[CLIVE FENNER]

I have a Moulton for sale on e bay. Someone has asked how much to send to Thailand. His e bay name is panprasong . Has any one had dealings with him? I have seen him ask this question before. Any pit falls in sending Moultons abroad ? Thanks in advance for your help.

[david james]

i remember seeing once that some things are prohibited in some country’s and it can be things you wouldn’t think of.if it get’s seized by their customs they claim non receipt ,they get refunded by paypal and you’re in the smelly stuff! thailand seem’s to be a particularly popular place for potential moulton buyers and equally popular for sellers saying no thanks!

[William Poole]

Hi Clive! I was looking forward to seeing your completed SpeedSix down at the MBClub BoA september Weekend Meeting! Will you, and the bike, be there? I’m starting my trip on Sunday. Regards, William in Norway.

[Ian]

I’ve sent loads of stuff abroad – a Mk3 to Japan, APB’s to Korea and Thailand and F-frames to the USA and Hong Kong. Never had a moments trouble from buyers who are enthusiasts for Moultons just like we are.

I use UPS to send and generally it is there in three days or so. It is not overly cheap and you need to take a lot of care in packing. Lashings of bubble wrap and, if the you (and the buyer) doesn’t mind, some dismantling to pack it down as small as you can as they charge by volume not weight.

I’ve also sold and sent expensive cameras, hi-fi and antiques abroad through ebay using Paypal and UPS and, despite David James’s rather cynical and probably unfounded comments above, never had a single problem. Establish a relationship with your buyer, send pictures of the item being packed and check it arrives okay and you should have no problems either.

[david james]

I do know someone who had a vintage motorcycle seized by customs in Thailand and it cost him plenty! I have bought 3 F-frames this year and everyone had a request from Thailand along the lines of “I like this bike how much to ship to Thailand?” obviously non were sent.If the same gentleman is asking this question frequently I might be a little suspicious! but he might be an enthusiast.
Anyway it will cost I imagine £200-£300 to ship out and a lot of hassle
(I recently shipped a Bickerton to north yorkshire, that was more trouble than it was worth!)
In addition to the previously mentioned they can claim it’s damaged or disagree about the condition and you can’t easily argue from halfway round the world plus you may be liable for import duties and the shipping costs. I can’t really see how you can build a relationship with someone on a one off deal.These are potential pitfalls and in 90% of cases will not happen but unless you can sell it for say double the price to someone abroad I cannot see the economic benefit in doing so

[Alexander Johnston]

I haven’t sent anything abroad but I know several Moultoneers who have without any problems, mainly to the Far East.
Yorkshire may of course be a different kettle of fish.

[Ian]

David, depending on where you are sending it can cost £200-£300 to ship. Tell the buyer what the cost is and they can decide if they want to pay it. As I said, it is volume they charge by – not weight (makes it easy to calculate – measure the box you can get it into and price it up) . Get the package as small as possible (not that hard for Spaceframes and Stowaways) and you will be surprised what savings can be made.

I remembered – one buyer had a claim for damage from me! The UPS man delivered it with an apology. He’d dropped the box out of the van! I sent the bits he needed (a Sturmey FW index rod an rear reflector) and claimed the cost from the insurance. You do insure your parcels don’t you? This is also a good reason to photograph everything as you pack it!

Why would you need to ‘sell for double the price’ to someone abroad? You get the same price for the bike and they pay for the shipping? Where do you get the need for more money? (Mind you, if you can’t even send a Bickerton in the UK without trouble, perhaps you ought to ask if the problem is you?)

[david james]

hi ian probably is me! didn’t have a dispute with the bickerton ,just all the hassle of getting a box, i was hoping to send by hermes or one of the similar companies but it was too big for them.the bickerton folds up similar size to a brompton but carrying it to the post office was not easy! i wouldn’t even want to start with a moulton.I would say good luck to anyone who want’s to send one abroad but with buyers queueing up to buy moultons in this country who will collect i can’t see the point.it sound’s like you have a nice little export business going so i suppose you are more geared up for it than anyone doing one off’s

[Ian]

David you are making problems for yourself. Getting a box – Halfords are more than happy to give me bicycle boxes (they have them collected for recycling and it cost them money!). UPS collect from your house. Buyers queuing up to collect? Take a look at the sale price on ebay – ‘collect only’ tend to get far less than ones that offer shipping. Not an ‘export business’ just selling things I don’t need any more.

[Bobbie Martin]

I can tell you from experience that Ian is one of the best bike packers anywhere. He has sent me several boxes of various Moulton bits, including frames. Always packed safely yet very compact. He does make it sound easy, but few can match his packing skills!

[Alexander Johnston]

His packing skills are legendary.
He even includes a video explaining to the buyer how to assemble the bike.

[david james]

i,ve got a modern racing bike i need to shift, i might give it another try.it’s the first i’ve heard of halfrauds giving anything away, normally they take the shirt off your back!

[Peter Blyth]

Ey up lads! Nowt up wi’ Yorkshire tha knows. Sithee!

[selly]

I will never send a bike sold on eBay again after getting my fingers burnt. All that needs to happen is buyer refuses delivery as happened to me. I thought this was unreasonable on the buyers part so asked eBay to step in to decide as I was hoping to recover my shipping costs and eBay final valuation fees as the buyer was pulling out on me which I had no control over. Well eBay having no competition to speak of do whatever brings their bacon home. Despite me explaining what had happened they just stick to to repeatedly asking “can you prove the parcel delivered” to which I explained yet again that the bike was refused on delivery. The result predictably was I lost the case which was decided in favour of the buyer I lost £23 shipping fees plus £33.75 between eBay final valuation fees and PayPal fees (can you believe that- bike unsold, PayPal refund forcibly made yet it cost me as much as if bike was sold). Now I am probably coming across a bit negative but want you to be aware of what can happen. If your buyer accepts delivery but disputes condition of a bike don’t expect a reasoned view from eBay expect a considered view – one that takes consideration of their income.

[david james]

ebay always favour’s the buyer, i recently put a motorbike on a buy it now , it was “bought” but never paid for, still had to pay some kind of fee they dream up, took out a case, all that happens is the buyer get’s a black mark “unpaid item” on their ebay rating.on the plus side there are quite a few moultons relisted as “buy it now” because someone who won the auction abroad made unreasonable demands on the seller, i can’t complain as i bought a cheap apb and f-frame under these circumstances.in short i would only use it as a buying tool, selling sucks

[selly]

Have to agree it’s a buyer’s facility. I have sold something recently and the buyer has not paid or made contact. I think I am right in saying eBay will take the fees then refund as a credit if the buyer defaults as is likely to happen to ensure that money comes their way again in the near future. What eBay needs is competition.

[Author]

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