Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

[irwin]

Hello, I just won an ebay auction. The seller is from Kansas and I live in Northern Cal. I asked him to give me the shipping charge and this was the reply. $56.86 shipping & ins., $26.00 for a custom UPS box, $7.00 packing it to insurance code and $4.00 for materials. A total of $93.86. He said that, because the guitar case didnt fit in a standard UPS box they would have to make a custom box that would have at least 2" of foam around it, otherwise it wouldnt be insured for the full amount. I do believe the seller, UPS can get expensive, but there's got to be a cheaper way. And do you think I should have to pay for the special box. Or should I just suck it up and get my new toy.

[sworn_enemy]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

That's bullshit! I do believe the UPS store would charge that much but there's no reason he can't pack it himself. I've shipped guitars UPS much further than that for $36.00 total w/insurance. I just recently shipped a guitar I sold on Ebay from Rhode Island to southern California via USPS for $38.00 including $750.00 worth of insurance. No way in hell I would pay $100 for shipping!

[Guest]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

That's nuts!

Tell him to go to a music store and pick one up for free, sack of Peanuts for $8 and call it a day...

Pat

[irwin]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

Thanks sworn enemy, thats kinda what I was thinking too!

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

The 2" minimum packing on all sides is a UPS rule, fail to have at least that much and they'll deny claims 100% of the time if the item is damaged in transit. I'd imagine that the $26 for the "custom box" is probably actually a couple of boxes cut & taped together to accommodate the guitar plus the minimum packing requirements, $10-15 for one box of that size wouldn't be out of line so if they're using two that's also understandable. $56.86 is also understandable if this is a UPS Store since they'll add a 100% surcharge to whatever the actual UPS shipping fees are.

Expensive? Yep. Way out of line? Probably not. If the auction said that you were responsible for shipping costs then suck it up and pay it, particularly if you bid without first nailing down the cost. That, or help the shipper find a cheaper alternative.

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

Pat - I grew up in Kansas. There wasn't a music store that sold guitars within an hour's drive in any direction and those probably moved a half-dozen guitars/year so just dropping by your local shop and picking up a shipping box wouldn't have worked for me at all. This guy might or might not have that same problem but those charges are very typical of UPS store charges for packing/shipping something the size of a guitar.

[MountainDog]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

For a UPS Store/Mailboxes Etc. the $90 is the norm for that distance. I did a deal with someone on East coast that was a 'shipped price' and he ended up using the UPS store even though I told him all the cheaper options. It was $90 to the west coast, but the money came out of his pocket.

Moral of the story is what we always say on the board...if the seller doesn't list shipping costs in his auction, do the 'ask the seller question' and see what he says shipping will be. If it's too high, then bid accordingly by lowering your max bid price or don't bid. If he won't give you a number then either don't bid or be prepared to pay high $.

[MountainDog]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

Also, regarding your comment about 'suck it up and get your new toy', if the guitar is awesome and expensive, at least you know the guitar will arrive safe and sound for $94. Take it as a lesson learned for next time. If the guitar is an average piece you paid $200 for, then I'd make the seller do something different.

[dinkyjacksonman]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

Probably he got the quote from the mailbox service.
I also think it is always better to ask how much it would cost for the shipping before you bid and win something because not everyone has boxes to send guitars and also UPS sometimes can be pain to go because there are people waiting in line.

[irwin]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

Thanks for all the great comments! It does state in the auction that buyer pays for freight. I really do want the guitar. I guess that the charges really arnt out of line and it would be "piece of mind" knowing that its fully insured. The guitar was almost a grand. Thanks again, this is a great forum. Since I'm new around here, I'll post some pics when I receive it.

[mattsmusiccenter]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

The upside to the high freight cost is if the guitar is damaged in transit and the UPS store packed it, you're guaranteed to get the claim paid quickly.

I've shipped guitars with TONS of packing material around them that were damaged and UPS has denied the claim because the box was reused instead of brand new. It wouldn't matter how many inches of foam were around the guitar.

Luckily I'm "in" pretty good with my UPS rep so he normally overrides their initial decisions, but for a regular guitar trader this could cause some problems.

Pay the money, get the guitar and enjoy it!

[irwin]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

Good advice Matt, by the way, I thought your track Suckbucket was killer! I would buy that, and I havnt bought anything that I really liked in a long time. Wow, what a concept, a singer that can sing and a rippin guitar solo!!

[mattsmusiccenter]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

Thanks Irwin!

[lerxstcat]

Re: Should I have to pay this much for UPS?

There are alternatives to bring the price down, but yeah, in the middle of Kansas it may be tough. He could buy a $2.00 box cutter, a $2.00 roll of packing tape and that bag o' peanuts and go to the nearest appliance shop or hardware store, find an oversized box and cut it down to fit. Then, if the guitar's less than $500, ship Fedex Ground if they're nearby. But rural Kansas may not offer any of those options. Since you bid and won with shipping being open-ended, you left yourself open for high shipping and you can't really say he's a ripoff; he probably had no clue until he got the quote himself.

Always verify shipping before bidding, and get an email confirmation of agreed shipping from the seller. Save that email until you get the guitar.

What DID you get, BTW? Just curious...