Shipping saddle--now ready to guarantee!

[JohnDeere]

Truly I have no ide awhat Im doing. :no:

Im selling (have a buyer!) a saddle for a friend of mine. Its a low $ saddle, older, but still ok. I think. AFAIK. :) Its too small for me so I rode in it 1 time. Seemed to be fine.

The "buyer" wants me to guarantee the tree, etc. I dont think the tree is damaged in any way but Im afraid that Ill get caught in the middle--I say the tree is fine, buyer says not & wants a refund, etc.

I will take pics before I ship it. Shipping will be paid by buyer out. Should buyer pay shipping back if s/he doesnt want it? That will keep the return from being because it wasnt liked.

I will make sure to get the exact amount of the sale, and not refund it to anyone. I think this person is a native English speaker. :yes:

Advice from other private sellers of fine equine tack? :lol:

[Ambrey]

Nope, sell it as-is. If you want to give her a return period, make sure it's limited (5-7 days) and make buyer pay shipping back, and make sure it's paid before you send it.

[Anselcat]

Agree with Ambrey about the return period. But you can phrase it as a limited guarantee: " I guarantee that I will return your purchase price if the saddle is defective and it is returned to me, postage paid, within 7 days after you receive it, in the same condition as it was shipped".

[JohnDeere]

We are good to go.

Now, besides a good sturdy box w/address label in several places how do we ship the thing?

[Ambrey]

I wrap it in bubble wrap and stuff newspaper or packing paper in the gaps so it doesn't shift around.

[Elisha]

I suggest shipping FedEx ground as opposed to UPS because UPS will charge you WAY too much. It usually costs me about $25-30 to ship FedEx where as UPS charged me $50 (I didn't make that mistake twice). Depending on how much the saddle is worth, make sure that you declare a value for it in case they damage it in shipping.

[JohnDeere]

How far did you ship it? That sounds cheaper than USPS.

Did you get insurance and delivery confirmation included in that price? Are they likely to lose it?

[pattnic]

Please DON'T ship it USPS... go FedEx or UPS (but do UPS only if you can get a lower rate at an actual distribution center - many "UPS Stores" have considerable mark-up).

Package it well, make sure it is CLEARLY labeled, insure for full value, and make sure you can track it.

[tazz001]

Pack it well....and I mean well...use bubble wrap and packing peanuts in a box large enough to hold saddle w/o it touching the sides...pack carefully and document with pics as you pack. and insure the package for what you sold it for and you MUST be able to document the value if for some reason you need to file a claim. Also you will be the person filing the claim if needed not the reciever.

USPS will be crazy $$ to ship something that big but you can go online to UPS and fedex sites to get an idea on cost to ship.

Hubby and I ship quite a few expensive items that are sold thru on-line auction and we hardly ever have a claim if packed well...I alwasy pack an item as I would want to see it recieved...makes for good reputation that items do not come damaged. Hubby always tell me I overpack but I hardly ever have a problem with claims.

[ExJumper]

Pack it well....and I mean well...use bubble wrap and packing peanuts in a box large enough to hold saddle w/o it touching the sides...

This is hilarious! I mean, of COURSE you should pack and expensive saddle properly like this. At least, that's what I assumed until I received my brand new County saddle in the mail.

Here I am, just dropped nearly $5k on a saddle and I'm eagerly awaiting it. I pull up to the house one day and see a package on my stoop. "Can't be the saddle," I say to myself. "The box is MUCH too small!"

And there it is. My expensive saddle essentially rolled into a ball and put in what can only be described as an over-sized shipping tube! I was amazed, but the saddle was in perfect condition.

Sorry for the hijack, but I thought that was a funny story and wanted to share!

[Horse with No Name]

I had the same deal ExJumper - I had a special order saddle shipped in for a customer from a supplier I don't normally use - it came rolled up as well, no wonder the shipping was so cheap! Saddle was fine but it's not how I ship a saddle.

[Elisha]

How far did you ship it? That sounds cheaper than USPS.

Did you get insurance and delivery confirmation included in that price? Are they likely to lose it?

I've shipped saddles to Maryland, North Dakota, and Virginia (from Louisiana). I did pay the extra insurance, which cost varied depending on how much I valued the saddle. Delivery tracking/confirmation is included with FedEx ground. I just take it to our local Kinkos to ship it.

[JohnDeere]

Can you get an estimate on shipping? The buyer is paying.

[Posting Trot]

If you go to the shipping company's website, they usually (at least UPS does) have a page where you can estimate shipping. You need to know the weight of the box as well as the dimensions, and the zip codes for the shipping from and shipping to addresses.

[Foxtrot's]

As I said on another post - I ordered a saddle from Moss Bros. (UK) and it came rolled up in a sturdy cardboard drum. They are a well established firm and should know how to ship.