*** *** FOR SALE *** *** Read This First...

[Ypedal]

For Sale. v3.0 ( revised April 24, 2011 )

This is the " New Items " section, basically, if you are a vendor with inventory, or you have something brand new and never used for sale.. this is the place.

Do :
- Do describe in detail what you are selling
- Do describe in the SUBJECT LINE what you are selling instead of " For Sale " or " Stuff " .
- Do include Pictures if possible
- Specify if you offer support, or if you know nothing about the product..
- Do indicate your location < canada, usa, uk, etc.. > and are you willing to ship outside your country !?
- Price, with or without shipping


Do Not :
- Do NOT start multiple posts for the same item
- Do NOT cross post your stuff in other's posts for sale
- Do NOT use other peoples pictures for your items unless you have permission

Edit your post when the item is sold with " SOLD " in the subject line... or flag it for deletion if you prefer it be removed...

VENDORS :::: .. You know who you are, if you register on ES purely for advertising and nothing else ( like contributing to the forum, helping others, and such.. ) you should only post in this section of the forum.

Some members of the sphere are valued contributors and are allowed some slack when it comes to an occasional shamless plug outside the sales area, if you have earned the right to do this, it will pass quietly, if you are an offender the members will flag you and we will step in to deal with it.

Thread bumping, if you have not sold your item for a few days, and wish to update the thread, lower the price or something, add information about the item, throw in free shipping, but don't bump your own thread 10 times a day, it just pisses people off and is unfair to others..

Sale section etiquette, pls be courteous to other members, if you know of a better deal or do not agree with the sale price, do not shove links to similar products being sold by someone else in another member's post.. it's just not nice. If you suspect a scam pls FLAG the thread for moderation and it will be checked out... i know this is a tough one to call but put yourself in the seller's shoes and imagine how you would like it.

an " Asking " price can be haggled !!.. :wink: .. just dont be rude about it.

 

[Ypedal]

... reserved...

 

[Ypedal]

Group Buys :

* work in progress.. will be done by end of day today.

What is a " Group Buy " ?

Usually, this is something a group of people do to save money by buying in bulk..

Some factories, vendors, distributors, will not deal in small numbers, but if you have a big wad of cash you can get them to deal with you.. something individuals dont do.. but as a group can be possible.

For this to be successfull, there needs to be a group organizer or leader, someone to handle the logistics, who will deal with the company as a representative to negotiate a better price on the behalf of the group... This individual(s) will receive the bulk shipment, then break it down and re-ship to the group members.

We dont need a resume or a mortgage statement from an organizer but it would be best if this person was someone with:

- Shipping and importing experience
- Someone who has the time and resources to get the task done in a timely fashion,
- Good social skills, manners, to deal with inevitable hickups that always happen..
- Financially stable, be able to cover unexpected expenses and then work it into the group buy to share the burden..

When starting a group buy,

- Take the time to iron out the details before you post, set a Time-Frame,
- Determine who can and who can not be part of the group buy ( international shipping is a difficult thing for the un-initiated, see below )
- Paypal, email money interact, money transfers, bank transactions, all have FEES associated to them... handling a large sum of money can cause red flags and bank accounts to get frozen.. consider it carefully.
- Exchange rates fluctuate, i've seen group buys go bad because 1 usd = 1 cnd changed to 1 = 0.75 overnight.. on 20,000$ this is 5000$ gone in a puff of smoke. .. think ahead.

Getting a large, heavy shipment of something, can be done by SEA, it costs much less to ship by boat than it does to ship by plane.. however it takes a lot more time.. and the package is subject to more handling by fork lifts, rocky seas, etc.... expensive, fragile, and small items are usually best shipped by AIR.. even tho it is more expensive.

LTL ( Less Than Trailer Load ) is a form of group bundling that shipping companies offer, you share a container for sea shipping with other items, since you dont have enough weight/size to justify your own container.. if you know someone who imports a lot of freight, adding your item on a pallet via LTL is a good way to save on shipping form overseas..
***still typing.

 

[Ypedal]

Shipping !!!!!

Ok. this is a whole chapter of it's own.

good video : (* will make my own this weekend maybe )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpwdfyfAaS4&feature=related

This being an online market, anything you buy or sell, needs to ship..

