01-14-2019 02:01 PM
For any sellers who offer a wide variety of items sometimes you can come across a real challenge even if you have had years of shipping practice.
For me, one of the items I sweated the most over was many years ago I had to ship an electric guitar to Israel from the US (so much distance, so many things could go wrong) Thankfully arrived safe and sound.
One of the more challenging items to pack up and ship was a blacksmith leg pot vise - big, heavy, awkward. It was also many years ago and I was fortunate I had a very nice buyer who actually gave me some very helpful tips for how to prep it for shipping.
What are some of your most "interesting" shipping challenges?
01-14-2019 02:51 PM
How did you end up packing the blacksmith leg pot vise?
01-14-2019 03:17 PM
Just noticed I skipped a letter - meant to say leg post vise. If you're familiar with them you know they're really top heavy - about 3 feet is just an iron pole and the rest is a big vise. The buyer told me the best thing to do was to get thick pieces of cardboard and wrap them around everywhere and then shrink wrap the whole thing - so that's what I did and it worked. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best.
01-14-2019 03:26 PM
I had to ship a balance board used for yoga. It was shaped like a smile and as tall as my waist. I had to frankenstein a couple a boxes together and it was the weirdest looking thing! But it got clear across the country with no problems. I also sold a couple of boat fender holders that were large, rounded, and not fun to ship. I used the creative side of my brain for those.
01-14-2019 03:27 PM
The worst thing I've ever bought and had to ship was a pair of long, long antique wooden skis. I don't remember exactly, but they must have been 8 or 9 feet long, maybe longer. I thought I got a real deal at an estate sale for $5 and then I sold them for $100.
A real deal, until I had to ship them. It must have taken me 8 hours to get them taken apart and wrapped and boxed. A million PM boxes that I had to tape together and rolls of tape. A real PITA.
It was this "deal" that made me think, before I bought at an estate sale, how I would ship the item. If it was going to be too difficult, no matter how good the deal, I passed.
01-14-2019 03:47 PM
When I was selling with my ex under another ID it seemed like he was always bringing me the most awkwardly sized, and Herculean weighted items to sell. I've shipped skis, an antique drill press, vintage vacuum that was fully put together, transits and other things that just weren't worth the money once you factored in the time putting together a Franken-box. Thank goodness for FedEx Ground and USPS pickup, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to ship them at all. I am now back selling under my own ID and like you, will only sell what I can easily ship!
-C
01-14-2019 03:52 PM
A folding Adirondack porch chair. I had Local Pickup Only, but the person that bought it lived four states away and really wanted it, so paid for shipping. I "made" a box out of several other ones, padded it well, and used a whole roll of tape. They got it intact and loved it.
01-14-2019 03:53 PM
So,
do either of you have any advice on how to best ship skis now?
Thanks
Lynn
01-14-2019 07:01 PM
01-14-2019 07:07 PM
Not particularly odd, all things considered, but I once had a model kit with a box that was big but pretty flat. That took a frankenbox because everything I could find that was big enough at the base was ALSO incredibly tall, so I ended up having to get a much bigger one than I needed and cut it down to size.
01-14-2019 07:55 PM
I bought this nice made by somebody speaker. I listed it free shipping, not without weighing it.
Problem is that I forgot the packaging.
I sold it, and instantly the buyer asked me to wrap it pretty good. That gave me the goosebumps so I can't remember what I did with it, but only shipping costs exceded the costs of what I paid for it. I learned a lesson that day by getting out of that deal in the red.
Golf clubs? A pain too if you don't have a bag for them.
Nice story: In my rush to print because the mail carrier was in the proximities, I sent 2 items the same day to the wrong address of both buyers. I had to communicate to them so they could return to sender. I was lucky, both items were returned so I could send them back with the correct address. Of course, couple of bucks in them.
Funny story:
I sold this lot of CDs. I usually send extra jewel cases for any broken during transit. So, I boxed them up, but relying on extra cases made me lose track of the care I should have put into protecting them with a good cushion.
So, here I go to the post office, all smiling, saying hello to my friends there. I give the box of 36 pounds of CDs to a new guy and he grabs the box, and with horror, I couldn't yell, he drops it in the bin. I could hear the cracking sound of the jewel boxes being broken.
Now, whenever I sell a heavy lot of things, I rather split the lot.
01-14-2019 09:31 PM
@bsarafian wrote:For any sellers who offer a wide variety of items sometimes you can come across a real challenge even if you have had years of shipping practice.
For me, one of the items I sweated the most over was many years ago I had to ship an electric guitar to Israel from the US (so much distance, so many things could go wrong) Thankfully arrived safe and sound.
One of the more challenging items to pack up and ship was a blacksmith leg pot vise - big, heavy, awkward. It was also many years ago and I was fortunate I had a very nice buyer who actually gave me some very helpful tips for how to prep it for shipping.
What are some of your most "interesting" shipping challenges?
If I answer this question the nightmares may start again,, but okay . It was several large scale model airplanes that had all come crashing down on the shelf they were sitting on [ in the middle of the night ] AFTER we had taken all the photos and created all the listings . Pieces were everywhere . Tulips
01-14-2019 11:55 PM
I made a custom box for a huge walking starwars ship.What a PAIN that was!
01-15-2019 06:57 AM
01-15-2019 06:59 AM