tom1946 Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Please feel free to delete this but it's good information from years of trading: There must be quite a few sales lost on here because people are unwilling or unable to ship. First I'll address packing a bass, if you don't have a suitable box then go to your local bike shop and ask them for a bike transport box. These things are used to ship expensive bikes from the Far East and are really tough as people who've bought from me will testify. They need cutting down to about half of their height and yes it's a bit of a mess on but if it gets you a sale? You'll also need brown packing tape, a sharp stanley type knife and newspaper to scrunch up around the bass. This is very effective. If your bass is in a hardcase then you can even just cut some smaller boxes up and wrap the case up in them. Couriers: When a seller says "you can arrange your own courier" they don't seem to realise that you have to pay twice to do it that way. Once for the trip to collect it and once for the delivery so twice the cost to the buyer. This is just being lazy imo, all you need to do is fill a form in on Interparcel's site, pay with a card and prices with UPS start at £6.99 + vat!! Very cheap. What I'm saying to sellers is, put yourself out a bit and show willing, yes it's a bit of a hassle but if you get a sale so what? feel free to shoot me down in flames. Or pin this. Have a great day! Tom 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apothem Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I thoroughly agree. UPS are my favorite, and I also normally book them through Interparcel. You can add insurance on top. For foreign shippings and/or more insurance I book with them directly so you can track the item internationally on their website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Pinned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardd Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Spot on Tom,It always amazes me ,on here and ebay ( I live in Lands end collection only) no hassel to pack a Bass or amp,and like you said cheaper than ever now with courier competition,Hope you are coping with life,Best Wishes Rich sent you a smile just in case, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Excellent post, good on yer Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillento Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 (edited) very true, indeed! Edited September 29, 2011 by gillento Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 +1 I never get the "I would post but I don't have any cardboard" line - Well go and get some you lazy fecker the stuff's everywhere. I've even knocked a patchwork of smaller boxes together to post basses and cabs in when I've had nothing suitable to hand, and had the same done in return. And as for the courier, you don't even have to leave you house to sort this out, so why are people still reticent to ship stuff? I guess for first timers it may appear daunting. I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macko1968 Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 [quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1317276426' post='1388848'] Couriers: When a seller says "you can arrange your own courier" they don't seem to realise that you have to pay twice to do it that way. Once for the trip to collect it and once for the delivery so twice the cost to the buyer. This is just being lazy imo, all you need to do is fill a form in on Interparcel's site, pay with a card and prices with UPS start at £6.99 + vat!! Very cheap. [/quote] This is not true, It doesn't matter who arranges the courier there's a pick up & drop off involved. I've yet to find a courier that charges extra to pick up. The advantage of "arrange your own courier" is that the buyer gets to chose which company they want, to pay what they want & to have recourse with the courier in the event of a problem. There's no crafty mark ups to be made by sellers either, the buyer pays the exact cost. With regards to packing, my neighbour works for TNT & told me something of interest. He reckons guitars in hard cases can be double bubble wrapped with industrial bubble wrap, leaving the handle exposed. He says it offers way more impact protection than cardboard & the drivers treat it like a guitar, not a cardboard box. I've gone this route a couple of times with no problems at all but a bike box seems to offer me more reassurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I use interparcel/UPS all the time and have never had any problems with anything getting lost or damaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 The last time I tried to have a bass collected [b]from a third party[/b] I was charged twice, when I queried this I was told it was because I booked it, and because it wasn't collected from me here, they charge double. Check it and see. I commented on this because it happened to me twice with different couriers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Tom's spot on with the courier business - you will, in most cases, find yourself charged again. I've walked away from deals here on that basis. What I often find "please arrange your own courier" means, however, is "I don't want to pack it up". Great thread, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macko1968 Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 (edited) I checked it on Parcels 2 Go & Interparcel, its the same price regardless. I commented on this because it's never happened to me in over 10 years. I sold a bass last week & the buyer arranged the courier, it cost him £19.50 via DHL. I've just priced the same service assuming I was sending the parcel instead, result? The same price. So, whilst it may have happened to you twice that doesn't make it a universal truth. I'd be interested to know the names of the couriers involved, no-one should be charging twice to ship an item once. Edited September 29, 2011 by Macko1968 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 One was Citylink, I had a business acount with them for 10 years. £19.50 is expensive, I pay £6.99 + vat. Look I haven't done this to have an argument over your experiences versus mine so let it drop because I won't respond again on this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macko1968 Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Oh, not looking for a row, just genuinely interested to hear that couriers are trying to rip people off. To be fair, the £19.50 was to Northern Ireland with delivery by 10:00am. Bike boxes are indeed a god send, having a local Halfords I can just walk in & help myself now. Parecl tape does occasionally disappear from the works stationary cupboard too . