I want to echo Edward. I have received a frame from Peter as well as many small items in the past. Always packed exceptionally well. Peter will also tell you that I have never complained about his charges and always paid them promptly. My comment was a generic one and directed at no one in particular. Clearly, there are sellers on ebay who do use the attendant costs to an auction to increase their take above and beyond what is fair compensation for their time and effort. And that is all I meant to imply.
Peter Brown wrote:
>Phil Seig writes: Of course, if a seller wishes to use p&p as a
>separate
>profit center...
>
>
>
>As a regular UK seller of frames, allow me to give you some facts, based
>on
>my own experience.
>
>
>
>I charge a flat shipping charge of £75 for frames to the USA. If I am
>lucky, I can get one of the very light boxes from my local bike shop
>(those
>made in Vietnam such as Saracen are usually the lightest), and then if
>the
>frame is a Reynolds throughout, I can get the package under 6½ Kg, and
>the
>cost will be just under £60. If it is a heavier frame, and I have to
>use
>one of the British made heavier boxes, the weight will be over 8Kg, and
>the
>cost about £70. For my £5 to £15 "profit", I have to:
>
>Go to town and scrounge the best box I can find.
>
>Re-make it to fit within the now very strictly enforced Parcelforce
>limits.
>
>Pack the frame on the assumption that it is going to be on the bottom of
>a
>container, and that the delivery man is going to walk all over the box
>(and
>I have seen that happen!)
>
>Spend at least £5 on suitable packing material, light enough to keep
>the
>cost down, and strong enough to make it bomb proof.
>
>Complete all the paperwork and deliver it to the Post Office, having
>spent a
>total of about 3 hours on the total job.
>
>
>
>So, you see, the "profit" soon vanishes, and I doubt if Peter
>McCleod will
>see any on the frames that he is selling. Buyers should be more
>concerned
>with the quality of the packing and the service they receive. There is
>little point in spending £400+ on a rare and possibly irreplaceable
>frame,
>and then trying to beat the seller down to a cheap and inadequate
>packing
>job.
>
>
>
>And if you think shipping from the UK is expensive now, have a look at
>the
>volumetric calculations on the Parceforce website, which for the time
>being
>can be skipped, but which will probably lead to shipping costs of £105
>and
>upwards from August.
>
>
>
>Peter Brown. Lincolnshire. England.
>
>
>
>
--
Phil Sieg
Knoxville, Tennessee