Lower priced items... best way to ship?
Summary: hopey discusses the challenges of shipping lightweight booklets via eBay, as the standard shipping rates can deter buyers. They explore options such as selling in lots, using First Class mail without tracking, and finding suitable categories for cheaper shipping methods. Other participants suggest bundling items, using specific eBay categories that allow for standard envelope shipping, and considering services like Veeqo or Pirate Ship for cost savings. Discussions emphasize balancing shipping costs with profit margins and highlight the importance of category selection to access more affordable shipping rates.
I have small, lightweight (under 4 ounces) booklets like vintage giveaway advertising cookbooks. I know there's collectors who would love them but to charge $5.97 (the average flat rate) when the Buy iI Now is only $6 or $7 seems like a "NO SALE" to me.
It's wonderful eBay has the eBay standard envelope rate with tracking for certain things like postcards, greeting cards, coins, stamps, etc. As a primarily postcard seller it has saved me many times. But what do others do about these little lightweight items which don't qualify for an eBay standard envelope?
I've even split the difference on shipping and charge $3 and eat the rest, but the profit margin is diminishing quickly. I suppose I could offer FREE shipping and raise my asking price... but I really don't want to do that.
I also offer standard First Class without tracking as an alternative. But that's risky for sellers. and the buyer has to agree to that method.
Thank you!
seattlesportstuff
·3 weeks agoPeople do not realize shipping is a service not part of the value of a product. Two different items.
hopey
OP3 weeks agoVery true.
onefootflipper
·3 weeks agoCollectibles:Paper:Other Paper Collectibles
This category has standard envelope enabled and meets the description of what you are selling. List in that category.
hopey
OP3 weeks agoSorry to be a pain but how do I know the Collectibles:Paper:Other Paper Collectibles will automatically have ESE enabled? When I get to the purchase shipping label section will it come up automatically? If the size and weight criteria are met. I don't want to get stuck for a lot extra. Thanks!
onefootflipper
·3 weeks agoIt is literally on the spreadsheet of enabled categories. If you don't believe me then list something there for 99 cents and have a friend buy it.
hopey
OP3 weeks agoYou are very patient with me! Thanks. I’m not sure I know what the “spreadsheet of enabled categories” is or where to find it. I’ve “only” been selling here since 1998! 😂
onefootflipper
·2 weeks agoSpreadsheet is here. https://ir.ebaystatic.com/pictures/aw/pics/sc/pdf/ebay-standard-envelope-eligible-list.xlsx
There is a link to it on the main ebay page about standard envelope.
hopey
OP2 weeks agoSo according to the spreadsheet you kindly sent if I had a 1970 small, 4-page booklet from Disneyland I would list it under this category… Patches, Decals, Stickers
Collectibles:Disneyana:Contemporary (1968-Now):Theme Park Souvenirs. Not Disneyana. Crazy!
What about this (and other 3 dimensional items listed under Patches…) Patches, Decals, Stickers
Toys & Hobbies:Vintage & Antique Toys:Play Sets. Does this mean a STICKER of a play set? Or this… Patches, Decals, Stickers
Collectibles:Banks, Registers & Vending:Vending Machines:Gumball.
Or this: Patches, Decals, Stickers
Clothing, Shoes & Accessories:Women:Women's Accessories:Hats
I’m very confused! And probably overthinking it! 😂
tools*
·2 weeks agoIt's unlikely that you'll be able to ship a hat in a #10 envelope, but you can always give it a try.
onefootflipper
·2 weeks agoIgnore the first column of the spreadsheet. It is not relevant, it is not part of the category path. Legal terms and conditions don't care about that column. It ONLY cares about which category is selected.
adamcartwright
·2 weeks agoThanks, onefoot.
onefootflipper
·3 weeks agoIf they meet the flexibility and weight standards of standard envelope then it is just a matter of listing them in a standard envelope category. The ONLY THINGS the actual legal terms and conditions of the program care about are the flexibility and weight of the envelope and the category it is listed in. It doesn't care what the items are, all that is from the help pages which are simply not correct when it comes to standard envelope.
There are a huge number of standard envelope enabled categories, I have never had a problem finding one to put anything in that could meet the envelope standards. Especially since the "Everything Else > Every Other Thing" category has standard envelope enabled.
duffy4444
·3 weeks agoThis ^ is your answer, IF (and I mean IF!) it meets the USPS flexibility, dimensions, and weight standards as mentioned.
