How to I ship a Huge item?

[qualitycustomercare]

I want to sell a CANON PIXMA PRO-100, however, the bot is huge and heavy. Ideally, I would prefer a shipment company come and pick it up. Which service should I use.

Also, should I charge shipping to the customer? Or offer free shipping? 

Thanks in advance!

[slippinjimmy]

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@qualitycustomercare wrote:

I want to sell a CANON PIXMA PRO-100, however, the bot is huge and heavy. Ideally, I would prefer a shipment company come and pick it up. Which service should I use.

Also, should I charge shipping to the customer? Or offer free shipping? 

Thanks in advance!

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Without knowing where YOU are and where you are shipping it's hard to advise.

I looked up the specs, this printer isn't that huge and weighs 43lbs (plus packing, hopefully in the original box).

As far as free shipping vs charged shipping. This will be a zoned item which will vary dramatically depending on where it's being shipped to so you should use calculated shipping, probably offering USPS - Priority or UPS Ground. (or both).

Have a look at USPS Parcel Select as well although some people don't recommend it for "fragile" items (same people might not recommend UPS Ground for the same reasons).

[livadia]

@qualitycustomercare, If it were me, I wouldn't risk trying to sell it on eBay.  Any reason why you don't want to sell it locally?

[tybz]

If it is really large then I would recommend Greyhound Bus.  I had a bicycle that I wanted to ship to a customer that was several hundred miles away and this was the best way to ship it.  They have to go the the local Grey Hound Bus terminal (if there is one within a reasonable distance) and pick it up.  You will have to take if to the local terminal and drop it off.

[slati_2013]

I have shipped many items this weight. FedEx or UPS Ground will be cheaper than USPS in this case. I would recommend splitting the costs with the buyer. In cases like this if I know the shipping will be about $70, I will list the shipping costs on eBay at about $45. Buyers who buy heavy items are aware of how heavy the items are, and will pay reasonable shipping costs. 

[slippinjimmy]

The problem with using flat rate shipping is that distant buyers will get a bargain (at your expense) and local(ish) buyers will think the shipping is too high. This is the exact type of item that calculated shipping was meant for.

[qualitycustomercare]

I can try local, but I live in a very small city.

[d-k_treasures]

Remember, if the buyer thinks it doesn't work right and files SNAD, you will also have to pay for return shipping.

[qualitycustomercare]

Thanks for letting me know. I remember the days when we could charge the buyer for return shipping, but sounds like it's not worth shipping big items anymore.

[slippinjimmy]

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

Remember, if the buyer thinks it doesn't work right and files SNAD, you will also have to pay for return shipping.

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Which isn't a problem if you are selling something that is fully functional and packed properly.

[couldabeenworse]

Assuming this is used, what is it worth, maybe $100?  If it costs $60 to ship, AND you are unlikely to be able to properly pack it to arrive safely, I see a lot more risk to you than this is worth. 

You could probably make more selling it for 20-50 bucks Local Pickup only than shipping it anywhere.

[a_c_green]

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@couldabeenworse wrote:

You could probably make more selling it for 20-50 bucks Local Pickup only than shipping it anywhere.

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Hear, hear. And at the risk of piling on: its original packaging is intended for palleted freight (identical items stacked together and moved by forklift), not individual shipping: getting thrown around, dropped off conveyor belts and such. The original packaging would provide little to no internal cushioning, only reinforcement against crushing when stacked. Thus you'd need to add at least a couple layers of large-cell bubble wrap inside a larger outside box before risking shipment to anyone. List it as Local Pickup Only (i.e. no Shipping options of any kind) and sell it that way.

[slippinjimmy]

Thousands of printers, scanners etc are shipped every day in their original packaging. I've ordered, scanners, printer, monitors and other similar items and every single one has come in the original manufacturers shipping carton.

That's from eBay, Amazon, NewEgg, Tiger Direct and others

[d-k_treasures]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

Remember, if the buyer thinks it doesn't work right and files SNAD, you will also have to pay for return shipping.

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Which isn't a problem if you are selling something that is fully functional and packed properly.

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No, but unless all of the locks are in place for the printer and they are shipping it on the original box, I doubt it will end well.

Especially if the buyer doesn't want it and says it's SNAD, and just tosses it back into any box.

[d-k_treasures]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

Thousands of printers, scanners etc are shipped every day in their original packaging. I've ordered, scanners, printer, monitors and other similar items and every single one has come in the original manufacturers shipping carton.

That's from eBay, Amazon, NewEgg, Tiger Direct and others

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Remember, though, those all come with the inserts to keep everything from moving around inside the printer.