Shipping prices

[Justice70]

I am just thinking about trying to sell on eBay and the only thing I have questions about before I start is the shipping prices. How do you guys know how much to put as a shipping price? I see most experienced eBayers recommend getting a scale. That will give me the weight of the item but then what? I plan on being a very low volume seller, maybe list 3 items a month or so. Any insight would be appreciated. I read the ebay book that Dan sent me but it did not go over these questions.

 

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[GibH]

You need to know the weight and dimensions. You can either use Ebay's shipping calculator, or go to USPS/UPS/FedEx and get an estimate. Rember too that ebay and paypal also charge fees on the shipping cost.

 

[Paleo_joe]

I am just thinking about trying to sell on eBay and the only thing I have questions about before I start is the shipping prices. How do you guys know how much to put as a shipping price? I see most experienced eBayers recommend getting a scale. That will give me the weight of the item but then what? I plan on being a very low volume seller, maybe list 3 items a month or so. Any insight would be appreciated. I read the ebay book that Dan sent me but it did not go over these questions.

Dumpster dive or otherwise go ahead and get boxes the items will fit in. That gives you the dimensions. Then weigh the item in the box and add an allowance (4 oz or so) for the packing material. Use the shipping calculator on ebay. It's easier than the USPS version.

Shipping costs are a pain at first but it gets easier.

 

[Justice70]

Thanks guys for the insight. I will try the ebay shipping calculator and avoid shipping overseas or to Alaska or Hawaii, at least to start with.

 

[Ursus]

No problems with shipping to AK or HI. The calculator will take care of the postage when the buyer checks out. Same with overseas, but that is another set of issues that seems a tad scary at first, but it is ok. The first two overseas I shipped to was France and Germany. The local post office made sure I did all the steps correctly and, after that, felt rather confident in opening up myself to the global market.

If you have large packages, make sure you put the dimensions in the calculator. Got burned that way once with a bulky package. Ate into my profit to ship it and no one likes to do that!

 

[Atlanta Mi Dave]

We bought scales on eBay that are dirt cheap with free shipping and are within 1/10 of an ounce as the post office scale. We prefer not to use the eBay Calculator.

 

[Justice70]

]No problems with shipping to AK or HI. The calculator will take care of the postage when the buyer checks out.

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is what price to put as far as shipping in the ad? I don't know where the item is going before it sells, so how do I know what to put in the shipping charges area?

 

[cheese]

You don't. You put the weight and dimensions in when you make the listing and ebay shows potential buyers what actual shipping will be to their area.

 

[clovis97]

Very, very good advice given so far.

Once you get the ebay shipping calculator figured out (which is crazy easy), you'll want to start looking into the flat rate deals that the post office has.

For instance, if you have a light weight jacket, it will easily fit into a flat rate bubble envelope for $5.25, which is far better than sticking it into a medium flat rate for $12. This is one BIG mistake that I see new ebayer sellers make. These new sellers fixate themselves on "gotta use a large flat rate on that one", with no other options at all. KWIM?

All in all, I've found that for the best sales, you really need to focus on getting the shipping as reasonable as possible. Becoming knowledgeable on the best way to ship something will pay off in spades.

 

[diggummup]

Also, you have to take into account that the shipping calculator does not add the 10% that ebay takes from your shipping charges. If you use the shipping calculator you better round your item up to the next pound or you will be paying part of the shipping costs out of your pocket/profits. Paleo Joe is right. Shipping is a pain in the butt when you first start but it gets much easier once you've been at it a while. I don't even weigh most of my items anymore before I make my listings. I just throw out a flat rate for everyone or offer free shipping and incorporate the cost into my listing price. Here is the USPS link for all shipping rates, this is what I use when I need to know how much something will actually cost me to ship- DMM Notice 123 Price List

 

[Paleo_joe]

I've only ever used the ebay shipping calculator to make an estimate UP FRONT of what the shipping costs would be for various cities, and then I figure out a single shipping cost for the nation. I lose a little bit to CA and NY, but I make up for it with the midwest where I am.

I don't trust that ebay calculator to figure the cheapest shipping for my buyers AFTER the auction closes.

Remember that since ebay is taking 10% of the gross, the more shipping costs, the more they make. They have an incentive to calculate your buyer's shipping costs as high as possible.

 

[mendoAu]

I have been a buyer on ebay for a very long time, never had a package lost in shipping (received over 100 packages) but just awhile back decided to be a seller of grams of placer gold....things were going along well for the first twenty grams or so. I had it listed with free shipping and a trust in the buyer. Just slipped those vials in a padded envelope and mailed them "cheap". Well of course one customer said he never received it. No longer sell gold on ebay after figuring out that in the long run it wasn't worth it and sell to a few select clients now. If you do sell....step up to the plate and insure anything of value.

 

[cyberdan]

I've only ever used the ebay shipping calculator to make an estimate UP FRONT of what the shipping costs would be for various cities, and then I figure out a single shipping cost for the nation. I lose a little bit to CA and NY, but I make up for it with the midwest where I am.

I weigh the item and round it up to the next pound and then add a pound. (4.5 lb = 5 lb = 6 lb) and then I add $1.00 to $1.50 S&H fee. All that takes care of packaging and the extra fees. Sometimes I even make a little on the shipping.

 

[Justice70]

I am beginning to believe a few of you when you said that shipping is a pain in the beginning as I see conflicting ideas as to how to handle it. I guess my first order of business is to get a good scale. I think I will offer free shipping and just incorporate the cost into the price. It sounds easier, at first anyway. Any suggestions on scales?

 

[2ndisbest]

I am beginning to believe a few of you when you said that shipping is a pain in the beginning as I see conflicting ideas as to how to handle it. I guess my first order of business is to get a good scale. I think I will offer free shipping and just incorporate the cost into the price. It sounds easier, at first anyway. Any suggestions on scales?

I have a smaller food scale, basically goes up to 15 pounds. Also make sure it has a hold feature or the digital readout is removable from the scale. Large boxes tend to block the digital readout so the hold function is a must. If anything weighs over 15 pounds I have to do the jump on a bathroom scale with package and without. Then always add another pound when doing my shipping calculations as my bathroom scale can be off by a few pounds at times.

I tried to buy a shipping scale that could do both (400 pound capacity) but what I found was for lower weights it was completely off most times, especially for 1st class items (under 13 ounces).

Also you should definitely look into USPS regional boxes. You can only get them online but they are free. They are slightly smaller than the medium size priority flat rate boxes but a lot cheaper to ship stuff in them.

 

[Oregon Viking]

I almost always use Flat rate boxes. 50 dollars , I think insurance included. If it fits it ships. Print the labels right from Ebay, takes it right out of your Paypal account. I found that about 20 magazines fit perfectly in a medium flat rate box.