QTH.COM Swap Chat

K4ICL:

I agree with your comments about the seller being responsible for the safe delivery of the goods he sells. But what do you do when you're selling a rig with the proviso that the buyer is responsible for the packing and shipping charges.

EXAMPLE: I was selling a Racal RA-1795 for $1,500 - buyer to pay all packing and shipping charges. I told him it would be $250 for industrial grade, double-walled, double-boxed, foamed-in-place packing and insured air freight to CA. The buyer balked. He claimed $50 - $60 was enough to pack and ship a 40-pound rack mount receiver.

Q: What do you do when the buyer is TOO CHEAP to pay for proper packing? (Other than refuse to sell.)

N9LCD

N9LCD:

If you know that to correctly get the radio to the seller undamaged and in the same condition as when you ship will cost a certain amount and it can not be done properly for less, and your buyer says he will not pay the actual cost to ship the item.

After all of your attempts to convince the prospective buyer that is is in both parties interest to properly pack the receiver, inform the him that, to make the deal work for you, he has a choice. He can:

(1) pick up the receiver, personally,
(2) hire an agent to pick up the receiver,
(3) have you ship it, prepaid by him, at the actual cost, receipts to be provided if he likes, or
(4) find another nice receiver and buy it from another seller.

There is no reason for you to take a risk and suffer any consequences for not shipping it properly. The buyer either pays for the is hipping or comes and pick it up.

Also, don't ship it until all costs and payments due are paid and verified. Many of the ripoffs see on this board involve partial payments, etc. and the seller looses, sometime substantially, on the deal.

BTW, you are entitled to charge for all labor needed to do the packing for shipping. Most don't do that, but it is a reasonable
requirement. Any one who has properly packed a heavy delicate electronic equipment can verify the amount of time and effort the task requires.

Finally, your are not selling in the industrial setting, but in the private world where the term FOB, usually, is not part of the purchase agreement. (For fun look up the origin of FOB. In olden times, It was imposed on overseas customers who had to ship on the high seas and the sellers (manufacturers) did not want to be responsible for the goods if the ship sank. It means the same thing as "Pick up the goods on our shipping dock at your expense.")

I hope this provides you with some worthwhile information.

K4ICL

K4ICL wrote:It was imposed on overseas customers who had to ship on the high seas and the sellers (manufacturers) did not want to be responsible for the goods if the ship sank.

Exactly my point and very much similar to the position the OP finds himself.

Be it a commercial or private sale, the buyer is always free to accept responsibility for the shipment in transit under his or her terms by mutual agreement with the seller. The "seller is responsible, no ifs ands or buts" rhetoric is just that, rhetoric. Again, I concede, it may be "customary", but it is not absolute.

I am selling an Astron RS35a. Has anyone shipped one of these in a large USPS flat rate box? If so, were you satisfied with your shipping experience?

Q: What do you do when the buyer is TOO CHEAP to pay for proper packing? (Other than refuse to sell.)

What I will do is continue to attempt to find a suitable buyer. Life it too short to put up with people who want something for nothing. Proper shipping of your equipment is not negotiable. Who pays for the shipping is up to a mutual understanding between the trading parties. If you indicated in your ad the buyer must pay for shipping, then the buyer must pay for shipping, unless you are willing to "eat" the cost of proper shipping to complete the deal.

K4ICL
AL