Hi, let’s say you are interested on buying some specific canoe/kayak (used since it’s no longer in production) but most of the offers come from the opposite coast to where you are. What people does in general? Is it normal to buy “remotely”? Does it work well? I see that KAS transport probably is an alternative for shipping, but how to deal with the payment? Appreciate any recommendation about buying from far away, thanks!
I sold a car cross country
Don’t know if this will help, but here goes.
Sold a specialty vehicle from CAL to someone in Louisiana. I answered questions and sent lots of photos. They decided to buy, sent me deposit. I answered more questions, sent more photos. They sent me balance (electronic transfer). I sent them title and receipts via Fed Ex. They arranged shipping, I delivered vehicle to guy doing transport. Transaction completed.
In your case their is packaging, and no title, so there is more work on the part of seller, and less proof of ownership on buyers part during the ‘I’ve paid but I don’t have my boat’ time period.
I dont know what people do
in general but although I have bought from the other side of the country, I have met the seller somewhere in the middle or been travelling anyway and picked it up.
The conditions of sale are up to you and the seller…
I think you are asking what steps the buyer and seller should take about terms of sale when the boat has to be transported by freight, and who to use. I don’t have any experience with that.
Ask thebob.
KAS Transport - anyone dealt with them?
Anyone dealt with KAS transport? What’s your take?
Shipping canoe/kayak…
– Last Updated: Apr-28-11 5:30 PM EST –
Whatever you do; do NOT ship a boat by United Parcel Service.
When I did, my canoe was left sitting/not moving on a loading dock for 2 days, and reported to me by UPS as being "LOST"; as in they didn't know where it was? Tracking? What tracking? We don't need no stinkin' tracking!
When I asked the driver who delivered the canoe if he had the "rest of the story" he stated:
"Your boat was never lost; it was sitting on our loading dock with people walking around it for 2 days". "That's not that unusual".
"UPS does not like to mess with boats" was another comment I heard from "multiple" UPS employees.
The driver suggested that I open up the boat packaging & check the boat for damage in his presence, to assure the boat wasn't damaged.
The packaging was smashed & torn on the outside; the first 2 layers of bubble wrap & cardboard was shredded in places. Heavy items had obviously been stacked on top of it.
The boat survived without damage because "I" had the person who sold me the boat package it in additional layers of protection "after" they had finished packaging it.
UPS tried to charge me for home delivery.
The boat was not delivered to my home; I picked it up at the local UPS outlet.
The bill I was given was over "double" the amount quoted by the UPS "shipping agent" I made the shipping arrangements with.
I basically told them to kiss my ass.After further "negotiations" they settled for the amount that I was originally quoted.
I guesstimate that I spent approximately $30.00 for long distance phone charges & approximately 6 hours of my life, hassling with UPS trying to find my boat, and to pay the bill.
UPS Sucks!
BOB
FedEx Ground
…is cheaper and with fewer screwups than UPS, in my personal experience. Especially for big and/or heavy items.
Just try to avoid a scam
I buy and (once in a while) sell stuff using craigslist.org, and it always has a warning about non-local deals. For good reason, as I’ve talked to a few folks who have bought stuff that never arrives. It would be great if you knew someone who lived in the vicinity of the seller who could verify the reality.
shipping
I’ve shipped boats via Forward Air and Yellow Freight. Both worked out well.
Kocho you might have the most
pertinent answer IMO. I have not but have heard of happy people who used them. The trouble is…I forget who.
buying remotely
Remote is a risk. Enough said. Once you get the deal done, if shipping big, try Direct Air. For a whitewater boat, I’ve had excellent luck with Greyhound. Packaging is the key though either way.
SOTAR raft
I live in a pretty flat place, where no one, to my knowledge, rafts rivers. As such, I was surprised to see an “as new” SOTAR raft for only $500 in a city only two hours from me (they even had a picture, and explained that a frame was not included). I wrote, and got a response that the “item” was still available. I wrote back and said I was interested, and would drive down to see it/pick it up.
Wow! Who knew! Now the item was suddenly in a different city, in Quebec, 3000 miles away, but it could be shipped if I pay by UKash, which I gather is like PayPal, except that it is completely untraceable.
Some scams are more obvious than others, I suppose is my point.
Shipping kayak
Friends have reported good things about uship.com
It’s a website that independent truckers subscribe to in order to pick up additional income from a trip they are going to make anyway.
Listing on their site is free.
The site asked you to list what you have to ship, where it is located and where it has to end up.
The individual truckers determine if it is anywhere near where they are headed, then call you direct to quote a price and when they could pick it up and deliver it.
Most of the damage done to boats being shipped is because the large companies pick it up, drop it a hub, and transfer it to more trucks. There are lots of faceless people handling it all along the way.
If you are lucky, the uship trucker will be the only one who loads and delivers the boat.
I have seen posts where people were shipping everything from dogs to kayaks.
Thanks for the tip!
I signed-up to see what that gets me…
KAS
How quick are they to return a email to you ? and what are your fealings of shipping with them ? are they on time and will the driver call to let you know times ?
Have not yet shipped with them …
… but e-mailed them several days ago. No response. Was able to get them on the phone and they could not really tall when and for how much. I guess they are trying to see who’s available when (in terms of requested shippings and their trucks), then provide an estimate.
Will see if they come through soon enough or not.
I’m hoping to “catch” someone who’s driving from FL to MD anyway, so that price will be low ($100-$150 max). I can’t justify a high shipping cost - might as well buy locally a new boat if I overpay on shipping…