How easy is it to ship a fully made computer?

[Zah]

So I have an old computer I made myself a while ago.  I've been trying to sell it on craigslist to not have to deal with selling it on e-bay as I'm not sure how expensive it would be, and not sure how to ship it.

 

I have a few questions for you guys who have shipped a computer or sold on e-bay:

 

How safe is it selling on e-bay?  Do you have jerks who try to scam you when they buy it and file a dispute saying "it doesn't work"?  Or is it generally okay?

How do you ship it?  What is a good way to ship it?  Obviously, don't keep the GPU attached to the PCI-E slot, but what about an aftermarket cooler?  Would that kill the CPU slot in transit?

Where do you find ant-static bags?

 

Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

If you're looking to sell the entire system you should really just sell it on Craigslist and / or your local hardware forum, local pickups only. Shipping a full system is not only a tad risky but also unnecessarily expensive. Not worth it.

[Zah]

I've never heard of a local hardware forum, but I do have flea markets near my house I could try and sell it at as well.

[georgespamme]

Can't help you with eBay computer experience, but as far as anti-static materials the only thing I've found locally is a big roll of pink anti-static bubble wrap at Staples.  It was about $20 USD, but it's a huge roll.  If not that, Amazon or other online retailers carry various anti-static bags and packing materials.

 

--ALSO-- I think this goes without saying, but I'll say it anyways - if you do decide to ship it, make sure your shipment is insured for at least the cost of the machine.

[LarsReviews]

If you are a private person, don't ship it. The mail people seem to drop everything before they deliver it. In most cases, the gpu will break the pcie slot or the heatsink the cpu socket. 

[Hero7750]

Just sell it locally its not worth the risk.

[IndaLight]

If you do find a way to sell it and ship it make sure you make it where they have to sign for the package. 

[watts300]

You'd want to charge for shipping. Either add the cost of shipping to the sale price (with shipping listed as free) or with a flat rate as the sidecar price.

You'd also want to document every component in the box for your records (not necessarily the listing). Save serial numbers of every component and take many pictures. It's not unheard-of for a buyer to try to return a computer (or open a dispute) because they say a part is not working, swap the part, and send back the computer with a bad part.

I would probably take several photos of the packaging and outside of the shipping box, too. Document everything and post what your return policy is. You don't really have to have a return policy, but there's one kind of built-in already into eBay's works because of the Buyer Guarantee.

[ragedev]

I would be worried about this happening

 

[sakthi]

I would be worried about this happening

 

 

OUCH ! i feel the pain !! omg  :blink:

[Zah]

OUCH ! i feel the pain !! omg  :blink:

The worst part is it took the graphics cards with it.

[Remilia]

Slap a big "BULL/HORSE SEMEN, CAUTION: CONTAINERS ARE EASILY BREAKABLE" sticker on the package, the post office will probably handle it like their lives were at stake.

[legend8887]

Just download an app on your smartphone where you sell things locally.

[NeatSquidYT]

I would be worried about this happening

 

OH GOD. PUT A DAMN DISCLAIMER!

[Zah]

Just download an app on your smartphone where you sell things locally.

I actually don't know of any sites that sell locally (besides craigslist), and the only flea market near me is no where near as popular as it used to be.

[legend8887]

I actually don't know of any sites that sell locally (besides craigslist), and the only flea market near me is no where near as popular as it used to be.

I didn't say a website. I said an app.

[Zah]

I didn't say a website. I said an app.

I feel dumb now.  Never really used apps on my smartphone that often.  I'll see what I can find.

[mechtech]

I've done plenty of sales both online and locally, here's my full advice

 

First - What @RageDev showed you, never ship a whole assembled PC case with the GPU on, NCIX doesn't do it for the same reason. Shaped foam was around the card to try to avoid it at first, but it wasn't good enough. If it's a very old, small card, it might be fine.

 

Selling Locally:

 

Easiest, but comes with it's own unique hassles - people on classifieds can be the worst, if you're not willing to negotiate price, make sure to state it. Otherwise, best thing is to have him come over, test the system in front of him/her - get paid, be done with it. Really, if you can get the money you're looking for this way, it's better.

 

Selling on eBay: I did this lately because of the US to CAD exchange rate being 1.2 - end up getting a little extra, even after fees.

 

The way to sell on ebay is to part it, and the case is not worth selling. Shipping costs are mostly based on volume, only really heavy stuff starts paying premiums, so the bigger the box, the more $$$.

 

I would suggest the following for parting it:

 

Sell the Mobo - CPU - and CPU heatsink together. Ships well, but I usually take any aftermarket heatsinks or watercoolers off due to size and weight, and ship separately to be safe, stock coolers can be left on.

 

The GPU can also be included in the bundle, especially if it's not worth much on it's own, but once again, ship it disassembled. 

 

Memory is usually worth selling separately to get the most for your money, and same for PSU if it's a decent or expensive one.

 

Shipping boxes and static bags - I'm really not sure where to buy static bags, I'm a huge fan of keeping all my retail boxes for this exact reason, packing and re-selling old stuff I might really never use again. Once I have everything in original boxes, I find a bigger box that fits the mobo+heatsink+gpu box if included and ship it safely together, and/or smaller boxes for the GPU and PSU.

 

Things to keep in mind;

You need to get properly sized boxes (slightly bigger than the item, bubble wrap or kraft paper to make sure stuff doesn't bang around ect..

ebay has a 20% final value fee on basic accounts

Paypal will freeze your funds for 21 days if you have never sold anything on ebay before, which means you'll have to source money for the shipping costs.

 

Hope this helps!

[FairladyZ]

You will need to package it very well, in soft closed-cell foam, and in a nice thick box. (if you're shipping it in a box) Make sure you double tape the box openings, because a PC usually has some weight to it, and you dont want it flying out of the box when the UPS man throws it down a flight of stairs. I don't recommend shipping a PC with the GPU installed, because it can sag and it can (but probably won't) break. And if the case has a side window, or any fragile plastic/acrylic pieces, I would either get some clear plastic and cover that up, to keep it nice and scratch-free.

[DildorTheDecent]

Slap a big "BULL/HORSE SEMEN, CAUTION: CONTAINERS ARE EASILY BREAKABLE" sticker on the package, the post office will probably handle it like their lives were at stake.

Does this work?

[MuffinTopMike]

What you should do is part it out and sell each part individually on Hardware Swap on Reddit. Not only will you get more money by selling each part by itself, it will be much easier to ship...

[Remilia]

Does this work?

Realistically it'll probably only work with smaller packages with certain properties in regards of weight and shape.

The thing about "fragile" stickers is that every package have a "fragile" sticker on it, so it sure as hell isn't going to be treated like a special snowflake you think it is.

 

However, if you make it seem like a package that the workers REALLY don't want to get damaged, there's a bigger chance of better handling. There's no guarantee, but it sure as hell is better than "fragile", some tests even points to those being worse handled than regular packages.

 

Don't take my word on any of that though, I got my info from Cracked.com.

[DildorTheDecent]

Realistically it'll probably only work with smaller packages with certain properties in regards of weight and shape.

The thing about "fragile" stickers is that every package have a "fragile" sticker on it, so it sure as hell isn't going to be treated like a special snowflake you think it is.

 

However, if you make it seem like a package that the workers REALLY don't want to get damaged, there's a bigger chance of better handling. There's no guarantee, but it sure as hell is better than "fragile", some tests even points to those being worse handled than regular packages.

 

Don't take my word on any of that though, I got my info from Cracked.com.

If i ever need to package too similar items on the same courier then i can test such a theory. Hopefully the recipient is cool though.