Shipping costs - Conus to Hawaii
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 6:38 pm
This could have been posted in "Joke of the Day", but it's not a joke. Just a quick anecdote, certainly not a complaint. About a year ago I bought a Halfbike II, quite an interesting new invention, and very well engineered and built. Being of such an age as I am, my brain just couldn't wrap itself around actually learning to ride it. If I had learned to ride a skateboard, I could have easily transferred that experience to the Halfbike. The halfbike ride actually contradicts the basics of a conventional two-wheel bicycle. It's true one can never really forget how to ride a bike. It's also true that one never really forgets how to ride a skateboard. I never learned how to ride a skateboard, therefore I simply lacked the instinctive balancing skill it takes to ride the Halfbike. What's that got to do with Shipping Costs - Conus to Hawaii??? Sorry I rambled. I do that a lot these days.
Long story short: Wanted to sell the Halfbike. It only weighs 19 pounds. I paid $400 and listed it at $295 "buy it now" on ebay. I asked an additional $65 to cover shipping, with the understanding that I'd probably have to bear a bit over the amount, as I have done often. Share some of the cost with the buyer, etc. You get the picture. Last night (2:00 am actually) a gentleman from Hawaii bought it, paid me a total of $360. That amount was immediately placed into my PayPal account. Great! I spent this morning preparing the Halfbike for a nice trip to Hawaii. All packed up and ready to go, I went to UPS. The two folks at the counter both inhaled sharply and were quick to remind me it will have to be flown to the destination, which I had already presumed. --- $857.00 --- Not a typo --- just a few bucks less than a thousand dollars!
Here's what I did. (1.) I sent the fellow a full refund with a note of explanation. (2.) I notified ebay that I had sent a full refund and was cancelling the sale and the ebay listing. No problem, no sale, no money in dispute. All is well and I've still got the pretty Halfbike. I'll wait a few days and then I'll list it on Craigs List.
Long story short: Wanted to sell the Halfbike. It only weighs 19 pounds. I paid $400 and listed it at $295 "buy it now" on ebay. I asked an additional $65 to cover shipping, with the understanding that I'd probably have to bear a bit over the amount, as I have done often. Share some of the cost with the buyer, etc. You get the picture. Last night (2:00 am actually) a gentleman from Hawaii bought it, paid me a total of $360. That amount was immediately placed into my PayPal account. Great! I spent this morning preparing the Halfbike for a nice trip to Hawaii. All packed up and ready to go, I went to UPS. The two folks at the counter both inhaled sharply and were quick to remind me it will have to be flown to the destination, which I had already presumed. --- $857.00 --- Not a typo --- just a few bucks less than a thousand dollars!
Here's what I did. (1.) I sent the fellow a full refund with a note of explanation. (2.) I notified ebay that I had sent a full refund and was cancelling the sale and the ebay listing. No problem, no sale, no money in dispute. All is well and I've still got the pretty Halfbike. I'll wait a few days and then I'll list it on Craigs List.