soom

Hi everyone,

So I'm visiting family in Sonoma County, CA and decided to ship my bicycle up. Due to the time constraint I did not take my bicycle with me on the plane which would of costed me $75. I would have had to get my own cardboard bicycle box and disassemble which is no problem... I figured a bicycle shop can ship it for around $100 bucks or so.

However the problem began when I called Moment Bicycles in San Diego and they confirmed over the phone it would cost $85 to pack and ship everything. Knowing that most bicycle shops reuse bicycle boxes and packing materials I figured okay I'm not in a rush so I don't mind it not going air or not. The box ended up 27 lbs inclusive of the box and not considered oversized either.

My girlfriend dropped off the bicycle and they charged her for $85 under the context that it was inclusive of shipping. At no point did they tell her that I would be charged a separate freight charge from the shipping label provider. They just told her that another associate would be in contact with me to provide dimensions so I would get a label off a 3rd party bicycle shipper. The shipper isnt necessarily the problem here in my eyes .. they're just merely the preferred vendor for a bicycle shipment.

My issue began when the associate called me and had me fill in the boxes for the label online and I am now on the hook for the shipment which is $82. I'm upset because they did not clarify this on the phone, in person or after the fact. Also they did not give me an option of choosing an alternative shipper (of which another highly rated service found via bikeforums totals to only $50 for the SAME exact service) and sent out the bicycle with the $82 shipping label.

I know that there is probably very little recourse at this point as the bicycle is already headed up to me but what gives? Should I hold the bicycle shop liable for their inability to properly communicate with staff regarding proper shipping charges/processes? Should I have my girlfriend reverse the charge on her credit card for them not delivering on what was verbally promised over phone/in person?

I got this lame email how $170 is a "normal" price when shipping bicycles... If I had known that they would of charged $85 for the disassembly I surely would not have gone through with it.

WalksOn2Wheels

I am fairly confident they did not tell you 85 bucks was inclusive of shipping, but that you assumed it. Either that or the person on the phone misspoke. Most shops charge 50 or more dollars to box a bike. It's not a 5 minute job, regardless of where the packaging is sourced. It takes at least 30+ minutes to properly tear a bike down and pack it so that you're confident it will survive shipment. Sometimes much longer if the bike is a pain for any reason (Tri bikes for example).

I would save the box and packing stuff and learn to box it yourself. Then go to bikeflights.com to order a shipping label. They're basically charging you a tiny fee to use their FedEx account, but you get much better pricing than you would be quoted for a single shipment at a FedEx store. Slap on the label and drop it off at any FedEx pickup spot. I think the last time I used it I was only charged maybe 40 bucks?

soom

I'm not new at this and that's the point. I already knew about Bikeflights and I was comparing it to that price. It's $50 there + insured for the same amount and while yes I'm sure its packed well they most definitely misspoke to me and my girlfriend. The associate on the phone line himself said this was his first time doing it when he called me back for the shipping label.

How is it that I called around 10:30 AM in the morning and when my girlfriend dropped it off physically in the afternoon (I was not with her) the Service Manager made no mention that shipping was a split charge. So perhaps it could be the same person who had misspoken or two different people.

rpenmanparker 

Break apart folding bike for the win.

soom

All in all I think it's a bitter pill to swallow as the cost is at least twice the amount I would've normally have paid. I tried to pay for the convenience but ended up paying for something I never wanted in the first place. Oh well .... lost heart for a LBS today

10 Wheels

Pay Up and quit your crying.

Shouda packed it yourself and took with you on the plane.

rms13

The last couple of complete bikes I've shipped via Bikeflights were around $20 and $30 to ship.

Bah Humbug

Hmm... when I asked my local shop it was $50 to pack the bike and ~$50 to ship, depending on where to.

WalksOn2Wheels

Not necessarily. The guy on the phone could have told you wrong, but as far as the person who took the bike at drop off, all he knew is that the bike was scheduled to be boxed for shipping. It's a routine enough occurrence that they don't have to spell out what the service does or does not include each time a conversation/dropoff/pickup/transaction happens. In my experience (have worked at a bike shop and handled these conversations before boxing bikes for customers) it's usually spelled out over the phone if the customer specifically asks something along the lines of "do you ship bikes?" That's a cue that the customer needs to be explicitly told that the service is for boxing only.

If they did indeed tell you wrong on the phone, that is a failing on their part and at their discretion to discount the service, etc. but either way it sounds like it's a done deal. Sometimes life gives us expensive lessons. I've had quite a few.

EDIT: also, after rereading your original post, it sounded like the only person who may have told you shipping was included (which they were wrong to do) never communicated this to anyone else. This is why the other employees didn't ever clarify or explicitly state anything because it's a routine service and unless a customer says "Hey, what about this?" they aren't going to give any details beyond what is usually required to complete the transaction on their end.

Think about it this way: you call a shop about an oil change and the guy mistakenly tells you that the service includes a new air filter. He's wrong and he never tells anyone else at the shop. You walk in, pay for the service and then go back to your car to find the air filter has not been replaced. Are you now upset with the person who rang up the service for not listing what was done in the service? Are you upset that the guy who did the service didn't tell you when you dropped it off that it included only the oil and filter service, but no air filter? See what I mean?

WalksOn2Wheels

Depends on the shop. It sounds like they were probably going to charge you based on their account rate. My shop would box the bikes, but hand it off to the customer because they didn't want to be liable for any shipping issues.

WhyFi

$85 dollars to disassemble, pack, "rent" the packing, and to ship would have set off alarm bells for me - that's too-good-to-be-true territory for me. They would have gotten tired of repeating the same basic question in variety of ways to double-check my triple-check. Also, the breakdown in communication between yourself, your gf and the shop reminds me of the time that my wife placed an order for 7 pizzas and there were 14 waiting for me when I picked them up - if you're not a part of the transaction, it's really hard to say exactly where the confusion arose.

Dan333SP

This sounds like Christmas to me.

WhyFi

Ha. Dat price, doe ($20+ each, kind of a fancy place). At least I was able to negotiate it down a bit. This was for my kid's 2nd bday party - many of the families that attended took home a whole pizza at the end of the day. Gave one to a neighbor that I saw on the street, too.

indyfabz

Yeah. $50 for that trip at that weight seems high unless he bought a hell of a lot of insurance. Last year I shipped my large LHT with racks in my plastic CrateWorks box from Philly to Rapid City. I overestimated the total weight at 60 lbs. With $1,400 of insurance and a $5 surcharge for pickup at a LBS I paid $47 for shipping.

soom

I insured for up to $2000 on both websites. The bicycle shop did not say I was allowed to use any other service. I was under the impression that the label was to be done online and I would have to email that label to the bicycle shop. Sure you could argue asking never hurts and I understand that for next time. Regardless i'll suck it up and the shop is taking 25% off the labor charge.. better than nothing.

PepeM

Now that sounds like Christmas.

Dan333SP

ProTip: When strangers offer you pizzas, always accept.

WhyFi

But potbellies?

Dan333SP

Pizza is mostly fruit and veggies, depending on your topping choice. It's health food.

NYMXer

What would the OP have us do, boycott that LBS until they ship for free? Look at it this way, they provided three services for you:
1.) accepted and professionally packed up your bike for shipping
2.) shipped your bike
3.) taught you to listen to details very carefully. Where I come from, thats called "paying for an education" and money well spent.

Next time you will know better and act with wisdom, not haste!

PepeM

Don't forget to bring them beer!

Luis G.

Pizza is delicious