Shipping costs

[jboger]

Just now I was looking at early phonographs for sale on eBay including front mounts, horns and all. Often I see shipping costs around $45 or so, even for two boxes. My experience tells me that I can't ship, for example, a Vic III base (no horn) for that amount, more like $65 to $85 depending on where it goes. A morinng glory horn takes a large box. I find they can be expensive to ship just due to the size of the box. I don't think you can ship some of these items (two boxes) for less than $150.

I see the following possibilities:

1) the seller has made up a shipping price and will soon be shocked to learn how much it really costs
2) the seller is subsidizing shipping costs by overpricing the item
3) ignorance on my part

As to (2) above, I believe this is sometimes the case, but I have also seen items for sale with very low opening bids accompanied by low shipping costs.

Then there's the third possibility: my ignorance. Is it really possible to ship a complete machine for under $50, say from Connecticut to California? If that's possible, I'd really like to know how this is done.

[Raphael]

I believe you have left out another possibility, that the listing is a scam and the seller has no intention of actually shipping. But more likely it is pure ignorance and a shipping quote they pulled out of their rear end. Then after the sale they will whine about the actual costs.

I have been shipping for over 45 years and can tell you with some degree of certainty that properly boxing and shipping an outside horn phonograph will cost between $175 and $250, an amount that also includes about 12% eBay commission.

Raphael

[jboger]

Raphael:

Honestly, I was hoping it was my ignorance and that there are ways to ship things more cheaply. I shipped a Victor morning glory horn. It took a large box and lots of packing material and rigid reinforcement. It cost much more than $45 for just the horn. In this case the customer was very pleasant to work with and understood. Still I emailed copies of the receipts for shipping just to show I wasn't gouging.

John

[Raphael]

Size matters. “Dimensional Weight” runs the cost up. Also, once you get past a certain dimension, they have surcharges for “Oversize”.

Raphael

[Jerry B.]

I think you've got to consider packing. There's toss it in a carton with minimum space or protection or there's well thought out wrapping and packing in an adequately sized carton. I purchased a small quantity of unpainted 14" reproduction horns and have shipped around the country after painting. They are quite light weight so you're paying by the dimension of the carton. It costs an average of $23 to mail one to three horns to various places in the lower 48 states with adequate packing.

I would never buy something and just hope for the best effort from the seller. I continually read Facebook horror stories about broken cylinders or discs resulting from little or inadequate packing. We are the experts and should make sure the shipper follows our advice. We have that responsibility as caretakers of the things we love.

Jerry B.

[jboger]

I remember long ago when eBay first started I bought a wood case clock. It was poorly packed and the case was seriously broken. When I contacted the seller he immediately blamed his wife for her poor packing (typical). He accepted the return but hinted at giving me poor feedback. Back in those days many buyers were intimidated by the risk of negative feedback from the seller and didn't complain. It took eBay awhile to learn that the company really earned it fees from the buyer and not the seller--no sale no fees. But that's a different topic.

[cleveland1996]

I learned a lesson a few years back.. I had a criterion music box that I bought locally…being more into phonographs, I sold it on ebay.. I wanted it packed well for shipping so I took it to the UPS store for proper packing and shipping…I got an email several days later from the buyer saying that it was destroyed in shipping..when it was returned, it had been single boxed with minimal packing materials…….what a lesson….trusting the experts…HA! The best packer is yourself but supplies cost too.. I have always felt like taking extra time and packing very well is best…money can be made but many of these things are too easily lost to history if not cared for.. spend the extra time and a couple of extra dollars to make sure things will survive..

[TinfoilPhono]

When I bought my Edison Opera several years ago the seller took it to a UPS store to be "professionally" packed and shipped. On arrival I was stunned that it actually survived. The "expert" tilted the machine on end, crank side up, and dropped it into a box. No packing materials whatsoever between the mechanism and lid, or under the motor, or anywhere else for that matter. Bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts all around, but that was it. It really is a miracle that it made it.

[JerryVan]

I learned a lesson a few years back.. I had a criterion music box that I bought locally…being more into phonographs, I sold it on ebay.. I wanted it packed well for shipping so I took it to the UPS store for proper packing and shipping…I got an email several days later from the buyer saying that it was destroyed in shipping..when it was returned, it had been single boxed with minimal packing materials…….what a lesson….trusting the experts…HA! The best packer is yourself but supplies cost too.. I have always felt like taking extra time and packing very well is best…money can be made but many of these things are too easily lost to history if not cared for.. spend the extra time and a couple of extra dollars to make sure things will survive..

Yes, I recently received a nearly destroyed model steam engine that was "expertly" packed by the UPS Store. What a joke. I couldn't blame the seller, as he thought he'd done a good thing by having it professionally packed. Luckily, I was able to repair it all after several hours. I left the seller positive feedback and was rewarded with the same. All's well, as they say...

[Raphael]

Items packed by the UPS Store can be fully insured, if that’s any consolation. Sometimes I use them for items I bought at auction, but I always give detailed instructions and fully insure. Once they ignored me and a $12,000 music box was destroyed, but I got back every cent. Would rather have had the music box, though.

I just got done packing a Edison Manhattan (replica) and it will be going to the other side of the world. I would not have entrusted the packing to anybody but myself. Assuming it doesn’t fall out of the airplane, it will get there safely.

Raphael