How do you ship large heavy items at a reasonable rate?

[upcycleliving_doherty25]

Hi everyone,

I have a large item listed that will be about 30 lbs once it's packed.  The package size will be at least 40x35x35 in. The shipping on this item is so expensive that no one wants to buy it.  I also have local pickup available but I never seem to get any sales that way. 

Recently I purchased an item that was about 30 lbs and bigger then the one I have.  The seller was able to offer free shipping and the sale price was below what it would have cost me to sell it.  What is the secret?  I messaged the seller to ask but they never got back to me.  I would be so grateful to know how people are getting these big heavy items shipped at a price that buyers are still willing to pay.

Thank you for any help you can give. All the best and happy selling!

Devin

[wooden_flower]

Is this the china?  You have a quantity of 6 available, so your shipping price should be for each place setting.   It should not cost (roughly) $80 per place setting to ship.  Is it possible you have the weight for all 6 in there?

I would not ship all 6 place settings in 1 box, if someone buys all 6.  Split the shipment into multiple boxes.

You do want to put the box(es) inside another box with some good packing materials - heavy craft paper type packing works great for a box inside of a box.

eBay doesn't handle multiple box shipping accurately, but you can add a handling charge to make up for the difference between 1 big box and 2 smaller boxes.

[upcycleliving_doherty25]

Thank you, I'm Alabama.  I'll look into the Lenox listing.  Do you ship any larger items?  For instance the Ninja Foodi I'm selling needs a very large box and weighs a ton.  I just bought an item like this from an eBay seller who obviously was able to ship it for a lot less the I could but I can't figure out how.

[disneyshopper]

Some sellers will list a cheaper shipping cost and increase the item price, but what is important is the total price.

[upcycleliving_doherty25]

Thank you.  Yes sometimes I do that too.  By my calculations the total cost of the item I bought was $50 less then what I would have had to pay to ship it.  I know the seller didn't take a loss on the item so there must be some more affordable way to ship.  Any ideas?

[wooden_flower]

Have you tried looking at ups rates?  They are often less than usps on large or heavy items, as long as you offer the discounted rate to your buyer.  Parcel select is already the discounted rate, so no change is needed there, but if you want to offer the ups discounted rates, change the setting here under offer carrier specific discounts -

https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf

Also check out the ups rates at www.pirateship.com - I have read they are better than the eBay rates. The account at pirateship is free.   If you buy your label outside of eBay, be sure to add the tracking into eBay manually. 

I have sold and will be selling a number of woodworking tools - the ones where the shipping is a significant % of the item I only offer local pickup.  It takes longer to sell, but the wait is worth the hassle-free sale 🙂