| 8217;ve sold your coveted copy of Alice | | | | when the buyer called after becoming exasperated in |
| Cooper’s tribute to the Ray Coniff Singers | | | | his efforts to try and get the speaker shipped, I |
| along with the 5-foot tall carved walnut stand that | | | | naturally agreed to help him. To make this brief, it |
| was made to display it. Congratulations! | | | | was during the course of this transaction that I |
| Now all you have to do is get the items packed and | | | | discovered what Logistics companies provide to the |
| on the way to their new home in Iceland. This can be | | | | world in terms of services, and it was a huge |
| a little intimidating if you have never had to ship | | | | revelation to me. |
| anything internationally. Frankly, it can turn into a | | | | Logistics companies are companies that will help to |
| seriously gut wrenching experience that I | | | | take care of all of the steps necessary to get almost |
| don’t recommend anyone take lightly. You | | | | any item to almost any part of the world in almost |
| may notice that the words of wisdom you are | | | | any time frame. Furthermore, it has been my |
| reading sound like they are coming from someone | | | | experience that when you find a good logistics |
| who has passed through the valley of the shadow of | | | | company that you can work with, you will also have |
| death and lived to tell about it. If that is your | | | | found yourself an important friend and ally in the |
| assumption, you have assumed correctly. Please | | | | business of on-line auctions that will save you time, |
| don’t think that I am referring to Iceland as | | | | heartache, and most of all, whopping loads of cold |
| the valley of the shadow of death, nor the | | | | hard cash. |
| expansive real estate that makes up the eBay site. | | | | After being told that it was going to cost my buyer |
| There is a great deal of information on eBay about | | | | as much as $1,000.00 to ship the product he had |
| the basic shipping services provided by the U.S. Postal | | | | purchased a distance of around 950 miles, and after |
| Service and UPS. The information is laid out in a fairly | | | | having been told that he and I were going to have to |
| straightforward way, yet it can still be extremely | | | | do most of the work involved with the privilege of |
| confusing to a person who is just sending out the | | | | getting banged by the usual shipping banditos |
| first or second thing that they have ever sold. Take | | | | (I’m not naming them again like I just might |
| the time necessary to go over the basics of the | | | | have done three paragraphs before this one), I found |
| shipping information that eBay has compiled for its | | | | a company that made my transaction a piece of |
| members. Then take the time to fully understand the | | | | cake. They made me look like a hero. They made me |
| type of service you are going to be using after your | | | | proud to be an American. With just one call, this |
| item sells. It is not just a good idea from the | | | | company sent out a huge truck with two huge, yet |
| standpoint of keeping your own sanity, but it will help | | | | surprisingly careful men who picked up the speaker, |
| you to avoid falling into any number of pitfalls that | | | | took it to the airport, placed it on a transport shuttle, |
| can fowl up a transaction that you have managed to | | | | and sent it off to within about 50 miles of my buyer. |
| handle in an exemplary fashion up to that point. | | | | Then, they had two more of their men pick the item |
| Having said that, I would like to focus some attention | | | | up at the airport as soon as it arrived. They loaded it |
| on what happens when you sell a product that | | | | onto yet another huge truck and immediately |
| exceeds the size restrictions set forth by the U.S.P.S., | | | | delivered it to my astonished and satisfied customer. |
| UPS, DHL and Fed-Ex. | | | | They did all of this for under $350.00 and all was right |
| I sold a huge speaker to a very nice speaker | | | | with the world. |
| collector who lived about 950 miles from me. The | | | | The point is this. Make it your point to really learn the |
| speaker measured about 5.5 feet tall, by 3.5 feet | | | | ins and outs of shipping as it applies to your eBay |
| wide, by 2 feet thick. It also weighed in at a hefty | | | | business and you will be one more step ahead of |
| 150 pounds. Even though the speaker had sold for a | | | | your competition, and ten steps closer to providing |
| fairly high dollar amount, I had specified in the auction | | | | that all too important level of gold standard service |
| listing that the shipping arrangements were going to | | | | that is the hallmark of a successful, and consistently |
| be the total responsibility of the buyer. Of course, | | | | profitable eBay seller. |