Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Bought an aftermarket grille for my Honda on Ebay, $86. Decided to return it and seller accepted. Went to ship the grille and it was $100 for shipping. How did the seller ship it and make a profit? Now I'm stuck with a item I don't want and lost $86. Maybe I can sell it locally in the future or use it if I need to, I don't know.
If you went to a UPS store or the like, you are paying inflated retail rates plus service charges plus whatever the store loads on top of that. They're a monstrous ripoff. (Commercial shippers pay vastly lower rates and no surcharges.)
Box it well (as shipped to you, if possible) and take it to a Fedex/Kinko's outlet; they don't have nearly the markup of UPS. Also try the post office - you can run through the calculations with parcel size and weight on both sites. If the package is more than about 24 inches, do everything you can to keep the length under an "oversize" or "special handling" limit.
I can't imagine something the size of a Honda grille costing more than about $20 to return, probably $10.
Bought an aftermarket grille for my Honda on Ebay, $86. Decided to return it and seller accepted. Went to ship the grille and it was $100 for shipping. How did the seller ship it and make a profit? Now I'm stuck with a item I don't want and lost $86. Maybe I can sell it locally in the future or use it if I need to, I don't know.
Volume discount, maybe? I just bought a roll of electrical tape on eBay for $1.35, with free shipping. They FedExed it to me in two days. When I got it, it had an invoice inside from Lowe's, showing that the seller paid Lowe's $0.85 for it. How did they FedEx an 85¢ roll of electrical tape to me for $1.35, and make a profit? I have no idea, but I can be sure that if I wanted to send it back, it would cost me at least $5 to do so.
Try listing it on your local Craigslist and see if you get any takers. You could also list back on eBay for $86 for free local pickup.
If you went to a UPS store or the like, you are paying inflated retail rates plus service charges plus whatever the store loads on top of that. They're a monstrous ripoff. (Commercial shippers pay vastly lower rates and no surcharges.)
Box it well (as shipped to you, if possible) and take it to a Fedex/Kinko's outlet; they don't have nearly the markup of UPS. Also try the post office - you can run through the calculations with parcel size and weight on both sites. If the package is more than about 24 inches, do everything you can to keep the length under an "oversize" or "special handling" limit.
I can't imagine something the size of a Honda grille costing more than about $20 to return, probably $10.
I have a feeling that is the FedEx Ground rate. I'm pretty sure UPS/USPS would be even more, if they even take something that big.
I have a feeling that is the FedEx Ground rate. I'm pretty sure UPS/USPS would be even more, if they even take something that big.
"That big"? I can't bring to mind a Honda grille larger than about 2-3 feet wide and a foot high, and most are much smaller. Could be a larger CUV/SUV grille; the OP doesn't say.
But $100 is completely insane. I've shipped books by the hundredweight, fragile test equipment in oversized cases and other oddball stuff without it ever being disproportionate to cubic size and weight. I've seen people ship vastly oversized boxes at the PO for $40-50.
My gut feeling here is that the OP took it to a UPS Store, they measured it for the largest box they could throw it into, then applied all their rates and fees and charges.
I can't even imagine a front car grill that is only 2-3' so I can't imagine why someone is insisting that it's a "small" thing... am I missing something?
I can't even imagine a front car grill that is only 2-3' so I can't imagine why someone is insisting that it's a "small" thing... am I missing something?
You are not missing anything. A rough estimate would be about 50 x 10 x 15 inches, not counting packaging. FedEx and freight shippers are about the only ones who deal with items that big. $100 would be the low price.
I can't even imagine a front car grill that is only 2-3' so I can't imagine why someone is insisting that it's a "small" thing... am I missing something?
My Odyssey grille would fit in two end-to-end shoe boxes. Nearly all Honda cars have similarly small grilles. If this is a grille for one of the trucky models, that's different - but not much. This is not an F150 or RAM pickup grille big enough to play football on, and being made of ABS or a similar plastic, the weight will be a non-issue - size of the parcel will be the determining factor.
I maintain $100 is not just high, but insanely high. Clearly the seller could ship it profitably for $86, and the difference between commercial and (non-inflated) retail rates aren't that much. But it's up to the OP to fill in some details before the discussion has much point.
You are not missing anything. A rough estimate would be about 50 x 10 x 15 inches, not counting packaging. FedEx and freight shippers are about the only ones who deal with items that big. $100 would be the low price.
Right on.
I bought a Blazer grill insert (black) off EBay.. I think it was "Free shipping" since it cost more than $25.
But I think the seller is describing the whole lower front valence.
Bought an aftermarket grille for my Honda on Ebay, $86. Decided to return it and seller accepted. Went to ship the grille and it was $100 for shipping. How did the seller ship it and make a profit? Now I'm stuck with a item I don't want and lost $86. Maybe I can sell it locally in the future or use it if I need to, I don't know.
List it for local pick-up.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
