Ebay shipping- I am getting killed in costs

[peacefulgirl]

Hey all you Ebay sellers.... HELP !! I am doing this shipping thing WAY wrong ! I am just not charging enough, yet it seems the shipping price is too high already.

Can you guys help me get this right..please

ie. I sold a binder. It is regular size girls Lisa Frank 3 rind binder.
I charged 4.50 to ship it. It cost me 5.77 at the PO to ship it the cheapest way, with NO extras !! YIKES ! I boxed it in a box maybe 2 times the size of the binder.

Help, what the heck am I doing wrong ????


Thanks !!!!!! PG

 

[smt218]

Hi,
I had that same problem when i started selling on Ebay. I was undercharging and eating the cost. Remember now the post office charges by the zone. For example, from MA to CT, would be cheaper than say MA to California. I usually put in a shipping calculator now. Also, if you can, buy a postal scale, I think mine cost around $25, but it weighs only up to 5 pounds, so if your selling heavier items, might be better to purchase a better one. Also, I sometimes add a pound, because boxes can really make the weight go up.

Hope this helps.

Sonya

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You need to treat this as a business, which my wife and I do (I am her shipping department).

We have two scales; one is a postage scale from Office Depot which goes up to five pounds in 1/10 ounce incraments. The other is a kitchen scale which goes to eleven pounds. We weigh the items. We also know the weight of the various size boxes we use.

We have gone to www.usps.com and printed postage costs. You may not be aware that first class is 37¢ for the FIRST ounce and then 23¢ per addiitonal ounce up to 13 ounces, when you go to Priority Mail. PM is $3.85 for up to one pound. PM of more than one pound and Parcel Post both have rates that vary by BOTH weight and distance. They have a chart.

Go to http://postcalc.usps.gov/Zonecharts/ and enter the first three digits of your Zip Code, you will get a printable chart which gives the Zone Number for distances from your Zip Code to all other 3-digit Zip Codes.

We prepared a chart which gives weight and Zones up to five pounds. We figure in the actual postage, plus an amount which will cover the costs of shipping and packing materials. Defore we list any item, when know either an exact amount or a range for shipping, which we state as (for example) "$5.00 to $8.50 depending on distance from Zip Code 34747"

Likewise we can handle larger weights or overseas shipments by knowing the rates.

Hope this helps.

 

[CheapMom]

I think most new eBayers have made shipping mistakes. I sure did. I think of the money I lost as "educational expense." I learned the USPS rates really quickly and I am pretty good at estimating now. I use Priority Mail for the free boxes and the quick service.
Good luck.

 

[kfeuer]

Been there, done that! Here's what works for me--I bought an inexpensive (less then $5) kitchen scale at Walmart. Before I list something, I package it and weigh it. Then I use the shipping calculator feature when I list the auction and enter the weight. This allows buyers to enter their zip code and see exactly how much shipping will be. I only ship priority mail because it's easy for me to do (I love the ability to pay for the postage online and just drop the box off at the post office without having to wait in line).

 

[ncbyrne]

I don't mind paying the postage on most items, it's part of the business. However, when someone is selling a paper item (tickets, stamps, etc.) that will fit into a standard envelope for 37¢, and they charge $4-5 for "handling", I by-pass bidding on them even if I REALLY want it!

 

[vjc715]

On ebay - there are ALOT of great deals on postage scales on ebay! That is where we got our, and it works great!

What we did was weigh the item we are shipping out, in box and packaging materials and then use a zip code the furthest away from us. It's worked out wonderfully and it's been very fair for the buyer too! We also sometimes add .25-50cents extra per item for packaging materials/handlling. Due to our selling volume, we ship items in bubble envelopes, bubble wrap and buy boxes.

We have sold over 2200+ items and NEVER has someone complained about the shipping costs ;-)

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by peacefulgirl
I charged 4.50 to ship it. It cost me 5.77 at the PO to ship it the cheapest way

So why did you only charge $4.50 and how did you arrive at that number?

As stated, you should get a postal scale and weigh the item as it will be shipped. Then you charge the buyer your actual cost. There is no reason you should be taking a loss on postage.

Once you have the scale, you can use the post office calculator to determine cost of shipping. http://postcalc.usps.gov/

 

[jwfla422]

If you plan to sell more on EBAY a postage scale is a MUST!!! You can get one on EBAY for about $20-30 that will weigh up to 30 lbs!! WELL WORTH IT!! and a much better deal than the ones you can buy at Office Depot (that cost the same or more and only weigh up to 5-10 lbs)!!

It is an investment but you will make it up. There is nothing worse than losing money on shipping. Also keep in mind that if you send a binder with written material you can use the "media mail" rate. Make sure to read through the different ways to ship things. ALSO, I recommend shipping items more than 5 lbs either FEDEX Ground or UPS, it's cheaper. (if it's around 5 lbs it might be close to the same amount).

Once you get your scale, weigh the item in a box and enter that weight into EBAY's shipping calculator. It will give you exact costs for Parcel Post, Priority, Media mail (if app), etc. If it's under 13 oz. you can send it First class. It's a whole education, but don't underestimate. I usually add a 25 cent or so handling charge. Now there are some Ebay sellers that really inflate shipping which I don't think is right, but that's their choice (I won't buy from them).

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by jwfla422
I recommend shipping items more than 5 lbs either FEDEX Ground or UPS, it's cheaper.

Just my personal experience, but I've had horrendous experiences with UPS on multiple occasions when shipping fragile items. I'm quite certain they were extremely well packed - that's something I'm very careful about. Every single time, items were broken in transit and UPS is very difficult to get insurance money from. Only twice in 18 years I've had something damaged through the post office and both times the insurance claims were handled quickly and efficiently. So I refuse to use UPS for anything fragile. I'd rather pay the higher rates at the post office.

 

[Donna]

Originally posted by kfeuer
Been there, done that! Here's what works for me--I bought an inexpensive (less then $5) kitchen scale at Walmart. Before I list something, I package it and weigh it. Then I use the shipping calculator feature when I list the auction and enter the weight. This allows buyers to enter their zip code and see exactly how much shipping will be. I only ship priority mail because it's easy for me to do (I love the ability to pay for the postage online and just drop the box off at the post office without having to wait in line).

You can actually use any type of shipping service and print the label online. I print all my first class, parcel, priority, media, whatever is called for, on my printer. I used to take everything to my post office but the free pickup cannot be beat! I go online the night before and put in my number of boxes, i.e., 2 priority, 1 other and the next day it is picked up by the mail truck. Saves trips to the PO!