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Efficiently shipping rolled posters to make it worth selling them?
I have around 50+ 1970s 1980s posters to get rid of. Many years ago, I sorted out and sold the high value ones, ex Farrah, Heather Thomas, ect..
The ones I have now may have values of $15 to $30 each.
I'm trying to decide if it's worth my time selling these on ebay.
Looking for best way to ship these, (shipping tubes? If so, where to buy, and how much) and which is best affordable shipping service so they arrive safely.
Having to spend money on tubes, and/ or whatever, shipping supplies, coupled with cost of shipping the buyer ends up having to pay, I'm not sure it's really worth my time.
Any thoughts?
11 comments
kh-light
·7 months agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
caracy
·3 years agoDepending on their length, you can ship long items in square or rectangular boxes that are less then the infamous 22 inches if you lay your item from corner to opposite corner. A square box 21 inches square and 3 inches high has a diagonal of 29 inches and at that height is less than a cubic foot. Awkward as all hell? Yes. Post Office logic? Yup! But it works.
nobody*s_perfect
·3 years agoI wonder how much that 21x21x3-inch box weighs. Because if it bumps up your package weight from below 1 pound to above, then you have to ship via Priority Mail rather than First Class and there goes your $4 savings.
wastingtime101
·3 years agoIn addition, there will be a lot of void to fill otherwise the box will be easily crushed. If using the diagonal method you'd probably have to put the item in a tube mailer first which also impacts the weight. Then there's the expense of the larger box or the time to create a custom box. The diagonal method is right for some situations, but not the majority.
caracy
·3 years agoWell if you're like me, you've saved all those air pillows from Amazon, so filling the space is no problem. And if your item isn't really fragile, you can just tape several down on each side to keep it in place.
caracy
·3 years agoDepends where its going of course. And If the box weight only bumps it into priority from first class package, you can always cut the inside flaps down to save several ounces. I only picked the extreme measurements to see what the longest diagonal was.
nobody*s_perfect
·3 years agoAs noted in the other post, there's a $4 surcharge for packages with a length over 22 inches, and $15 for over 30 inches. Furthermore, there's a 22-inch limit on the length for purchasing First Class package postage online, though not at retail.
So for shipping posters with a package length over 22 inches, you can't avoid the $4 surcharge and you have to choose whether to ship via (1) First Class package, which means purchasing the box and also paying retail postage cost (about $4.80 - $6.10 depending on weight and distance); or (2) shipping via Priority Mail, in which case you pay the online postage rate ($7.09 - $10.48 for an eBay label) and can get a free triangular "tube" from USPS. Also, Priority Mail includes insurance, although lately it seems that USPS will pay up for lost packages but not for damages so pack carefully.
wad2keby
OP3 years agoIs there a selection when setting up the calculated shipping for the Triangular Priority mail shipping boxes like there are for other size boxes from post off e (ex large flat rate..) or would I just select Priority Mail and key in the size? Are the sur charges added in automatically for the buyer?
nobody*s_perfect
·3 years agoThe triangular "tubes" are not any special rate, so they are calculated as just basic Priority Mail. The surcharge ($4 or $15) is automatically added by eBay's shipping calculators (in listings, for labels, and the freestanding one) if you enter an accurate length dimension.
69heathery
·3 years agoYou could get these from the Post Office for free. But I suggest you set up calculated shipping correctly to make sure you don't underestimate shipping costs.
eleeper-half
·7 months agoJust a note: USPS has discontinued the Dual-Use Priority Mail/Priority Mail Express Medium Tube.
The small tube is still available.