"TO BUY, OR NOT TO BUY"

[THAT is the question]

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Money is usually the deciding factor on whether or not you are going to purchase another radio for the shack, or perhaps for the "Collection", and it used to be the price of the rig that kept you up at night, staring at the ceiling - wondering if it was worth the price...

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Today, it's not always the price of the rig that makes it a deciding factor, rather the shipping costs related to the rig. There are variables to this shipping price factor:

1. How accurate the sellar is on weight/box size etc.
2. Whether or not he just "Guessed" a price
3. Whether or not they have packing and handling fee's (you'll run across this when the seller takes it a UPS store or some place similar and at the price of the box, and packing materials to the shipping cost.
4. And of course, the one thing no one has control over - the price of gasoline. Shipping companies adjust their rates to the rise and fall of gasoline prices.

Sometimes you'll see a rig you've always wanted for a good price, but the shipping cost makes it prohibitive. And on occasion, the shipping charge will be more than the rig itself! I can think of several instances where I had to bite on the finger that presses the "ENTER" key, because the shipping rate was so absurb. This has to affect EBAY sales to a certain degree.....makes you wonder, with all that money to spend, and companies to buy, why they haven't bought a UPS or similar company.

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The US Post Office has a pretty good deal with their priority shipping, different sized boxes, and no matter how heavy the item is, if it fits in the box, the shipping cost is the same. Of course each size box has a different price, but nonetheless I've been able to save some money on shipping going that route. Now if only they can come up with a FedEx-like tracking system......

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The decision process going into "To-BUY-OR-NOT-TO-BUY" a rig can be physically and emotionally draining....Lying awake at night, trying to picture that rig in your shack....becoming so distracted by this process, you barely function at work (much less at the dinner table) because you've assigned the left side of your brain to work full time on this decision.

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I've been there, driving home from work with every billboard calling out to "BUY IT" "BUY IT"; Telling your boss that the quarterly report he wants won't be finished until 3 days, 24minutes, and (glancing at the ebay screen) THIRTEEN seconds;juggling the budget around so that you'll have the money (who cares if you have to eat grilled cheese sandwiches every day for a month...or two). Yep, there's nothing like being a radio operator, whether it's CB or HAM, we all suffer from the same afflictions....

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Woody

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