How to transport a small heavy side table from long island to ca

November 1, 2019 10:23 AM

I bought a small side table on ebay. It is quite small but heavy- at least 60lbs. I'm trying to figure out how to get it shipped to California. The seller doesn't want to take it to greyhound or ups for me and I dont know anyone in Long Island. Help/advice?

I've already tried uship, the quote I got appears to be three times the cost of greyhound freight.

posted by arnicae to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

You could post to jobs.mefi, fiverr, or another service to have someone take it to Greyhound.
posted by theora55 at 10:34 AM on November 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

Came to say what theora55 did, but also maybe TaskRabbit
posted by TravellingCari at 10:46 AM on November 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

if they can do the packing, you can just schedule a UPS pickup from their location
posted by Dr. Twist at 11:00 AM on November 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

I could be mistaken but if the seller didn't put on local pickup only they are obligated to get it to you. If that is the case you can use that to some degree as leverage wrt feedback and such.
posted by Ferreous at 3:14 PM on November 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

I would try uship again, the quotes I get from there vary wildly.
Also, the one time I had a taskrabbiter pick up and pack and then drop off a package at a UPS for shipping, he did such a poor job of packing (even after I tried to talk him through packing it remotely, he chose to ignore half of it) the item was broken in delivery. You cannot underestimate peoples lack of experience and common sense in these types of things.
Also, some of the greyhound shipping locations also offer pickup, check the greyhound shipping website for location closest to the seller to see if that particular location offers it. Again, the seller would still have to bubble wrap/pack it for you.
posted by newpotato at 3:12 AM on November 2, 2019