postage scales

[lorelei-lei]

Greetings,

I saw this for sale;  "USB 60# My Weigh UltraShip U2 Digital Postal Scale +AC U-2 Shipping Postage

 Output Weight To PAYPAL_USPS_FEDEX_UPS Software & Sites"

Is it a great idea, or necessary, to have a postage scale that "Outputs Weight To PAYPAL_USPS_FEDEX_UPS Software & Sites",

and what does that mean ?  

I'm planning to use EBAY'S postage system. I'll print postage directly from EBAY {I've heard that's helpful in more ways than one}  so, I guess having a postage scale that "outputs" to paypal,usps and so on, is not really necessary if I'm printing from EBAY ?  Or is it, ?

I have brain freeze from trying to catch up on all the changes in selling on EBAY since I was a seller years ago. I'm going to start selling again soon, and now am asking probably fairly dumb questions -

thanks in advance for any replies,

🙂

[miami18miami]

Being that you will be using E-bay for printing your postage, if anything you probably should look for a scale, that just weighs the mail, but dosen't  actually print the postage (although in any case I believe you need an account like from Pitney Bowes  associated with the machine to print postage). A scale that just weighs the mail will still help you in terms of knowing the correct weight to post before printing your postage on E-bay.

[miami18miami]

Just a follow up, it's probably a machine that a scale that you plug in to your computer and you can connect it to shipping carriers ie USPS, UPS, Fedex etc... and it automatically figures out the postage based on the weight, which you then purchase somewhere else.

Be that as it may, in your case you're probably best, if anything, with a standard scale that you can purchase to know the correct amount of postage needed. 

[partial*eclipse]

That output feature would be completely useless for an eBay seller who purchases their postage through eBay.  

Not only would it be of no use when purchasing an eBay label, but most sellers need to know the packed weight of their item before they list it; not when they're ready to ship it.

Also, 60-pound capacity is far more than most sellers would ever use.  I purchased a MyWeigh scale, but  with a 35-pound  capacity because I figured I'd never sell anything that was too heavy for me to lift!    I've been pleased with it for over 10 years.

[sam9876]

Ummmm...

Weigh the package.

Enter the weight into eBay's form.

Print label.

Ship.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

You don't need a fancy digital scale, and most stuff sold on eBay weighs well under 60 lbs.  You do have to specify a weight when you create a listing, but down to a tenth of an ounce is not necessary.

Personally, I use a 1950s kitchen scale (up to 25 lbs.) and a 1974 desktop postal scale (up to 2 lbs.) -- the great thing is that I don't need electricity to use them!

I bought the kitchen scale in 1989 for $12 and it is totally reliable.  Most of my outgoing packages weigh less than 10 lbs., but I have also used the scale to check the weight of carry-on luggage before traveling.

~~C~~

[sam9876]

Are your scales accurate to 0.1 ounces?

[lorelei-lei]

No thanks, but I appreciate the reply. Digital scales are the best for accuracy and are easier to read. I'm only interested in those.

[lorelei-lei]

Thank you for clarifying that I don't need any oputput features.  I didn't know the item needed to be weighed first either, so thank you.  I'll look at the scale you mentioned.  

I know I'd like a digital scale that has a detachable face / read out. That way if the box is big enough to go past the edges of the scale you can still read the weight. 

[lorelei-lei]

Thanks for the reply.

[electrola_man]

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@lorelei-lei wrote:

Thank you for clarifying that I don't need any oputput features.  I didn't know the item needed to be weighed first either, so thank you.  I'll look at the scale you mentioned.  

I know I'd like a digital scale that has a detachable face / read out. That way if the box is big enough to go past the edges of the scale you can still read the weight. 

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Regarding the detachable face, be aware that  many digital scales have a button that can be pressed that locks the value on the display, so a large box can be lifted off and the value will still be there to read.  I learned that after doing silly things like setting pop cans on the scale and zeroing it out, then balancing the box on them so I could read the display.  I saw a button on the side of my scale and wondered what it did, and found it to be useful.  My scale was bought for $20 at a thrift store, and has capacity to 55 pounds.  Over 90% of what I sell results in packages of less than 10 pounds.  It reads almost exactly what the scales at the Post Office say, so even if a box comes out to 1 pound 15.4 ounces, I'll confidently buy the 2 pound label.

[lja440]

I've had my Ultraship 35 for over 10 years and have been more than pleased with it.

I do sometimes ship heavier packages but these are lots so it's easy to weigh the box with part of the lot then weigh the rest and add. 

[readabouthorses]

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@lja440 wrote:

I've had my Ultraship 35 for over 10 years and have been more than pleased with it.

I do sometimes ship heavier packages but these are lots so it's easy to weigh the box with part of the lot then weigh the rest and add. 

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I have that scale as well and it is a really great buy. Got it here on Ebay. I do believe mine has a Hold button you can use if your package is large. I wasn't sure when I got this scale how well it would work or hold up because the price was so reasonable but I've had no problems with it.