I sell a LOT of items that I send out USPS First Class with either a stamp or two, or with a label from stamps dot com. It saves me bookoo bucks and allows me to make a handsome profit on smaller inexpensive items that qualify for USPS FC. I then mark the item as shipped in my Seller Hub.
The only drawback is that there is no tracking number, but in the thousands of such USPS FC shipments, I've only had three INRs that I had to refund - not a big deal at all in the great scheme of things.
Cheers, Duffy
hopey
OP3 weeks agothat's great! Thanks. I use Click and Ship USPS. But I'll look into stamps dot com. Good idea!
tools*
·2 weeks agostamps.com charges a monthly fee for what's free from other vendors. What you want to look into is pirateship.com
hopey
OP2 weeks agoI use pirate ship for personal shipping. They are nearly the same as eBay, I found about 3% lower on PS sometimes. But they only offer ground advantage, no small package rate, under 3oz.
tools*
·2 weeks agoOnly eBay offers envelope shipping with their pseudo tracking.
fm2000
·2 weeks agoPeople really overestimate the risk of non-tracked letter mail shipping. People who buy vintage cookbook booklets are a very safe demographic to sell to, fake INRs are going to be rare if ever. The savings are huge compared to GA, and even in some cases much cheaper than media mail.
It will prevent or hurt TRS status, unfortunately. (I really miss being TRS, but the savings of letter/flat shipping is far larger than the TRS fee discount. I wish eBay would give us a tracked LE/flat like Etsy has...)
hopey
OP2 weeks agoThank you.
I sell a lot of vintage postcards. Seems like a safe demographic. You’d be surprised, even with ESE how many times the cards don’t show up! But I agree, the advertising cookbook buyer is probably pretty safe. Sadly my Etsy sales are a fraction of what eBay brings. What is TRS?
hopey
OP3 weeks agoWow! thank you! this is terrific!
The only categories on the HELP page are: trading cards, currency and coins, postcards, stamps, patches, stickers, decals, greeting cards, and seeds. I've listed small travel brochures under postcards but felt odd doing that. I'll remember your suggestion! It's kind of exciting! OK, so I lead a dull life!
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 weeks ago · EditedBound printed matter postage. $4.05 for up to 1 ib on Veeqo.
Not insured. Not returned if undeliverable unless marked return service requested. Returns will arrive postage due.
Veeqo is a service of Amazon, to my knowledge Amazon is the only company allowed to sell BPM to sellers who do not have a BPM permit. Used it when I sold on AZ and have started to use it again recently because my orders for items like you are selling were getting expensive to ship.
Cheaper than media mail with no prohibition on advertising. Great for magazines and those recipe booklet.
Veeqo integrates with Ebay, importing orders and marking them shipped on entering the tracking number in Ebay. You pay with your credit card.
hopey
OP3 weeks agoThank you.
Interesting! Never heard of that service. I’ve compared Pirate Ship (which I use for my personal shipping) with eBay’s prices and sometimes PS is 3% less.
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 weeks agoVeeqo is not charging the rural surcharge on GA
kibble-net
·3 weeks agoWhy don't you let the buyers decide whether the shipping is worth it? After all, it is a cost for them to bear. If there's not enough profit left, then multi-item lots may work better. I wish you all the greatest success :)
hopey
OP3 weeks agoYou're very kind, thank you!
Yes, I agree, let the buyer decide. I guess I have to remember why I do this in the first place... to find new homes for a lot of my collections! So with that in mind, profit isn't the only consideration.
In the "olde" days, USPS had a little green form you could buy for added tracking on First Class. It was around 50¢!
18704d
·3 weeks ago · EditedHow about bundling several of them together into one listing?
Like 3 or 4 little such 'cookbooks', perhaps by topic such as outside grilling, or baked goods, etc.
Charge $15.00 or more and then the shipping cost doesn't destroy all profits.
hopey
OP3 weeks agoI do make "lots". But some of the little booklets are stand-alones. And not everyone wants a bunch especially if they're trying to fill in a collection.
It's become such a strategic game!!! Used to be so easy back when I stared in 1998!
It was suggested to me to use a "postcard" category to qualify for the lower price shipping, but that seems illegal. Though I'm not sure people actually search by category. I know if I'm looking for something I just put in the keywords and use "all categories". Thanks for your suggestion.
fm2000
·2 weeks agoItems like that are hard to bundle, most people want a specific book or a book from a specific company or certain types of recipes. People often just say bundle items, but some items aren't suitable for bundling. Thankfully, letter mail shipping can be used for these items, so it is better to just sell then individually or 2-3 similar if under 13oz.