Posting 2nd hand saddles

ann-jen

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I'm thinking about selling 1 or possibly 2 saddles on ebay. But am wondering if either one of them sell how I would get them to their new owners! Has anyone sold a saddle on ebay or the like and how did you go about sending it? Do I need to send it by courier or would it be possible by Royal Mail? How did you parcel it up to prevent damage? And any rough idea of cost to send one? Sorry for the 101 questions but I really need to get my arse into gear and get rid of these saddles to fund a new one :D but the logisitcs of getting rid of the old ones are the only stumbling blocks!
 
I bought some really big cardboard boxes on ebay to post my saddles in, you can send by parcelforce 48 hour service for £10.99 through ebay's postage centre for the basic service, price increases if you want to add on extra compensation insurance up to the value of the saddle. Have a look at what other people have got postage listed as on ebay (usually up to £25 when I've looked before) to see how much people will be likely to pay. I've not had any problems just using parcelforce and have had them come and collect it (no extra charge) as the boxes are too big to take anywhere really. I used a lot of parcel tape to make sure my boxes weren't likely to come apart, and variously bits of foam/an old quilt/bubble wrap/etc to pad the boxes out and protect the saddles.
 
Easy! Take it to the Post Office - I've just sold a GP on ebay and it cost £14 to send with 48 hr delivery with tracking.

Get a large box (ask your local shop to save you one - they're meant to dispose of them as soon as they're unpacked due to the fire risk).
Pack the saddle well inside - I used those polystyrene things that look like cheesy wotsits - making sure you protect the pommel and cantle.

Tape really well, put your address as well as the purchaser's and all done!

I've had saddles arrive with no packing at all, and even one wrapped in a blanket and a bin liner - no box at all.....
 
We had a saddle sent to us in a massive cardboard box very well taped up to ensure no splits in the box. The saddle was wrapped in bubble wrap and then brown paper was stuffed around it so there was no movement within the box. Ours travelled over 450 miles by Parcel Force for £15
 
Thanks for the replies, its actually nowhere near as expensive as I thought it would be! And probably not as much hassle either! Great news, am going to take advantage of ebays free listing weekend and see if I can off load some of my stuff :)
 
I have sold a few saddles that way (and received them) parcel force will deliver on their two day service for around £16 where I am (weight dependant)

It's really easy - rang them up at 9.30am, parcel was picked up at 12midday and delivered a day later :)
 
Watch to make sure the insurance offered by Parcelforce/courier etc is adequate though. At first glance these couriers seem very cheap but often the insurance is only £100 or under. I sold a saddle recently on eBay for £800. The VERY cheapest quote I could get was for £25 with Interparcel. Posting a saddle without insurance isn't a risk I wish to take.
 
I'm thinking about selling 1 or possibly 2 saddles on ebay. But am wondering if either one of them sell how I would get them to their new owners! Has anyone sold a saddle on ebay or the like and how did you go about sending it? Do I need to send it by courier or would it be possible by Royal Mail? How did you parcel it up to prevent damage? And any rough idea of cost to send one? Sorry for the 101 questions but I really need to get my arse into gear and get rid of these saddles to fund a new one :D but the logisitcs of getting rid of the old ones are the only stumbling blocks!


i have. royal mail it would cost between £12 and £25 depending on how fast and what type of delivery you want so... 2nd class signed for , first class, next day ect ect.

i boxed mine with a bit of bubble wrap in it for a bit of cushion
and always include a return address just incase it was not possible for them to deliver it x
 
Watch to make sure the insurance offered by Parcelforce/courier etc is adequate though. At first glance these couriers seem very cheap but often the insurance is only £100 or under. I sold a saddle recently on eBay for £800. The VERY cheapest quote I could get was for £25 with Interparcel. Posting a saddle without insurance isn't a risk I wish to take.

^^This. I posted a £700 saddle and it cost about this. Insurance costs seem to jump again after £500 :(

I also went to the removal company I used when I moved house (a year previously and they remembered me, which was impressive ... or maybe it was just my crappy possessions they remembered! :o) and they gave me an enormously strong square (rectangular ones are a pain to get a saddle into) box *and* a roll of tape. How lovely was that? :)
 
Thanks for the Parcelforce recommendation everyone, they've just collected my saddle for delivery.

One piece of advice for anyone in the same situation - find a suitable box BEFORE you list the saddle on ebay, I had to ask *16* shops this morning before finding a box big enough...
 
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