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!
I have a lot of gear I’d like to sell, but haven’t for a variety of reasons. Mainly, it’s the PITA aspect of having to box, pack, ship (yep, shipping and insurance is absolutely nuts!), but also having to wait and wonder if the equipment made it out safely. I’ve been on both the receiving and sending end of equipment damaged in transit and dealing with the shipping company is never a good thing.
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I build it in to the decision. I just paid $1,300 to get speakers palleted and shipped air-freight from NOLA to SoCal, but the piece of mind for both parties was worth it. In this case the seller wanted local pick-up. I said I pay for custom freight, insured for full replacement, seller agreed and chipped in $500, and I got exactly what I wanted, delivered in perfect condition |
@riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook @audphile1, @dill, @digmygroove , @buellrider97, @audiopacer , @larsman
FYI to all: I recently sent a very light package from GA to VT. The quoted price from my local UPS, a franchised operation, was $238. The price from FedEx was $12.99. (same # of days...). Last week I tried a different package at the same franchise UPS store, and the cost was $60. FedEx was $7.99. (again, no difference in service). I think the pattern is clear enough... Regarding risks of purchasing/shipping in the audio aftermarket, I will never use PayPal F&F to buy or sell gear. I feel it is rather scummy to put all of the risk on the buyer when sellers are not willing to share... To that end, I encourage all to avoid sellers like @fastfreight Best,
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@inagroove said:
Wow inagroove, that is just wrong on many levels. First, you categorize me and others as 'Scummy'. Perhaps you should read my numerous 100% positive feedbacks on USA. I am a hobbyist and Audiophile, who like others enjoys buying and selling used equipment with fellow like minded individuals. I have NEVER had and issue buying or selling. If I do not like the sellers terms, I am free to not make an offer. If one does not like my terms, they are free as well to make their own informed decision. You seem to enjoy telling people how they should think and recommending what they should do, vs deciding what you should do. Are you upset that some do not want the hassle of filing tax return info on the cost basis vs sale price in a hobby? I have never made a profit selling used equipment by the way. Please keep your mean statements to yourself, and try to learn to express thoughts without condemnation. |
