Why can't people be bothered to post frames /bikes on e-bay?

[perry]

Always take extra cash with you, they may have other bargainous stuff around that they will part with.

not old bike parts so you can tune out if you want i won some ford mexico steel wheels for a bargain price of £20 . went to pick up and the guy had a large garage with a nice capri in it . i spot a 7.1/2" rs 4 spoke wheel on the floor . which are very desireable and very hard to get hold of . a set of 4 will easily fetch £700 . it has a flat spot and a bit of kerb damage but nothing spit and polish couldnt sort out . he had been using it as a way to store his hose pipe . i tentatively offer £20 . its now sat under the table . trip well worth it

 

[dyna-ti]

I always send them an email and ask will they send
I'm usually quite forceful in my begging and tell them how easy it is-get a box from a local bike shop take off some bits and have p2go come get it,then how they'll lose a fair bit by not offering postage[Money Motivates Most ]
Sometimes you find they are prepared to post if you ask,they just didnt say so in the ad

Remember the courier of your choice will go pick it up and bring it to you,all the seller has to do is pack it,and all you have to do is convince the seller to package it up

 

[daveaasmith]

Don't let 'no postage' put you off!

I think I speak true that there's always a friendly retrobiker who can help out. I've collected and posted, and had a fellow member collect and post for me.

We're a good bunch (mostly )

Dave

 

[brocklanders023]

Flip side is that you end up with a bargain if you live near by. Got 2 bikes recently that I think would have gone for quite a lot more if they'd offered postage. I'm not complaining.

 

[PurpleFrog]

It also takes time to
a) get a bike box
b) get bubble wrap

The courier company drops the box off, I thought. Bubble wrap is sold on ebay, takes 2 minutes to order.

c) setup bike ready for transport
d) box it all up nicely

This was a frame. Ten minutes to box it, tops.

e) arrange someone to come pick it up so it can get delivered (wait around for it to get collected). Not everyone lives next door to a courier service

A decent courier company should set a narrow time slot for pick-up; just choose one when you'll be in.

Much easier for a lot of people who just want ride and a few buck in the pocket.

£100 of his time might not be worth all that hassle.

Yep. 10 minutes with the box, 2 minutes on ebay, 10 minutes on the phone. Definitely not worth £100.

 

[boy"O"boy]

i know, i bought it....... for the forks!
see my post about nottingham. i will pick it up if i have to, but i'm abit closer then torquay mate.

Was watching this one too.... out of interest of what It would go for rather as I got the £30 job lot 'elite' a couple of months back.

I think it comes down to if you really want it. I drove a 300 mile round trip to pick mine up. 17" elites don't come up that often and I was prepared to do this for the right frame. The vendor offered me some extra spares too as he couldn't belive I'd come out of my way to pick up a frame he was going to skip.

If lou74 brought it for the forks why don't you offer the same for the frame? It's well worth it when you see it polished

boy"O"boy

 

[danpiero]

the point im trying to get at is the whole idea of selling things on e-bay is that you are hoping to sell something for as much as you can get for it . i just find that this happens alot in general . if people don't offer postage this will narrow down the amount of people who will put bids in which will result in a lower price . fair enough if you get a bargain and don't mind picking it up , but for some people it's not as easy to just drop everything and spend a whole day travelling . even if people set the postage costs high so that you can make on it at least they know they have a chance of winning . at the end of the day the only losers are the ones selling the items who don't get what they could for things ,all for the sake of a bit of time to parcel something up .

 

[PurpleFrog]

What danpeiro says. Plus the rarer something is the more the seller will benefit from offering postage. Plus, if you're really reluctant to post, you can always do something like:

"I don't want to post this, because it's a nuisance. But I will for an enough extra money, so I've set postage at £50 - the £25 it will actually cost for the courier and box, plus just about enough to offset the hassle. Obviously if you collect you won't have to pay this!"

That's what I'd do if I had a Yeti or a Whiskey Mountain Runner to sell. I'm not saying that everyone should always be willing to post, but a seller might make the buyers and himself much happier if he offers postage with a sufficient "hassle" premium. Faraway bidders will just deduct the cost from their maximum bid; seller makes more money; everyone is happy.

 

[perry]

ebay has made people lazy

before it was possible to buy something while sat on your arse and have it dropped off at the door people had to search for the things they wanted and actually pick them up

its not like we have a big country

 

[barry2017]

Just out of curiosity (market researcher hat on now)
what would you consider a fair postage price for a bike?