Sad, Sad, Story

[Kynan C.]

So, I found this great deal on eBay for a Windjammer I in great condition. I lay silent in the dark watching its views and bidders. It seemed that it wasn't getting much attention. No reserve, and shipping was listed at 25 bucks. This is an unusual shipping cost, considering how large they are. I have shipped them before and its around 75 to 100 dollars if you go direct. I figured maybe the fellow had a deal on shipping or something.

End of auction time came and I set a high bid limit and BOOM! It was over and I got it for 53 dollars and 25 for shipping. Needless to say I paid right away. The following day I get an eBay email from the seller that says he got it all packed up and went to ship it to discover that shipping was 211 dollars, so he refunded my money and cancelled the deal.

After receiving the email I immediately wrote back stating that we can find a shipping option and I would be happy to cover the shipping cost. I mentioned that Greyhound ships and we can get it shipped for pretty cheap.

Then I received this sad, sad eBay message.

"Unfortunately the fairing is gone. This weekend I hauled a truck load of fairings, windscreens, sissy bars, racks, and crash-bars off to the recycle center. It was all aftermarket 1970's stuff that I pulled off of bikes over the past 30 years and I couldn't hardly give away. I came to the realization that this stuff isn't worth much because it's aftermarket and the shipping costs make selling it prohibitive. I'm retired and just trying to get rid of stuff. Again, I'm sorry for any inconvenience."

I almost cried... Below are some pics of the now dead Windjammer I. How much other cool stuff is now lost forever.

 

[Alan 63]

Darn shipping costs, it's a shame in a way that the old accessories don't make it to someone that wants them.
Alan
And that windjammer looked awesome

 

[Larry Fine]

Well, that certainly creates a vacuum.

 

[brianinpa]

I just shed a tear!

 

[BeachedSquirrel]

Oh man. I wonder how many other Vetter items he sent out.

 

[Kynan C.]

I know, its a total bummer. Judging by the condition on this Windjammer, I am guessing that the rest of his stuff was in good condition also.

 

[Terraplane Tom]

Heartbreaking!

 

[Streetfools]

Similar thing almost happened to me. It was a spotless Windjammer SS with vetter sound included. $265 with free shipping. The next day I got an email from the seller stating that the shipping costs that he had figured were based off comparable listings on ebay, but in reality shipping was much more than that. UPS wanted over $200 to ship and Fedex wanted $150. I ended up giving him an extra $30 bucks to ease the shipping debacle. I was heartbroken when I thought I might not be getting it.

But hopefully all is well that ends well. My Windjammer will hopefully be arriving this Thursday unscathed.

 

[Kynan C.]

Congratulations on the purchase! The SS fairings are hard to find in good condition. I wish that the fellow had tried to work a deal before scrapping it. So sad to see these fairings destroyed. Maybe somebody at the salvage yard rescued it.

Welcome to the forum Streetfools!

 

[Dave Ireland]

The problem is also that some / most shipping companies deliberately make it more difficult to find the lowest rates on their sites, so many people just go with what they get told will be the cost by UPS, etc, when there's usually a much cheaper rate available for something bulky / non-urgent / non-valuable.
I even had a complete (with tyre, disc and drive flange) rear wheel shipped from Seattle to Ireland for $25 last year. It took ages, and went all over continental US before it finally got this side of the pond, landing in Hamburg before getting to Ireland via Birmingham, UK.
Being so cheap to send, the seller must have known the way into the system and how to get low rates - what it boiled down to, it was held back at each stage until there was free space available going in the right direction, which suited me.

 

[Scott-E]

So, I found this great deal on eBay for a Windjammer I in great condition. I lay silent in the dark watching its views and bidders. It seemed that it wasn't getting much attention. No reserve, and shipping was listed at 25 bucks. This is an unusual shipping cost, considering how large they are. I have shipped them before and its around 75 to 100 dollars if you go direct. I figured maybe the fellow had a deal on shipping or something.

End of auction time came and I set a high bid limit and BOOM! It was over and I got it for 53 dollars and 25 for shipping. Needless to say I paid right away. The following day I get an eBay email from the seller that says he got it all packed up and went to ship it to discover that shipping was 211 dollars, so he refunded my money and cancelled the deal.

After receiving the email I immediately wrote back stating that we can find a shipping option and I would be happy to cover the shipping cost. I mentioned that Greyhound ships and we can get it shipped for pretty cheap.

Then I received this sad, sad eBay message.

"Unfortunately the fairing is gone. This weekend I hauled a truck load of fairings, windscreens, sissy bars, racks, and crash-bars off to the recycle center. It was all aftermarket 1970's stuff that I pulled off of bikes over the past 30 years and I couldn't hardly give away. I came to the realization that this stuff isn't worth much because it's aftermarket and the shipping costs make selling it prohibitive. I'm retired and just trying to get rid of stuff. Again, I'm sorry for any inconvenience."

I almost cried... Below are some pics of the now dead Windjammer I. How much other cool stuff is now lost forever.

View attachment 1889 View attachment 1890 View attachment 1891

That's how I got my free Kawasaki Vetter Windjammer fairing. I got a call from a friend that runs a Motorcycle shop. He called me up and told me he was cleaning up and was going to haul a lot of stuff to the landfill. He told me I could have anything I wanted as long as I did all the work to retrieve what I wanted. I jumped in the truck and headed over to his shop. The first thing I took was that Kawasaki Vetter Fairing that was still attached to a KZT-30(A) frame. Here it is on my Honda VLX 600.

 

[Kynan C.]

Thats a story with a happy ending! and it looks great.