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Garage Swap Etiquette--Please Read Before Posting

Philpug

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Helpful tips for listing items for sale

The more information, the better. Consider that your item will come up in Google searches and that many times the person looking for the item is not fully informed, which is why they are looking used.

Make sure you include…

For Everything
  • Detailed description; do not hesitate to use our reviews or manufacturer blurbs.
  • Photos of actual product; again, the more, the better.
  • Disclosure of flaws; no one likes surprises; pictures and descriptions help here, too.
Skis
  • Size, include length and dimensions
  • Number of times drilled and for what boot sole length (BSL)
  • If previously mounted, description of binding and BSL
  • Condition of tune, description of edge bevel
Boots

We are not totally on board with buying or selling used boots, but it can be done.
  • Mondo size and boot sole length
  • Approximate number of days skied
  • Specific details about any and all work that was done on shells and liners
  • Liner size and type; if heat-moldable, number of times heated
  • Lots of photos, especially of sole and lugs
Bindings
  • Brake width
  • Any missing screws, damage, or wear
Clothing
  • Size and gender
  • Photos of stains or rips
  • Photos of wear areas like cuffs and sleeves
  • Good example HERE
Condition
  • "Brand new" means just that, unused; usually with tags.
  • "Like new" means visually it is like new, but has seen time on the hill.
  • Use your common sense past that.
Pricing
  • 1 year old: 40- 50% off of street pricing or MAP (consider that current year's product will be 40 to 50% off by March)
  • 2 years old: 50 to 60% off of MAP
  • Use discretion if older.
  • Feel free to ask suggestions or list as "make offer."
Shipping
  • State whether included in selling price or additional cost.
  • Be realistic; get an idea what shipping will cost first.
  • Clarify willingness to ship outside continental U.S.
Questionable Items/Sellers

I think there are three red flags here that we have to look for...
  • Images that have been reused.
  • Prices that are too good to be true
  • Multiple items posted in a short period of time.
  • If you have any doubt, please use a payment method that you have recourse. Do NOT use "Friends and Family" (see below).
If ANYONE sees this, please do a post report immediately.


Pricing Police and Other Etiquette
  • Telling someone that they are nuts because their price is too high in the thread is poor form; give advice on pricing via private message.
  • SkiTalk.com is a community, not Craigslist. People are comfortable buying from people they know and trust. Joining the site simply to sell items will not be successful because you are not established.
  • Payment using Paypal. By sending money as Friends and Family, you are waiving your rights for retribution if something goes wrong with transaction.
    • If you use your PayPal account to receive payments for the sale of goods or services or to receive donations, you must:
      • Pay any applicable fees for receiving the funds.
      • Do not ask your buyer to send you money using the “send money to a friend or family member.” If you do so, PayPal may remove your PayPal account’s ability to accept payments from friends or family members."
  • Do not include personal contact information (phone number or e-mail) in your post. Please use our private message feature for sharing personal contact information with a member.
  • Sharing the wealth: if your item sells on SkiTalk, a contribution back to the site is always appreciated (but not required).
 
Last edited:

Mendieta

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Great guidelines. Sorry for the silly question, but what's the usual payment form? Paypal? (I haven't used it in years). Thanks!
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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Great guidelines. Sorry for the silly question, but what's the usual payment form? Paypal? (I haven't used it in years). Thanks!
Great question. Paypal usually the preferred form of payment. Goats, chickens, magic beans and first borns are no longer acceptable currency.
 

SBrown

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Ok ... yes, gender, but let's not get carried away with stating the obvious here (as I'm picturing having to add a million things like "color" and "number of arms in jacket" and other things that photos will show).
 

coskigirl

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Agreed! Just thinking that if someone posts a pair of size large black pants it might not be obvious if that is a men's or women's large.
 

Erik Timmerman

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As a general rule, what does shipping skis cost these days? It's pretty expensive isn't it?
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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As a general rule, what does shipping skis cost these days? It's pretty expensive isn't it?
Shipping is running $50-60ish for skis/bindings.
 

Erik Timmerman

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How do people figure out what to charge for shipping? Obviously you want to be paid before you ship...
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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How do people figure out what to charge for shipping? Obviously you want to be paid before you ship...
You can go to USPS, Fed Ex or UPS to get calcuations.
 

jmeb

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Costs significantly different for shipped flat vs mounted with bindings. And of course weight. I recently shipped some flat skis for ~$25 using USPS.
 

Muleski

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I'll say, "It all depends." I have been just "hosed" on shipping as of late. First of all distance matters, greatly. I live in Boston. Shipping to Seattle is a lot different than shipping to Chicago, or Atlanta.

If I ship to a friends or family, I remove the bindings, and ship them in a USPS flat rate size medium box. Those are less than $15, to any destination.

@ScotsSkier taught me a trick a few years ago, in case you had no ski boxes, or small ones. Fed Ex, in particular has triangular shaped boxes for a gold club or two. Two make a perfect box of a pair of skis with no bindings attached. Depending on how wide, it might need some "finagling."

I seem to find UPS to be the most expensive, USPS quite a bit less, and FedEx about the same. I need to set up a business account with FedEx, as they seem to just gut their costs on that basis.

I've shipped skis and binding as over the past year for $50 in total, and for $90.

The $90 was when the buyer insisted that the bindings stay on the skis. Bigger box dimensions, more weight, more packing material.

On here, my future M.O. will be to price with a guess at shipping that will be firmed up based on location. Ohh..you live in rural Texas....
 

ScotsSkier

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Good points MS! . The Triangular Fedex boxes can also work with bindings, just wrap skis with some bubble wrap (and a layer of cardboard over the bases) and have skis top surface to top surface. This also helps keep box size down and, apart from the extra length charge, the FEDEX pricing is based on overall volume as well as weight. Lately I have been looking at $40sh for GS skis and bindings from NV to CO/ID/UT and $50ish for skis and bindings to MA
 

David

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Do we need to do anything special to set up PayPal here? I ve only used it on eBay.
 

Ktmdad

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Don't see a wat to edit my posted add. Am I missing something or is it not possible?

Thanks,
Jeff in MA
 

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