Selling heavy console bundles - ship or local sales?

weekendroadyweekendroady
in Help Wanted!
Hey all,



Want to clear out my CDi and about a dozen games, but the machine weighs a ton. I have a suitable box, but I'm afraid if I go the ebay route, I'll have to charge some mammoth shipping cost and that will eat into my potential return. If I try something local, like Craigslist, I may not get enough interest to get a fair price, seeing as how the machine is a bit obscure. But maybe that's the route to go still (never actually tried listing on Craigslist before).



Tips? Tricks? What's the best bet for shipping large/heavy items if I decide to do that? Is there any way to reduce cost effectively?

Comments

  • Hogie1418Hogie1418
    eh, it depends on how comfortable you feel dealing with people on craigslist. I personally have had a few sketchy sales that have left me uncomfortable with the platform. As far as ebay goes, if I am ever worried about being burned by shipping costs I will usually just weigh the item and use ebays shipping calculator feature for shipping costs on an item. I will usually add a few pounds to ensure ebays shipping costs are not to low (which they seem to be sometimes). Also if you go the ebay route make sure to pay for the shipping online. I feel that there is usually a 5% - 10% difference in price when you compare it to purchasing shipping in the post office.
  • weekendroadyweekendroady
    Yeah, I guess that's why I've always been hesitant to use Craigslist - that and I don't live quite a ways from the bigger population centers where I'd imagine I can get more offers.
  • SAG26SAG26
    Might be cheaper to ship FedEx or UPS. They should both have shipping calculators on their sites. I sell motorcycle parts and I always ship big items through FedEx. Way better prices than the Postal Service.
  • mkiker2089mkiker2089
    For large items most people use flat rate USPS. Fed Ex offers Smart Post which is cheaper, but adds at least a week to delivery and has questionable handling since it's treated as low class. You should also research zones because you may be able to ship it in a flat rate per zone box.



    Either way I'd ebay it. Flat rate won't be too crazy and chance are you'll get a buyer who can't find it locally, hence will be willing to pay shipping. Find out what flat rate box will hold it and just list that as the shipping cost.
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