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New member interested in selling pair of Vandersteen 1ci; sane shipping methods?

Hi,

I'm a new member here and wanted to list a pair of 1ci's as well as some headphones (Ether 2 System and Audeze LCD-2). However, I have no idea how on earth to calculate and list a real, reliable, and sane shipping price. I've tried UPS and FedEx calculators, but in the latter case I got a quote for $5000 to $8000 dollars for shipping alone, based on estimates on dimensions and weight I gave. I was planning on selling this pair of speakers for 4-500 dollars, so obviously these options won't work. 

How do others manage this factor in creating listings? I have a long history of selling things online, primarily vinyl records, but I've never shipped anything so large before and the services provide little to no help in trying to resolve this question. Clearly something isn't right here, or else no company would stay in business since they could not sustain these shipping rates I'm getting quotes for. 

I'm used to selling things up to maybe 10 pounds in weight, so I'm just clueless here as to how to begin. I have everything ready for a high-quality listing, but I can't complete the listing because I have no idea how much shipping to charge.

I apologize in advance if this is a silly question, but I wanted to make sure that my first listing is an accurate one that will not create any problems for myself or whoever might want to buy from me.

Thanks to anyone who can give me some guidance here! Anything like a realistic shipping calculator you're aware of or even general rules of thumb for costs would be helpful.

Thanks again,

G

amoklaufer
amoklaufer OP
2 posts
 

OK, great, that is precisely the kind of advice I was hoping for. Thanks for narrowing it down and saving me countless hours of trying to find economic prices. I guess I just wanted to expand my range of possible buyers, but that's just not possible given the size of these speakers. 

I honestly didn't even realize there was a local-only option here, so thanks for educating me. I'm not as concerned with the listings for my headphones. That will be straightforward!

Thanks again!

tpreaves's avatar
tpreaves
2,681 posts
 

I like how you put up an ad without paying for it !!!!!!!

bigtwin's avatar
bigtwin
1,113 posts
 

Use local shipping companies.  I had the same issue in Canada with UPS and FedEX.  3k - 5k quotes.  Found a regional shipper who delivers all across Canada & US.  $580 for the same shipment (tower speakers) fully insured.  Have used them again since.  The companies are out there.  Found mine through Google.  

mesch
3,394 posts
 

+1 tomic601. Good luch with your sale.  

bkeske's avatar
bkeske
5,568 posts
 

I purchased my original 1C’s on-line via eBay. IIRC, the speakers cost $325. No original boxes, but the seller did a tremendous job packaging them with injected spray foam within the box around the protected speakers. The Sound Anchors were installed on each.

I cannot remember exactly, but I think the shipping for two separate boxes was about $75. I know I did not spend much more than $400 for the pair with shipping. Tried to verify, but was purchased too long ago.

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