eBay

tanji10101 · ‎07-21-2017

I just started selling postcards in my store. Can anyone give me their thoughts on the best way to handle S&H. I am offering free S&H, and it pains me to pay $2.61 for a 1 ounce package. What works for you?

Many thanks!!

patch1040 · ‎07-21-2017

I ship all of my card in a hard sleeve. In the US I charge $1.50 for shipping. I figure it cost me about $.50 for the sleeve and two stamp for each card, that comes to about $1.49 each. Now for over seas shipping I charge $3.00 total. I been doing this for about 20 years Now and it seem to be a good system.

njrtsr · ‎07-21-2017

I offer free shipping as well and it's a great motivator for my buyers. That being said, the money you're paying for First Class shipping on low-value postcards will wreck your profit margin.

I ship out every postcard under $16 in a cardboard sleeve in a plain white envelope with a Forever stamp. My buyers hardly ever complain, and I mean like 1 in 500 will mention something about that. Postcard buyers are absolutely some of the best on ebay! The important thing is to mail the packages off quickly, since postcard buyers tend to ask about tracking only after a week or more has gone by without the package turning up. Postcard buyers also won't open fraudlent "item not received" cases as a scam.

And don't worry about losing the "Top Rated" seller status. Buyers don't really care about that and the money you save by going to stamps will make up for the discount many times over. If you sell a $10 postcard, your TRS discount will be 10 CENTS, but if you forego the TRS discount and use a Forever stamp, you will save 2 DOLLARS. That's 20x the savings!

Switching to Forever stamps has been, without a doubt, the best business decision I've made regarding shipping.

njrtsr · ‎07-21-2017

The problem with charging $1.50 for shipping is that most buyers will factor that right into the total sale price. So a seller can't just add $1.50 to all of their cards without experiencing a loss of sales, since they just effectively upped their prices.

spinach-eater · ‎07-21-2017

I totally agree, I ship my postcards for free using the cardboard mailers. I buy these http://www.ebay.com/itm/5000-6-5-x-4-5-SELF-SEAL-RIGID-PHOTO-STAY-FLATS-CARDBOARD-ENVELOPE-MAILERS/3... and I also buy my forever stamps on ebay which I can usually get about $.10 lower than at the USPS. I will "eat" the cost of shipping with tracking for postcards that sell for more than $25.

kenandbetty · ‎07-21-2017

I have been selling postcards for quite a few years. Place them in clear soft sleeve then ship them in rigid cardboard mailers. I use a 2 oz stamp - 70 cents. I charge $1.70 shipping/handling and have never had a complaint. I raised it from $1.50 about 6 months ago and have not seen it affect my sales any. I sell over 200 postcards a month. I get 500 envelopes for $39.00 and can enclose up to 6 postcards for the same 2 oz. stamp. This is what has been working for me.