Hot Rods Hot Rod Parts/No Shipping

I'm noticing more and more parts for sale but the seller isn't willing to ship and wants local pickup only. This makes it very difficult to buy parts when your in the Midwest. I ship several times a week either by USPS Priority or UPS. Yes it takes a little effort to pack parts and take them to the drop off spot but that's part of selling parts.

 

I agree. It seems stupid to me to advertise nationally, then state 'local pick up only'. Oh wait... I guess we're expected to have 'personal shoppers' scattered across the country.

 

That may be another way of saying that they only want cash green money.

Then again they may be in a spot where shipping outside of the post office is a pain in the butt. I have to drive 16 miles to the closest UPS office and 25 to Fed ex. That wasn't an issue when I drove past one every day on the way to and from work and the other was a half mile the other side of work. Now either is a special trip and all of the freight truck terminals are up there. Greyhound is drive 20 miles in the other direction to a mini mart that sometimes the clerk is clueless as to processing freight. Now that they don't have actual terminals or many actual terminals that is a problem.

 

Large parts like fenders , hoods and trunk lids almost have to go Greyhound to get a relatively decent shipping price anymore. Add shipping to large items and a buyer may think twice. I know a couple of CL flipper adds saying they want to buy parts but I do not enjoy dealing with them .

 

Good thing about the HAMB is you could probably find someone who’ll do the transaction for you and send the part(s) your way for a reasonable fee.

 

I live not too close to anything. The Fastenal near me no longer offers shipping. No bus station anywhere close and the closest freight terminal that I know will ship for private customers is over an hour away. So if it doesnt ship US mail or UPS/FedEx its local pickup for this guy.
But I agree it's super frustrating when the part you need is out of reach due to local pickup

 

I think a lot of sellers are just flat lazy.

 

How about , I'd like to sell do you want to buy if so come get them.
Simple.

 

Yup it’s laziness. I usually only list big stuff locally because I will not bother with putting anything on a pallet. And trying to quote shipping prices for big stuff for multiple buyers who back out after they get the price got old very quickly. However I have sold plenty of big stuff by advertising in the classifieds and a local guy spotted it and came for it. No problems on this end. ‍I’ve also had good luck with guys like BenD, and relays from other friends to get stuff.

 

I try to do as much shipping as I can by USPS. It isn't always the least expensive, but it is the most convenient, 8 miles round trip. I can ship FEDEX locally, but I can't use me FEDEX account there, I have to go more than 25 miles each way to use my account. If I sell to you, I will ship to you. That is how business is supposed to work.

 

On the flipside, if you are the buyer, don't put the seller through the hassle of figuring out the shipping costs only to back out of the deal because they are "too high". You should have a good idea yourself before contacting the seller. Their time is as important as yours.

 

Jump in your corvair and roadtrip to get those parts.

 

I had a guy in California want a pair of '37 Chevy bumpers. When I told him that I did not ship the large stuff he said he understood. The next day he called back and said he had set up an account with FEDEX and all I had to do was take them to the FEDEX facility and give them his number. He sent me the money by PayPal. They took them in and sent them with a kid to the back to box them up. I was impressed!

 

As I work for a large LTL carrier, If you ship any sheet metal parts make sure they are well protected. They will be destroyed otherwise.

 

^^^^^^^^ True dat

 

If a buyer is willing to pay the price the seller should also be willing to do their part, the customer usually pays for shipping so what's the problem, I have sold parts & cars in the states and overseas, it just takes a little effort on the sellers part. HRP

 

Yeah, but if you are not making enough money on the parts to be worth all the hassle then I see why no one wants to ship. Unless you do a lot of it, you have to go find a box and packing material, estimate a cost, take it to a shipper only to find out you underestimated cost and to some its just not worth the trouble if you are just trying to get rid of excess parts and not in the business of selling.

 

It also avoids the 20 guys who say they will take it, ask you to get a shipping quote and then back out of the deal because it is too much. Shitty buyers bring on about 90% of the hurdles sellers place on items.

 

Truth is, almost all sellers are not concerned about your convenience. If you want the part, pretty much it's up to you to make it happen.

 

I guess I’m lazy.
I dint like packaging parts up.
I’d rather trade anyway

 

I have paid for one cardboard box in 2 years and I ship a lot (and spend a lot of time packaging).

