A few weeks ago, the opportunity presented itself for me to buy a new (to me) bow. A friend was selling his son’s PSE Bowmadness 3G for a price that seemed very fair. The bow was a few years old and it had max 50lb limbs, but I liked the idea of having a spare bow that was longer (axel to axel) than my current spare – a Mission Craze.
I talked to my wife and came to an agreement – I’d buy the PSE Bowmadness 3G and sell my Mission Craze. At this point, I had never sold a bow online but the concept seemed pretty simple.
I took some photos and posted them, along with a description, on Archery Talk. I priced the bow, with all accessories, for $300.00 (Shipped) and waited. A few hours after the initial posting, I received a message from someone interested in buying the bow for his wife. We came to an agreement on the price ($275.00) and proceeded with the deal.
I removed the sight, wrapped the bow in bubble wrap, and placed it in a bow box that a friend of mine picked up for me at Lancaster Archery Supply. I wrapped the sight separately, in bubble wrap, and packed up the box.
During my communication with the buyer, I explained that I’d ship the bow Priority Mail via USPS with tracking and insurance. I’ve shipped dozens of packages over the years and always preferred Priority Shipping due to the speed and small price increase.
I about fell over when the clerk at the post office quoted me over $50 to ship the bow (Insurance was another $4 charge). As it turns out, the address provided via PayPal was not in the postal database and I had to return home to confirm shipping.
I was fully prepared to honor my word to ship priority but I explained to the seller that I was expecting a $35 shipping fee and asked if he would mind if used standard ground. He provided me with an updated address and was cool enough to allow me to ship standard.
The following morning I was back at the post office, handed over my money, and headed home with my receipt and tracking number. I contacted the buyer once more to provide a photo of the receipt as well as the tracking info.
At this moment the bow is en-route and the whole process was pretty painless. The hardest part of it all was tracking down a bow box.
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