swing all the way about. Looks like I'll have to bite the bullet and round up another bucket of pennies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TokyoM1ke Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Betty, that sounds about right these days. Can you charge the buyer for shipping? I would stick with UPS or Fedex. Much better at getting things where they need to go in a timely manner. I did go back to my postings and edit to splitting costs. I hated to swing all the way about. Looks like I'll have to bite the bullet and round up another bucket of pennies. I'm not in the US but you seem to have a very odd attitude - as a buyer I would expect to have to pay the shipping cost. Edit: not meant to sound rude if it comes across that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotoDogue Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Agreed. On eBay shipping and handling is normally paid by the buyer - either the actual amount or an estimate. I have to admit, I'm always a bit wary when the seller doesn't list the cost of shipping and handling. If I sell on eBay and s/h exceeds my estimate I just eat the difference. Unless you need to send something overnight I think USPS, USP and FedEx are pretty much the same - they all leave packages at the bottom of my stairs or in the vestibule where anyone could take them. I usually go with Priority Mail and I've rarely paid more than $10 unless it was a large package. Whichever you choose I'd recommend insurance and a tracking number. Last time I bought a lens on eBay it was wrapped in layers and layers of bubble wrap and, if I remember correctly, it was small enough to fit in my mailbox, which is so much better than the bottom of the stairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Carlsson Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 I concur, the buyer always pays for shipping, whether it is our eBay equivalent (Tradera) or on an online shop. To remove uncertainty for the buyer I always specify the shipping cost within Sweden, often also Europe at the time of the listing (also saves a lot of e-mailing because otherwise that is the first thing they'll ask). The shipping doesn't even have to be exact, you could put $20 or $25 to make sure that it covers shipping, box, padding material and gas to go and drop it off. As long as they know beforehand their total cost, otherwise you'll lose a lot of buyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 I'd be unlikely to bid on an item that didn't specify the cost of postage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Buyer pays for shipping, use the most economical boxes and pad them out with something like EcoFil packing peanuts - you should be able to get from Ebay. Anythng over a certain price (you need to decide) you should use a tracked courier with signature required. And Betty, before you ask, the Sinar F is now with new owner in France c/o Ebay GSP. I don't know if you have the equivalent of ParcelMonkey in USA, it's a courier comparison website - useful for odd shipments - (I use Hermes for most of my UK shipping plus a local courier network that gets me national rate deals). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Good information. As you can see, I'm not used to shipping. Most of my equipment has gone to family or local, no mailing, when I'm done with it. And when I did sell and ship, (d70) it's so far in the past I forgot the perimeters of what is normal/usual. What I do remember is the buyer, from the Nikonians, coaching me through it. A nice man. Good to know buyer is supposed to pay, and that I should just set a figure and eat what's left over. I've never bought used myself, so I don't know what to expect from that end. I'll go back and fix things. Geoff, I haven't a clue whether we have a service like you mentioned, but when I Googled yesterday for cheapest method to ship, I think it would have popped a link if we did have something like that. Sure wish we did. All that seems to be available are the three mentioned. Seems I have a niggling memory of a competing startup years ago, but if so, it went belly up. Thank you all. The most expensive item I might ship would be the heavy 80-400 lens. Do you think charging $30 to buyer would ball park cover insurance, materials, shipping and the extra charge for requesting a signature? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Buyer pays for shipping, but should be given the choice: USPS; UPS; DHL; Fedex; Track&Trace or whatever. The nicest ones I have dealt with, have showed me the packaging beforehand with the info about track&trace (above $50 - always). wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 I simply went back and stated shipping $25. It must've worked, because my Nikon 105 micro has sold as of a few minutes ago. Yippee! I don't think asking shipping preferences are the norm in the U.S. Besides, I bought some FedEx boxes yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 The most expensive item I might ship would be the heavy 80-400 lens. Do you think charging $30 to buyer would ball park cover insurance, materials, shipping and the extra charge for requesting a signature? Betty, You need to work it out. Weigh the lens with the box you would use to ship it plus some packing material - electronic kitchen scales should be ok - they usually will weigh 5kg (11lbs in old money). You then can work out the shipping costs. It's an easy way to annoy people in asking for shipping which is far above the real costs. The courier's site will tell you the extra cost of insurance and proof of