Shipping prices and buyers...

Maybe the problem is that shipping/packaging costs are not made clear from the start - The AD.
The ad needs to clearly state that packaging and shipping are in addition to unit price OR the seller builds that cost into the selling price and sells as shipping included.
The packaging and shipping should be negotiated as part of the purchase, not "after the purchase". The seller should already know what it is going to cost to package the unit if he/she doesn't have orginal box or is going to double box. The shipping costs can then be closely estimated by zip code of buyer. The only thing that skimping on packaging will buy is trouble. It's just not worth the agony. -aj

Perfectimage, thanks, I received had an email from another member suggesting something similar. great ideas! I'm all for saving money! -aj

Jeff, Did you sell it through Audiogon? Did you file a formal dispute for arbitration on this site?

What I learned from that is to have the buyer agree to a statement that it arrives "as is" with no restitution/obligation from seller (only insurance claim)IF they do NOT agree to pay for adequate packaging and insurance.
What a pain in da keester! I guess we all look to buy from sellers that have feedback and transaction history. Maybe we should ask the same for buyers?
I hope that you get that worked out! What happened to resolve?
-aj

Packaging can be expensive. When I lived in a house with a garage, we could save all the popcorn and bubblewrap and outside boxes, but now I live in a condo and there is no place to store any packaging, so if I sell something, I am going to have to go down to mailboxes, etc and buy the boxes and popcorn. I expect that expense to be part of the price of the unit. The easiest way is to probably just build that into the selling cost and just discuss shipping with the buyer. I ALWAYS double box and no problems with damage so far......thoughts? -aj