.......how can I get a decent bicycle to either Bournemouth or Wales without it getting damaged or costing the earth? Delivering it myself will cost a bundle in petrol and wipe out any benefit from the sale and no, I'm not riding the f-er there.........that saddle is bl**dy hard.... AL
I use either myhermes or parcel monkey. Basically, I would find a load of foam wrap and cardboard and do a "bespoke" packaging job on it. off peak train tickets are pretty cheap, too.
A bike doesn't have to move? Find a forum member in the area willing to loan you wheels & either promise him a reverse loan or give him some kind of promissory note as to temp ownership of your cycle should you bugger up his? T
Take off all parts like the wheels , saddle etc and then pack it carefully in the smallest box you can get it in before checking prices with the carriers. It is worth using a carrier that only delivers with a signature and will leave a card if that is not possible. My company sends thousands of parcels and some of the cheaper firms have caused problems .Once they threw a parcel over a fence and it landed in the garden pond for example. Nice. FedEx, Hermes, TNT and DHL are all good. Not saying others aren't but they are the ones I would check first. If you are having a big problem with it let me know, I may be able to help.
Pop into your local bike shop and get one of there used cardboard bike boxes, ideally with lots of the closed cell foam ( the ones they get their bikes delivered in) then just reverse pack it. Parcel Force or the like, if you could get it done and delivered to New Milton ( I'm down there at the weekend) I could get it posted via my mate who owns a courier company used by Parcel Force.
As you are not a regular customer of TNT etc then you wont have an account therefore will get charged at top tarriff. I use Interparcel.co.uk As suggested above, I would speak to a local bike shop and get packaging from them, go on iinterparcel website and choose your carrier
I used Cheap Parcel Delivery to UK, Europe and Worldwide | ParcelsPlease when I sent a load of fairings to Germany. Cost me £22 by road and took 2 days. Volumetric weight is your enemy when it comes to calculating prices.
Had a warehousing summer job in 1979 with a parcel carrier and I remember bicycles would be unloaded off the arctic, put underneath the trailer and then just ridden home at lunchtime. Quite a few disappeared this way (as no doubt did many other things). But that's all in the past. It's all quite safe now...
Thanks all...........I'll get one of the cardboard bike boxes from a bike shop and send it off in that.........mind you, the box will weigh more than the bike........... .........whether I use Interparcel or Parcel Farce will depend on the weight / cost.........I guess that will mean me standing on the scales holding the damn thing all packaged up....... AL
I sold a mountain bike on eBay and had to send it to the other side of the country. These people were 1st rate Next Day Delivery Anywhere in the UK from Direct Courier Solutions it cost just over £20 and was collected from my house. I called into Halfords and got a cardboard box from them. (Took the pedals, wheels, seat and bars off) Easy peezy.
I've been in the bike retail business for 14 years and I've never seen a bike delivered in this magical closed cell foam...................even standard bike boxes are not infallible...............any courier can and will mangle anything..............I always arrange delivery myself at the customer's expense - I drive it there. Then there are no problems. That's why ebay is a nonsense for selling such stuff as this. All the purchaser has to do is whinge it was delivered damaged, ask for a refund/discount or he'll send it back, then you start claim/counterclaim and it all gets messy.
This one is going to a personal acquaintance.............I know what the condition is here, now................and if it's buggered when it gets to him, then he tells me and I claim the full amount on the courier insurance (over insured, in fact)............ ............its up to him whether he tells me if it is buggered or not............if it isn't (unknowingly to me) and he says it is, I still claim....as long as he can prove the damage which I forward to the couriers. AL
When I sent the bike with Direct Courier Solutions, TNT were actually the courier that turned up for it, and that price is fully insured.
Then try making a claim..........they will wriggle like feck and then still not pay - it will all be your fault. Insurance - feck 'em before they feck you. You have not been charged for this advice.
Luckily two claims for previous damage in transit already been met with no argument..........but I take your point.......... ......although one thing I can tell you................I'm not driving to bl**dy Wales in this weather even if he does pay for the petrol........or Bourne ---- mouth come to that...........
Use Shiply Deliveries made by guys who are,"going there anyway" Mostly self-employed van owners,I've had a few things collected/delivered via them,inc.an Aircon Servicing machine and various bits of industrial machinery Basically,put the details of what you want shifting with the relevant postcodes,and these guys will bid for the job Choose one that suits you,check the guys feedback,if it's cool pay Shiply and bobs your knob Make sure you pack it carefully,(no-ones infallible),but he'll be careful 'cos he won't want bad feedback I'm registered on there as a Carrier as well,but not done anything as my routes haven't been close enough to respective loading/delivery points
