Occasional Seller? Beware of Shipping Reality

[acrumbacker]

Gone are the days of reasonable shipping.  I sold a an antique lamp that was fragile and required extra packing.  It didnt weigh a lot but was more bulky.  It was packed by our local UPS store.  Shipped from (near) Louisville, KY to Las Vegas.  The UPS air hub is in Louisville.

I used what I considered high rate of $60 for shipping.  The total turned out to be $128.  Ouch.

I am not whining; the fault is all mine and I should have somehow calculated that in a worse-case scenario.  I wanted to pass on to any infrequent sellers that you might end up taking a bath after expenses are deducted.

[stainlessenginecovers]

Using a UPS store you were paying for:

Box

Packing Materials

Labor

and RETAIL Pricing on the shipping.

The REAL moral of the story is: 

Get your own box and packing materials

Pack it yourself

Buy the label on ebay or other 'online' place. 

[slippinjimmy]

Just one of a few hundred things that occasional (actually all) sellers should be aware of.

[mam98031]

You will likely find that most sellers would agree with you, shipping is outrageous and getting even worse every few months.

Keep in mind that your shipping rate increased by having the UPS store package your item.  They do charge a fee for that.  So I'm unsure how much of that $128 was for their services and how much was the actual shipping.  Do you have a break down of that?

[simba6]

I always advise sellers have the box and packing before listing so they know the final size and weight of the package.  Shipping is high and over size is murder. 

[adkhighker]

The UPS Store is notorious for charging people 3 times the cost for what you could have done yourself by packing it yourself  and then dripping it off at a UPS retail center or a USPS post office. Unless you have money to burn, avoid the UPS Store if at all possible.

[blueapples_22]

Depending on how much selling you do, would be a good investment to buy a shipping scale, then you could know exactly what you're going to pay.  Also I would absolutely buy your own packing supplies and be on the hunt for boxes.  You'd be surprised, if you're looking for boxes they pop up everywhere.  Good Luck!

[fern*wood]

Guessing shipping on something big isn’t a good idea as you found out.  I always use calculated for stuff like that.

[evelyb30]

And they wonder why I used to mainly sell jewelry. For one thing, packing and shipping materials were cheaper and easier to keep on-hand.  I have major medical restrictions, so I maxed out at 5 pounds packed. A mail scale is a must.  Also have a letter scale if you're handling small items.  I also had a dram scale for close to exact metal weights as needed, but if you're not doing jewelry you don't need that. 

[baydealz]

yep, that is the biggest mistake.  UPS stores are franchises and they don't make much on UPS commission, it's all on the 'added value.'  You pay for that.  Preparing in advance is really tough, but it's really the only way. 

[baydealz]

I account for my net profit after shipping and fees.  People complain about fees but you can price away (charge appropriately) the shipping cost.  If fair, people should get it.  It's when you compete with competitors, like Chinese vendors, that you get burned.  'How can they ship a desk for $8'?????

I weigh, size and usually use ebay calculations.  But often don't get the box (dumpster dive) until after the sale if it's bigger, so I sometimes still get caught.

[hartungcards]

I always take a bath right after eBay deducts their FVFs from any sale I make, because it always makes me feel unclean.

[mam98031]

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@hartungcards wrote:

I always take a bath right after eBay deducts their FVFs from any sale I make, because it always makes me feel unclean.

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That is an odd remark.  You must have a heck of a water bill not to mention electricity for the hot water.

Ebay's rates are not the highest rates on similar sites nor is it the cheapest.  Each seller has to decide for themselves which sites are best for them.  It appears you have made such a choice.

[gloryglorygifts]

Personally, I've never found UPS to have reasonable shipping and I've used them all over the years. I guess you can chalk this up to a learning experience.

[farmalljr]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@hartungcards wrote:

I always take a bath right after eBay deducts their FVFs from any sale I make, because it always makes me feel unclean.

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That is an odd remark.  You must have a heck of a water bill not to mention electricity for the hot water.

Ebay's rates are not the highest rates on similar sites nor is it the cheapest.  Each seller has to decide for themselves which sites are best for them.  It appears you have made such a choice.

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I find it hilarious anymore when people whine about the fees. No, they are not cheap, but people have zero perspective. Auction house will charge you about 1/3 (33%) of the sale. Your audience will be much smaller. Your item WILL sell to the highest bidder, even if that bidder is "stealing" it. If you set a reserve, you will be paying the auctioneer whether it sells or not. 

eBay is half the price or more, of local auctions. eBay allows you to set a price and let your things hang out there for as long as you want. Overall, a much sweeter deal then any auction house I know of. We won't even get into a brick an mortar's costs. 

Yet people still want to act like eBay is robbing them blind. LOL. No perspective.