Bone China Packing and Delivery Service

Avoriaz

I have listed a Royal Albert Bone China tea set, teapot, sugar bowl, six cups and saucers etc.

I really want to sell to someone who will personally collect but I have listed it twice for collection only with no bids. I think I have priced it sensibly so I suspect that it is the collection issue and not the price that is producing no bids.

I have a hopefully serious potential buyer who can't collect and has requested a courier quote.

Can anyone recommend a professional packing and courier service within the UK or give me an idea of the likely cost.

I don't want to use my normal Hermes courier as they won't insure such fragile items and I don't really have the packaging material to pack it myself with any confidence that it will survive.

Thanks

theoretica

Many auction houses suggest that buyers use Mailboxes Etc to pack and ship (at buyers risk) http://www.mbe.co.uk/pack_ship/high_value_fragile_items

soolin

theoretica wrote: »

Many auction houses suggest that buyers use Mailboxes Etc to pack and ship (at buyers risk) http://www.mbe.co.uk/pack_ship/high_value_fragile_items

A seller on eBay does not have the luxury of sending at buyers risk.

OP, if you are not confident abut wrapping then it might be better to take the set to a B and M auction house instead. Assuming this is a collectible pattern like Old country roses it might well sell at a reasonable price. Other patterns are not so good unfortunately.

I think that finding a courier who will pack, insure and deliver your items would be astronomical price wise and price you right out of the market.

theoretica

A seller on eBay does not have the luxury of enforcing sending at buyers risk, but can make up his or her mind about the likelihood of a buyer breaking a verbal agreement to do so and if that is an acceptable risk.

soolin

theoretica wrote: »

A seller on eBay does not have the luxury of enforcing sending at buyers risk, but can make up his or her mind about the likelihood of a buyer breaking a verbal agreement to do so and if that is an acceptable risk.

Any seller can ask any buyer to agree to anything, but I think this is rather stretching the limits of what is likely or not on eBay. It just makes it all unnecessarily complicated. At what point would the buyer be asked to give their rights up, when they bid? if so what about a snipe or late bid?

RFW

soolin wrote: »

Any seller can ask any buyer to agree to anything, but I think this is rather stretching the limits of what is likely or not on eBay. It just makes it all unnecessarily complicated. At what point would the buyer be asked to give their rights up, when they bid? if so what about a snipe or late bid?

I don't think a regular auction house would get away with it when pushed, if a buyer receives a broken tea set they could probably sue and win for a refund, no matter what their terms state. Obviously it's different if they arrange for a courier to collect and pack, essentially the courier is then working for them.
The only way round it on Ebay is to ask for a non Paypal payment, which you can't do.
The best way would be to pack it yourself and 'insure' it yourself, ie pack it so well it will not break. I had some personal stuff a while ago that I did something along those lines, it took ages to pack well but it is possible.

soolin

RFW wrote: »

I don't think a regular auction house would get away with it when pushed, if a buyer receives a broken tea set they could probably sue and win for a refund, no matter what their terms state. Obviously it's different if they arrange for a courier to collect and pack, essentially the courier is then working for them.
The only way round it on Ebay is to ask for a non Paypal payment, which you can't do.
The best way would be to pack it yourself and 'insure' it yourself, ie pack it so well it will not break. I had some personal stuff a while ago that I did something along those lines, it took ages to pack well but it is possible.

The way my local antique auction house does it is to be linked to a courier- so they don't 'send it' the buyer gets it collected. It is exactly the same as they used to do, but now the buyer contacts the courier direct and pays direct- and the auction house say it is no longer anything to do with them but a collection service that the buyer has arranged.

Cost an arm and a leg though to have your stuff wrapped, boxed and delivered.