Have you ever had something you wanted to sell, but were concerned about size or weight, and the packaging challenges that would be before you? I was fortunate to come across a vintage (50’s) Coke Machine that was still fully functional for about $300. I didn’t have room for it in my house, so I knew I was basically buying it to resell. I thought about advertising locally, but I had never had much luck moving items through the Kansas City Star. I had sold a number of items on eBay, so I decided to list the item and indicate to the purchaser that they would be responsible for crating and shipping. I had checked with a couple of trucking companies and the cost was going to be fairly high, but I wasn’t concerned because the buyer was going to have to worry about it. The item sold for a considerable profit to a buyer who had purchased several coke machines before. I was going to benefit greatly from his experience. I had spoken with a local antique mall about how they crated and shipped items and they told me about a local company,
“Craters and
Freighters” would pick up the item and crate it for shipment. They could also arrange shipment from Kansas City to the California location of the buyer. The shipping cost through them excited my buyer (not good excitement) and the buyer suggested that I contact a local shipper called
Forward Air. Craters and Freighters picked up the coke machine from my house, took it to their facility, crated it for shipment, and delivered it to
Forward Air for shipment. The ONLY issue with using
Forward Air (if you don’t have an account with them) is that you have to pay for your shipment by money order. If you can put up with this minor inconvenience, you stand to save some real bucks for large item shipments.
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Recently we learned of another service that is now available for shippers who need something beyond what the USPS,
UPS, FEDEX and
DHL can provide. The service is called
USHIP. Basically USHIP will put your specialty move up for bid. Interested movers and crating companies compete for your business and you select from the one that offers the best combination of rates, service and customer feedback. While I have not yet used this service, others indicate that you receive very competitive bids and can actually save some bucks over what Craters and Freighters offers as a package deal for crating and Shipping.