delivery. In the UK, unless you have a large account with them, UPS et al are silly money...hence the rise of many other courier networks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Giving the buyer the choice and the info on the exact fare is the norm on Ebay. And has been for maybe 8 or 10 years now. Not doing it puts off a lot of potential buyers, because it allows racking up s&h with packing fees and what have you. Which was rampant at one point in the early years. Personally, if I really want the item, I will inquire before bidding. Otherwise I will stay away. BTW this is the reason you want to stay with the standard packaging all the shipping companies provide. Not just because it's cheaper: people know what they can expect. Just provide adequate padding. I've seen everything from used jeans (yuck!); really old newspapers (what are they thinking?); polystyrene peanuts; non-edible green organic peanuts; real (stale) popcorn; bubble wrap; especially shredded and wrinkled brown paper, but also the contents of the actual paper shredder and lately more and more strings of inflated plastic bags. We keep the nice modern clean stuff in two U-Haul boxes for future use if we have to send something ourselves. But that's just old-fashioned Dutch frugality, because the peanuts cost very little at every Fedex; Ups or Home Depot and if you google free peanuts for packing, there are lots of suggestions. wim (who even bought a bike on Ebay once) @ Dutch frugality: my family are from the south of Holland where it's at the heart of its culture. - map of Stereotypes of the Netherlands (with discussion). - local lure has it that the Scots are actually originally Dutch, who swam across the Channel, to avoid paying for the ferry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 @ Dutch frugality: my family are from the south of Holland where it's at the heart of its culture. - map of Stereotypes of the Netherlands (with discussion). - local lure has it that the Scots are actually originally Dutch, who swam across the Channel, to avoid paying for the ferry. so we definitely should try to get beyond Antwerp on the way to Germany on our annual holiday, then. Or maybe Baale-Hertog will do, so we can go through HollandBelgiumHollandBelgiumHolland . It's not too hard to cut a packing jig out of corrugated card to hold a lens inside a box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Just a plea for the environment...don't use polystyrene peanuts... the Greenlight EcoFlo ones are made from corn starch and biodegrade...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losdemas Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 @ Dutch frugality: my family are from the south of Holland where it's at the heart of its culture. - map of Stereotypes of the Netherlands (with discussion). - local lure has it that the Scots are actually originally Dutch, who swam across the Channel, to avoid paying for the ferry. Hilarious Not sure what Philippe will make of the overview of Belgium though! Sorry Betty, can't help with the shipping question (and for veering even more off-topic)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Just a plea for the environment...don't use polystyrene peanuts... the Greenlight EcoFlo ones are made from corn starch and biodegrade...... Yes mice love them. wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Just a plea for the environment...don't use polystyrene peanuts... the Greenlight EcoFlo ones are made from corn starch and biodegrade...... They're not very tasty, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 The most expensive item I might ship would be the heavy 80-400 lens. Do you think charging $30 to buyer would ball park cover insurance, materials, shipping and the extra charge for requesting a signature? Betty, You need to work it out. Weigh the lens with the box you would use to ship it plus some packing material - electronic kitchen scales should be ok - they usually will weigh 5kg (11lbs in old money). You then can work out the shipping costs. It's an easy way to annoy people in asking for shipping which is far above the real costs. The courier's site will tell you the extra cost of insurance and proof of delivery. In the UK, unless you have a large account with them, UPS et al are silly money...hence the rise of many other courier networks. Sure don't want to annoy a buyer. I think I've set the shipping low enough ($25) that it's still going to cost me. I sold the macro today and PayPal took $22. And I've not purchased insurance or paid shipping, yet. I doubt anyone will be annoyed but me! side note: Somebody suggested using Square Cash instead of PayPal. It costs nothing. Reviews think it is secure unless your phone gets hacked and that scares me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 I have a roll of bubble wrap and there's not enough room in that box for an ant to crawl in for s nap! Took me an hour to tape the box seams and get the packaging just so. OCD. The 105 macro is ready to go tomorrow. Two down, three more and the camera to go! Funny side note. The buyer lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on OKLAHOMA Avenue, believe it or not. I should live on Wisconsin Street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 We passed E Oklahoma Ave last September. Small world. wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 Sale pending until funds become available next week for my camera! Edited due to horrible sentence construction, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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