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Shipping fatigue and your audio habits

Hello my audio brethren. Recently wrapped up some sales and purchases and the reality of shipping is hitting me hard. It’s rough! The insurance, packaging protection, and the very high cost these days to move packages over 50 pounds, and for gear over 100 pounds… yikes. 😬 It has put a serious damper on the buy/try/sell habit I have been operating in for years. It’s good in a way as it helps me squash the audio nervosa 🐛 , but man does it sting to really think about the extreme high cost to do business anymore. Curious how this has affected y’all. For us non-dealer audio nuts:are you finding dealers out there that used to offer really great deals offering less of a discount ? For dealers: when buying large orders from your suppliers, if you can share, what strategies have you had to adapt to to keep your operating margins? For us used audio sellers on a’gon and USAM have you adjusted your sales to NOT include free shipping? Local sales only?

The Amazon effect “I want my crap  and I want it tomorrow and I don’t want to pay for shipping” seems to be running out of steam. Somebody has to pay the bill. For me I have been much more strict on my sales on USAM. I’m not going to eat the cost of shipping all myself anymore, and more generally I’m pausing big ticket purchases. 

Good luck out there and enjoy the music!

 

audiopacer
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,707 posts
 

Two words….

Pirate Ship

bigkidz
3,504 posts
 

I packaged and shipped a larger item using the UPS store.  It has been over 6 months since my insurance claim.  UPS told me now that I am not the shipper but the store is and they have denied my claim.  The store manager has send a message about my claim after all this time.  They also told me that they did not get to inspect the box and I replied that they never asked to inspect the box.  Round and round we go.

I also work for a local dealer PT and shipped another bow to the same person.  I purchased an brand new box and it arrived torn and broken.  Waiting to see it the item has been damaged to see if I need to file a claim.  The store has a UPS account.

I am thinking that going forward for larger heavier items that I am going to have a wood crate built and ship the item out that way.

Happy Shipping!

mitch2
4,738 posts
 

Isn’t Pirate Ship simply a third party broker that connects you with other shipping companies?  My understanding is that they are sort of like Bikeflights for bicycles, or Trivago for hotels.  Sure, they offer convenience and low rates, but they don’t insure directly themselves (do they?) and I doubt they would assist in resolving a dispute over shipping damage.  I know an audio equipment manufacturer that swears by them and, while appreciating lower pricing and convenience, I don’t see how they would be any help whatsoever in the event of a dispute.

On another subject, regarding The UPS Store, our nearby UPS distribution center customer counter (which was excellent!) closed down last year so I started using a new, nearby UPS Store that opened around the same time.  It is the worst, to the point where I now drive farther to use an actual FedEx store where pricing, communication, and support are all way better.

swaudiofan
48 posts
 

I have had some success with reduced shipping at a Parcel Monkey.  Have used them a number of times over the years with selling used hifi equipment and it has gone quite smooth.

zlone
1,340 posts
 

I had to ship a large set of crated and palletted speakers this year and freight costs were pretty extreme. I found freightquote.com which saved the buyer and me a lot of money and works like a charm. 

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