Question about Shipping

Scammers are easy to deal with on CL, they are so obvious. This is my ad text. Don't use your main email address, use a backup. Don't text or talk on the phone, they can harvest your number. A real buyer will do what you say. Works every time. Only send your address a few hours before the stated meeting time. Always meet on your terms & location.

Please read the ad description. If you see the ad, it is still available.
(Description here)

Not interested offers or trades. Local CASH sale only. No TEXTS or PHONE CALLS, email only.
Please email with a day and time you would like to come buy it for (price here) and I'll send you the address. Thank you.

Careful, double box, smart and required for insurance,

I would buy insurance, doesn’t cost that much. keep in mind, any insurance claim will be by you as you arrange for/pay for the insurance, not the buyer (even though the buyer pays you), and a claim is both confusing and takes time, and will depend on the buyer’s photos of the damaged box as received, unopened, and the damaged goods. Then buyer has shipper pick it up and shipper will asses the damage. It has to be done right to be successful.

If you don’t have confidence, UPS has a ’pack and ship’ service. (check online see which locations offer it).

Call them, give them the size and weight of your item, and a zip code middle distance from you. They will give you an estimate close to the final price.

Then, in your ad, state local pick-up preferred, and that the UPS ’pack and ship’ estimate to ___ zip code.

Then the buyer (not you) makes arrangement with their local UPS, pays for it directly, and UPS is responsible for it, buyer deals with any problem. (you can tell them the UPS closest ’pack and ship’ location to them) You simply drop it off at your UPS in their name, unpacked, walk away.

I have bought two sets of speakers, and had a third item (my mother’s childhood croquet set) using/paying for UPS pack and ship, excellent results.

This is a good way to buy something you really want when the buyer says local pickup only.

byw: local pickup: I offer to meet buyer anywhere up to 1 hour away, thus your area of buyers is essentially a circle of two hours.

When I talked to Fedex today, they stated that if a product goes missing or damaged, they try to find the same product for sale or something similar and what ever price they come across, that is what they reimburse.

@jay73 that could be the case for some items. I’ve provided dollar amount values for insurance purposes to people before who needed reimbursement for a repair/replacement of something old or rare. It can also help if you use the original packaging for shipping.

But not buying insurance is a recipe for disaster. Even if packaged perfectly against damage, things can get lost or stolen.

I always double box the original package and, if the component is fragile, I triple box.  This helps to ensure the package arrives safely and with no damage.  Spending money on packaging is money well spent to ensure the package arrives with no damage.  

I also track my package to ensure it is moving from my location to the buyer.  If I see something strange, I immediately call the shipping company for a status update. Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the feedback guys, appreciate it!