John,
I recently purchased a nice used brass 0-6-0 from a very well-known US brass dealer for $300 and he only charged me $6.88 S&H (USPS or UPS). It was very well packed and the locomotive was nestled inside a Reboxx box. (The original locomotive box was missing.)
Had it been a $1,500-$2,000 Division Point steamer then, yea - full insurance and a signature would probably be a wise investment. Most other purchases, however, don’t need to be that expensive - even for used brass.
Tom
Hi Tom-
Well you did great but that is an exception as not all that much brass is indeed that affordable. I was referring to a dealer who has more of the higher end stuff. I am mainly trying to refute the claims of some who claim it costs nothing to ship.
I in fact did a trade with said high end dealer where shipping was on him and he did the full insurance and signature requirement and I know his cost was way more than some are quoting, likely close to $40 if fragile was declared.
Shipping is not generally cheap anymore and some are either taking risks or living in the past or some combination thereof.
Fragile means nothing in the shipping biz, used to but not now except for some high end shipping out there that is available. Signing, depends on where you live and the value, protects the shipper more than anything but not foolproof, they never in my life asked for ID and would always let me sign for other units or addresses even.
Or some love jacking up the shipping prices to help cover e-Bay fees. Who gets the left over money for shipping? Not e-Bay.
I can say it costs $14.95 to ship a boxcar but,if I had a e-bay store then there are cheaper shipping methods from USPS which costs less and I’ll get to pocket the difference in that $14.95 shipping to the actual costs or I can charge $14.95 shipping then slip the car in a flat rate $6.95 box and send it…
However, since I am honest I would refund the shipping difference.
How can private seller A ship 1 car for $14.95 while private seller B sells 1 car and ships for $6.95 seeing both sellers live in the same place?
If you fail to believe that there are endless examples to look at on e-Bay.
IF I did ship a $3,000 brass engine I would want honest insurance and a signature -around $30.00.
As far as marking anything “fragile” I would need to think twice since to some wise guys that’s a open invite to see how far they can toss it or make a bank shot off the wall.Remember USPS does use contract carriers that has their own distribution and sorting centers…
The reason I won’t use UPS is because I’ve seen packages pitched onto the porch or into the bushes around the porch.
Since many comments in this thread have revolved around shipping brass, years ago when I was buying brass engines, I always paid extra for 2nd day air shipping. Granted, back then brass and shipping was a lot cheaper than today. I am a firm believer that the less time a parcel is in the shipper’s hands, the less chance it will be damaged or lost.