I have 3-4 people who put boxes aside for me. At one point, this last year, my attic was overfilled with boxes and packing materials. After a week of putting the word out, I am set for a while... too much actually.

It's crazy how many things people get from Amazon. One thing to mention, Amazon has reduced their cardboard strength and that has impacted how UPS insures customer packaging.

I have had some boxes that were too light weight (material-wise) and thus weren't insurable. Now that I know, those go straight into the recycling.

However, all this goes along with the folks who said some sellers are lazy because finding ways to get free, packaging materials takes some effort but it's worth it.

 

I have read every post and have to ask this, "Do you know the sellers situation"? Before you call someone lazy put yourself in their shoes. Those that know me know exactly what I'm talking about. I have shipped every time I can, I try to find the lowest price on shipping for the buyer and I am the best dam packer in there country. I don't charge for my time, gas or packing materials either. Like Adam401 it is not that convenient for him. I have a TIP pressure sandblaster with extra bags of media I'm selling for $50. pick up only, shipping on that would be over $100. if I could even pick up the stuff.

Okay I've vented now I have to do some calming exercises.

Pat

 

I agree with what many have said, large items take a lot of time and effort to package, and they have to be fully packaged to get an accurate weight and dimensions for shipping. I can't spend hours fucking around just to get someone a quote who's going to bail because they hoped I could ship a hood across the country for 30 bucks. I'm in business and my time is quite valuable. If there was an easy way to ship large sheetmetal or very heavy mechanical items I'd be a very rich man from all the stuff I could sell, even if the cost was relatively high. It's the time involved. I don't have a forklift, loading dock, stacks of pallets and wood to make crates, nor do I have tons of free time.

For anything small enough to ship non-oversize UPS, no problem, I'll ship it. But that's the limit. And don't bitch at me when the price of shipping is high. I don't get to pick that number.

 

I don’t sell parts to make money, I rescued some cars this past summer and have been slowly parting them out. Yes I charge for the parts but I’m happy to ship stuff as it makes me happy someone somewhere can use this stuff. I’ve sent boxes of Meteor parts to Texas, a ‘61 Chevy hood across Canada and I have a pile of Ford parts that are headed across Canada as well.

 

Shipping is getting high. This morning I shipped one of my FH 409 water pump kits to PA. 38 lbs/3 working days with delivery on Monday. $52.00 I've gotten fairly good at estimating shipping and if I over charge by much I refund. Only missed it by 2.00 on this one. No big deal.

 

The seller is lazy? The seller should should 'do their part'?

You guys are kidding me, right? Lol... The seller is not beholden to, nor do they owe anyone, anything.

When I sell something, if I feel like shipping it I do. If not, I don't. It ain't complicated. And I just sold an item for a few grand this week that was advertised world wide, with a local pickup only.

 

I think some people have different expectations when they ask for a shipping quote.

"Free shipping" from Summit, Speedway, etc. plays a big part in that.

 

Years ago I listed a Corvair Spyder engine here. First guy wanted shipping quote. I told him I would drain it, strap it to a pallet, box it to protect the rare turbo parts, load it into a truck and haul it to a shipper of his choosing within a 60 mile radius, but everything from there was between him and his shipper. And my fee for that would be $300 up front, because it would kill the better part of a day. Never heard back. Second guy lived in New York, when told the same thing, he said he'd have it picked up. Done deal.

If you want it that bad, you can make arrangements to have it picked up. And yeah, a shipper will charge for that. But why would you expect the seller to facilitate this for nothing? I'm not talking a simple trip to the post office. I'm talking heavy/bulky stuff.

Also, it's not unreasonable to think that somebody local will respond to the ad. I've purchased many parts off the Hamb that turned out to be local, to where I could pick them up or the seller could drop them off. Met some cool people.

 

Just going to use your figures to make a comparison or point, not taking issue with you personally.
That said, depending on where in NE and where in PA, the distance varies, but lets call it 800 miles, one way. At that distance and @ $52.00, that is 6.5 cents per mile, delivered. Can’t think of many options for moving the goods that far for less money, especially in that brief of a transit time.

Ray

 

Humans are lazy