[Lewisham]

Gotta say that I disagree (yes, yes, it's all anecdotal). I find a great deal of the hassle in selling stuff online is the shipping aspect: how much does it cost? Will I have to travel to the Post Office? How long will I have to be there? Do I have the packing material? Should I insure the box?

Going to the Post Office is a huge hassle. Even when I don't have to go to them, but say, FedEx Kinkos, I have to deal with them instead (I literally had a FedEx Kinkos employee punch the top of my box repeatedly to prove that it wasn't taped up well enough for their transportation, to which one can only think "It's not my bloody fault that you don't treat packages with any respect.")

I think a great deal of the anxiety in selling is not collecting money (eBay and Amazon both make this trivial) but the worry about holding up your end of the deal, and whether the lost opportunity cost of the hassle outweighs the value of doing the deal.

I know I just put everything in a giant box to Amazon's trade-in system because I only have to worry about shipping once, even though I'd probably get far more if I sold it all piecemeal.

[axxl]

Hmm, valid points. I guess I'm not trying to say that the box isn't useful, it is easier undoubtedly (if you have an item that fits), I just feel like the rest of the service seems like it could be the better aspect. And actually after watching their promo video they seem to emphasize the service a lot more than the box, which the article seems more focused on.

[hkmurakami]

As someone who has bought bikes off of ebay and have had to deal with shipping damage nearly every time, I have to agree. I'd never want to deal with that kind of stuff as a seller.

(broken right brifter, badly bent rear triangle / rear dropouts, etc)

[Domenic_S]

> how much does it cost? Will I have to travel to the Post Office? How long will I have to be there? Do I have the packing material? Should I insure the box?

Simple solution: use flat rate USPS priority boxes. Order a few of each size for free and stick them in your closet with a roll of packing tape.

You know exactly what it will cost, you can get a free next-day pickup from your house, and you can use newspaper for packing material.

Only works if you ship small-ish stuff, but it's brilliantly easy if you sink 10-15 minutes into the prep.

[chockablock]

This. They deliver the flat packed boxes to you for free.

Plus you can buy USPS priority shipping online (at a discount) when needed, and drop anything that will fit in a USPS mailbox (the 15-ounce rule is for mail bearing only stamps). Or hand it to your (or any) mail carrier out on their rounds if you prefer.