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Interparcel will actually ship for £4.99 + VAT if the box has no dimension over 1m and weighs under 10kg, the bass i just sent was 88cm at it's longest and 7kg, cost £6. Winner!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Only £6? Can I have a refund, then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1317326829' post='1389626'] Only £6? Can I have a refund, then? [/quote] I've actually just been through all the messages to check i hadn't quoted you any more or had made a mistake before i got that! Time for a sit down i think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Sorry - I was of course joking, hence the winky face-thing. Didn't mean to create extra work for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimothyLeary Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I know this is my first post, so It may sound a little odd starting like this, but I just have to congratulate you(OP) for this. I'm from Portugal and in the past I've struggle a lot of times to have people from UK to ship overseas. Some of them just give me ridiculous prices, others say they only posted if I arrange my courier, and to be honest I never understood this, because I searched on google and I found a lot of courier sites, with an easy interface, and good offers to ship outside UK, and I don't have 100% sure, but I think you can do it all without leaving your house, so, it's really strange how many people refuse to ship.. I leave here some of those sites, just for the lazy ones. http://www.interparcel.com/ http://www.p4d.co.uk/ http://www.myparceldelivery.com/ http://www.worldwide-parcelservices.co.uk http://www.parcel2go.com/ Sorry for all the bashing, but it was stuck in the throat a long time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 There are already several topics regarding this in General Bass Discussion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Black Shed Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I'm guilty of the "arrange your own courier". But I sold an old Marshall cab a few weeks ago to a guy in France. To be honest I thought it was going to be ridiculusly expensive. That's why I didn't offer postage. He arranged the courier, I packed it in bubble wrap and a bike box. It cost him £26. Took me about an hour all in. And that was collecting the packaging materials. [url="http://www.parcel2go.com/%5DParcels"]http://www.parcel2go.com/[/url] Portal for lots of different couriers. Easy-peasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonsebass Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Folks, ive used Royal Mail standard parcels and not had any problems. Cocooned the bass in bubble wrap, a black bag, bubble wrap, a black bag and again in parcel tape and again in fragile tape. Costs about a fiver for the bits and bobs and about 12 quid postage with insurance - never had a problem and never had anyone say owt about it. Then thought id use a courier for my last bass and had a nightmare. I booked Citylink through Parcel2Go and it took them 3 days to pick up a "Guaranteed Next Day Delivery" parcel. Bear in mind i live less than 2 miles from the depot. Parcel2Go said I couldnt physically take the bass to the depot and had to wait until the "driver had time" to pick it up. Having said that, it was wrapped identically to what ive said above, and only cost me about a tenner inc materials. I guess people just need to trust the parcel services a bit more, and sellers just need to do a bit more - less of the "price drop" crap, and more of the "will ship at buyers expense". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 (edited) That's scary! No box at all? you've been very lucky, in my experience (lots) couriers look at fragile tape and ignore it, you've been fortunate up to now. Imo of course Edited October 7, 2011 by tom1946 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 [quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1317960511' post='1396689']That's scary! No box at all? you've been very lucky, in my experience (lots) couriers look at fragile tape and ignore it, you've been fortunate up to now. Imo of course [/quote] Yep, I know for a fact that some bored employees will open the packages if they feel like it just to have a play about with It's contents. An insider once told me he'd even seen them play footie with a box marked fragile. Wrap sh*t up like your life depended upon it, that's my moto. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Bombproof, courierproof - it's the same thing. When I pack a bass, it's always in a box and encased in bubble wrap, foam, air bags, polystyrene pellets, anything with a degree of give, and the aim is to have nothing moving around inside when you close the box. This means packing it well with cushioning material so the box is full without the risk of bursting. Don't really have much choice but send stuff up here unless I luck into a local sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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