I'd guess the big increase in the price of diesel fuel is driving the shipping cost up.
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'Has Shipping Cost Gotten That Outrageous'
- Thread starter mustBmtd
- Start date
Not only is shipping cost bad but the new tax law threshold of $600 is gonna put a stop on alot of sales too
A few years ago I had an upright bass shipped to me from another well known builder. It arrived destroyed. The shipper, my credit card company, paypal, & everyone involved refused to pay me or accept any responsibility, especially the companies that advertise "we've got your back". Same thig happened on &^%$#@! Reverb. Since I was not the one who generated the original shipping paperwork and contract, they all also refused to communicate with me; only the original person. It was a huge pain and I took a giant loss for the item that year.
I still regularly ship a lot of items, including upright basses. If the item is guitar sized or more, or it is expensive, I always have the buyer generate a shipping label with the company of their choice, and then send it to me. That way they are the ones in control and they are the primary contact. I facetime them showing the packing and then I do the same at the drop off, or I make a quick video at the counter. I have four (!!!) upright bass bodies going out this month to other shops around the country and every one of them is traveling that way. As long as I'm honest and professional, not once has anyone complained and everyone seems to understand how it is right now. It does eliminate Reverb and epay, but &^%$ those places. Most of my shipping transactions are now generated here, via my own websites, or through facebook & fb marketplace.
If it is anywhere within 800 miles, it seems like most of the community I know travels a lot for gigs and such. If I put out a call to my local bass hang on facebook, it is easy to find someone I know who is traveling that will drop it off in person or pick up something for me if I offer to pay $100 for gas.
I still regularly ship a lot of items, including upright basses. If the item is guitar sized or more, or it is expensive, I always have the buyer generate a shipping label with the company of their choice, and then send it to me. That way they are the ones in control and they are the primary contact. I facetime them showing the packing and then I do the same at the drop off, or I make a quick video at the counter. I have four (!!!) upright bass bodies going out this month to other shops around the country and every one of them is traveling that way. As long as I'm honest and professional, not once has anyone complained and everyone seems to understand how it is right now. It does eliminate Reverb and epay, but &^%$ those places. Most of my shipping transactions are now generated here, via my own websites, or through facebook & fb marketplace.
If it is anywhere within 800 miles, it seems like most of the community I know travels a lot for gigs and such. If I put out a call to my local bass hang on facebook, it is easy to find someone I know who is traveling that will drop it off in person or pick up something for me if I offer to pay $100 for gas.
A couple of months ago I culled my 31 bas uke/mini bass guitar collection down to 8. After the first couple of outrageous packing and shipping charges, i said stick it and went local pickup only. Being that I live in Los Angeles, it took just under two week to let go of them. That's what I'm going to do for now. From what I've read in other posts, PayPal has a deal with a shipper that cuts the cost, and there is another third party that has discounts, but I don't want to even deal with getting something packaged.
I second this. The immensive price hike on shipping seems to be a US thing, or maybe we Middle Europeans are just ridiculously privileged?
It’s the reasons (not the cost) that keep me selling local only. I don’t want to deal with the headache and risk.
On reverb, I’m having a hard time agreeing on a price that works for both seller and buyer, due to shipping.
In most cases, a fair used price + shipping makes it overpriced for the buyer. On the flipside, A reasonable all-in price for the buyer usually means the seller is getting a bad deal.
Making it tough.
There are only a few sellers in the US I buy from now, mostly due to shipping charges. (I didn't say costs, because some charges don't seem cost related) I don't buy basses or guitars except in person, but I've noticed the shipping on them, with exchange rates added is staggering. Up to $400 Aud. But even on parts prices can be mad. When someone wants seventy bucks for a pickup and eighty or ninety to ship it, I sort of assume that they don't really want to be bothered with overseas shipping, but if some sucker is willing to pay.... well.
I'll support the US sellers who charge me maybe twenty or thirty bucks to ship the same thing.
I'll support the US sellers who charge me maybe twenty or thirty bucks to ship the same thing.
I just bought a bass on Reverb. It was $317.50 extra, (the shipping $160.00 and 157.50 for taxes.)
That hurt....
That hurt....
It would cost me $30 USD or about $45 AUD to ship a flat rate padded envelope to Australia. That’s usually the cheapest way to send something from the States.
I wish I had a porch and a lawn. Greetings from my cubicle apartment in central Europe.
I live in a large city with an extended metro area, and I've never had any luck selling locally. Zero interest. It's not always an option.
The simple answer is "yes". It's that bad.
1) Shipping costs alone have gotten ridiculous. A friends makes a gadget for the guitar world. He used to be able to ship one cross country for $35. His last one was almost $100. And that was the cheapest ground rate he could find, even going through a third-party discounter.
2) Taxes. The clamp down on taxing all sales over $600 on Reverb adds another huge increase to the price of used gear person-to-person.
3) Risk. Let's just be honest here. Many delivery drivers and warehouse workers are just not very happy people. As such, they aren't going to take great care to make sure every package arrives in perfect condition. Also, porch pirates have become a thing (even more so during the holidays). So even if your bass arrives in great shape, there's a chance it will get stolen.
If I can find a local sale, that's what I'm doing. I'm getting ready to sell some pretty cool gear. I'm going to list in every Craigslist in NC and a couple in VA and SC before listing here, even though I know some guys here who have been interested in some of it for years. It's just not worth the hassle and cost.
Until more people finally understand that we're actually taxed on net profit, not gross sales?
Selling a used item for less than we paid for it, including subtracting costs like listing fees, packaging, etc... is not a taxable event. Not to mention, profit made on one item can be nullified by losses on others at the end of the tax year.
For those who have been buying and selling for profit, the net gain over a threshold has always been reportable and possibly taxable, regardless of receiving a 1099.
List them in East TN while you're at it
Edit: Ah, nvm, I read that as Western NC rather than Eastern
That aside, on my last bass sale (a month or two ago) I broke down and let PayPal convince me to try shipping through their 3rd party aggregator which did in fact bring the shipping down to half what it would have been and under $100 total.
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