eBay

orangehound · ‎01-19-2018

With the upcoming USPS rate increases, I thought it might be a good idea for sellers to share their Tips, Tricks or other Wisdom you have for shaving off postage costs.

Here are the obvious ones:

Never buy postage at the counter. You should be using eBay shipping labels, PayPal, stamps.com, etc.
You can ship up to 15.9999 ounces via First Class Package rates if you buy on-line ... the max is 13 ounces at the counter.
For packages under a pound, Priority Mail and First Class Packages ship the same speed ... but Priority Mail will give you $50 or $100 insurance included (and free shipping supplies).
If it can fit in a flat rate envelope, it will ship ... it doesn't matter how bulky it might make the envelope (you cannot, however cut and re-engineer the material of the envelope.
Except at higher zones, it is rare that a medium or large flat rate box saves you money. But if it is over 2 pounds, you can benefit with a Regional A box ... if it is over 5 pounds, the Regional B box can help.
Padded polymailers are lighter than boxes, so use those if the item isn't vulnerable to handling.
Top rated sellers can get Commercial Plus rates if they buy their postage through eBay ... PayPal is Commercial Base (a few pennies more). I don't know about the other services such as Stamps.com.

Here might be some lesser known ideas.

Your small heavy box might fit inside a flat rate envelope, saving you some money.
Cutting the end flaps (or most of the end flaps) off a box can reduce a package by a couple of ounces - it might mean the difference between First Class and Priority, or keep you from going into the next pound.
If your item is in a box already, does it need to go in another box? Boxes add weight and may put you into the next pound. If you feel the package needs an outer shell, wrap the box in a poly mailer - shoe companies are now doing this (by the way, I've been taping down those flaps to conform the polymailer to the box, just in case the automated sensor systems might think my box is too big).
If you are concerned about the shipping rates to higher zones, set up some rate tables that eBay gave us in the 2017 Spring Seller Update. For example, you can give free shipping to nearby zones 1-5, but then add a $5 surcharge to zones 6-9.

Other ideas?

lja440 · ‎01-19-2018

Consider Cubic Foot pricing. Like the Regional Rate boxes it has a lower weight limit but no special box needed. Cubic Foot Postage has a weight limit of 20# and max size is .50 cubic foot (.50 cu/ft is around the same size as the Priority LFRB), the #4 box (7"x7"x6") can ship at the .20 cu/ft rate.

Only drawback is there are limited vendors that offer it like stamps.com

partial*eclipse · ‎01-19-2018

That's a really excellent overview! I'm going to bookmark it for reference, to share with the newbies who come here completely clueless with vague questions about "saving" or "cheapest method."

When the new rates come out on Sunday, this URL for Notice 123 (the official rates document) will update automatically so we can easily check which weight/zone combinations are the thresholds where it would make sense to switch over from regular Priority rates to a flat-rate box.

http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/notice123.pdf

green-night · ‎01-19-2018

For packages under a pound, Priority Mail and First Class Packages ship the same speed ... but Priority Mail will give you $50 or $100 insurance included (and free shipping supplies)

Priority Mail takes priority over first class packages if push comes to shove.