As of this writing ( 2012 ) i've been working at a shipping company for 15 years ( tech support.. but all shipping related ) ..

Packaging is KEY.. many packages arrive to their destination damaged, sometimes ( often ) from rough handling, sometimes from improper packaging.

When done right, and to excess, a box should survive just about ANYTHING a shipping company can throw at it.. depending on the item, fragile vs non-fragile items should be packaged accordingly.

A box should not have any empty space, it should be filled completely so that the item stays in it's place and does not bounce around destroying itself and the box in the process., heavy objects needs stiffer packing ( foam, padding ), while light weight items can do with crushed up newspaper or bubble fillers..

Shipping within your country means no customs.. shipping outside of your country involves customs..

Normally, the buyer ( receiver ) pays duties and brokerage not the shipper.. but this is an option you can pick on the " Customs Invoice " .. this is a SEPERATE fee from shipping, you pay shipping to the carrier ( ups, fedex, usps, canada post etc.. ) .. but you pay duties and brokerage to clear the package thru customs.

Customs... ( Duties and Brokerage )

Customs is the government entity that monitors everything entering their country, if you ship from Canada to US, US customs will inspect the parcel... if you ship from US to canada Canada customs are involved. etc.

Duties, a % tax amount charged calculated from the " Declared Value " of the item.. this % varies by country and the type of items being shipped.. ( check with YOUR country for details as a buyer/receiver )

Brokerage , is the charge applied by the company doing the paperwork to clear customs.. ( it is possible to be charged a brokerage fee, but no duties.. more on this later )

If you buy a new item from a company, they need/should declare the value of your item for legal reasons, they should declare what you PAID for the item...

If you buy a used item from a fellow forum member, you can save $$$ by declaring a lower value, for example.. if i buy a used motor for 150$, the seller can declare it as " used , 80$ " or something credible that will not seem too suspicious.. even tho i sent a payment of 150 via paypal, the shipper has nothing to loose by declaring a lower value so that when it clears customs and i get taxed the " Declared Value " .. i dont have to pay as much..

Small packages shipped via the postal service ( usps, canada post , etc ) declared below 200$, are often not charged customs fees, there are too many parcels for them to check each and every item, and they tend to concentrate on the larger stuff sold by companies.. you have no control of this however, and your parcel is subject to inspection / customs at any given time of THEIR choosing. If they touch the box, you pay brokerage, if it's declared expensively you also pay duties on top of that....

Personal items, from individuals, can be declared as " Gift " , customs tend to push these along without too much fuss.. but you still need to specify what it is.. " Gift, RC parts " .. or " Gift, used bicycle parts " for example.

If you are shipping something for repair, you already paid duties on it when you purchased it, there is an option on the customs invoice for this.. so you may pay brokerage again, but no duties a 2nd time...
--

cubing , using the SIZE of a box vs actual weight..

L x W x H ( in inches ) / 1728 x 10 ( ground ) or x15 ( air ) = cubic weight

example

20 x 20 x 20 box that weighs 5 lbs ( bicycle rims for example )

20x20x20 = 8000
/ 1728 = 4.62
x10 ( ship ground ) = 46.2 lbs
or
x15 ( ship air ) = 69.5 lbs !!

Shipping companies use cubic weight to bill you when a box is large but light, as it takes more space on the trucks...

so imagine how expensive it can get to use a much larger box than you need, for light stuff..
*(saving)

 

[courcheval]

Shipping within your country means no customs.. shipping outside of your country involves customs..

I guess anybody living in Europe is aware of this, but custom taxes here dont depend on country bonderies but on wether the country is part of the European Union or not (Sweden is, Norway isnt, Slovenia is, Croatia isnt (yet), Austria is, Swizlerland isnt, Greece is, Macedonia isnt...). The VAT applied when buying new depends on the country of origin.

 

[Cyclebutt]

As a former FedEx employee, I suggest your package should withstand a drop of four feet, multiple times, without damage to your contents. Leave as LITTLE airspace as possible, inside your package. Heavy items should be double boxed and use styrofoam to fill air space. Lighter packages can get by with bubble wrap and heavy paper.

My packages always bulge a bit, from the volume of packing material (and tape ALL seams) I use. Never failed me yet!

Bike on!

 

[augidog]

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