Sales: truth in weight?

A friend told me once he wont use UPS because they have conveyor drops of up to 6ft in sorting facilities, so he only uses Fedex wich doesnt employ the same process.

When I am buying, I guess I have never been concerned with what the seller lists as the weight. What matters to me is 1) what the actual cost of shipping will be, and 2) will it be packaged to arrive safely? I *always* consider the total cost of the deal, and negotiate that way. Regardless of what they list as the weight, I always appreciate it when they are open about what shipping cost they intend to charge.

When I'm selling, I always list the weight and shipping costs using the calculator. I normally will weigh the item and add what I expect the packaging material to weigh. For heavy items like an amp, this is usually 5-8 lbs of packaging. I shipped a subwoofer once and the packaging alone weighed over 15 lbs. OTOH, I've NEVER had anything I ship damaged in transit. If a buyer doesn't like the cost of shipping I'm quoting and want to negotiate it - I'm open to that - provided the price of the unit is at a level the total deal meets my bogie.

A few other things - I would much rather pay a seller a slightly inflated shipping rate - including a "handling uplift" if I feel they will properly package and deliver the unit intact. Indeed I'd rather pay the extra $ for heavy packaging and care taken by the seller than to deal with someone who is going to have it "professionally packed" at the UPS store - for which it will cost $80 for $5 of packaging material and poor packing. I usually add in $3-$5 extra packaging costs into the quoted shipping charges (based on the A'gon shipping estimator). Sometimes I have a box and packing material available, but usually end up buying material (a box, or styrofoam sheet). Further, as others have said, It usually takes a good deal of time to package and ship. Anyone who thinks this $3-$5 "profit" is unfair, is under no obligation to extend an offer for to me.

That's funny about FedEx not using the UPS practice of a 6 ft "conveyor drop." Today outside the Post Office a postal employee and I watched as the FedEx delivery guy proceeded to unpack boxes from his delivery truck by *heaving* them out of the back of the truck onto the ground! I'd say there was at LEAST a 6 ft drop involved. The postal employee turned to me and said, "We are not allowed to handle boxes that way. If there is anything glass inside any of those boxes, it is now broken." I guess every carrier, despite its official practices and policies, is subject to the individual practices of its individual handlers. We looked quizzically at the FedEx employee when he was done, and he just shrugged, loaded stuff onto his dolly, and was off.

In general, I've found Canada Post to be competitive, or a better value than Purolator, UPS (or OOOPS if you prefer), or FedEx.

Servicewise, Puro, UPS and FedEx have angered me on several occassions with mislaid, misdirected or poorly handled packages.

While I'm whinging, UPS' Customs Brokerage coming into Canada from the US conducts borderline piracy. I've been asked with a straight face for $30 in customs charges for a $49.95 item.

Back on the subject of buying and selling on A'Gon I agree with Bdgregory about the inherent value of paying to have something arrive in one piece.

A lot of people that list on e-bay reduce the sale amount and transfer it to the shipping charge to save money on e-bay's listing fees which is based on the value of the listed item. It is not a scam and a lot of bidders recognize that.