Shipping Postcards Internationally

[antiquesnorthstar]

I don't know how active this group is and this is a first time posting here for me even though I have sold on ebay for years now.  

I am curious to know how other dealers are handling international sales since ths postal rates have sky rocketed with regards to bubble mailers.  As you know, tracking numbers are required or you'll lose a 'lost item' case and thus potentially end up giving a card away if you don't send in a mailer with tracking.  I use bubble mailers.   Unfortunately what used to cost as little as $1.65 to Canada or $3. in other countries, now ranges from $9-13.

On request, I have shipped SOME cards in just old greeting cards through First Class mail so the costs drops to around $4 or less.  But only on lower priced cards I'm not worried about.   

Still, I know my international sales have died due to automatic shipping calculations.    

IS their a way to set up an alternative shipping for less on certain items?  I have really avoided listing a lot of foreign cards because of this.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Tonia North
North Star Antiques

[mdes162nj]

I've had the same experience where a card that didn't sell at auction sold when switched to BIN.  I think there could be numerous reasons for example, the auction didn't last long enough for the right buyer to see it and some people don't like to wait for auctions to end, they want to purchase an item right away. 

Also, your point about changing categories is a very good one.  I've done it myself with good results.  I wish I had more time to go over every listing. 

I also agree about scanning the backs.  I don't think it's that much extra work and the backs can hold a lot of interest both for postcard collectors and philatelic buyers.  I sell both postcards and postal history, it pays to learn a little about postmarks and auxiliary markings

[antiquesnorthstar]

I am not aware of them having anything like this so it's a good idea. Why Bejing?

I've used their Global Shipping program for expensive and larger items shipped internationally. I think anything that reduces international shipping is a much needed program. I used to have good international sales.

[antiquesnorthstar]

I agree. I have done this on occasion also but I am currently paying some teenagers to scan for me so I haven't covered the parameters to do that. Most of the time I don't have the cards to bother with that. If I sell more of the international cards that may change.

[antiquesnorthstar]

Interesting perspective. I have scanned cards that have significant information but usually I simply identify all markings that I am aware of and series numbers as well if they are not already visible in the front scan. I simply make sure it is in the listing for search purposes. I sell a lot of cards because I have put the series number IN the listing, not just in a scan.

I think it also depends on what kind of cards you sell the most of. I sell a lot of state views. I also sell holiday and topicals but not as many of those. Those are the cards typically worth scanning the back sides of. But I've never found it a deterrent in sales to not have a scan of the back of say, an obvious Clapsaddle card.

[antiquesnorthstar]

I once sold a card that had "King Memorial Bridge" on it. It was signed by a "King" and I did scan the back of it. It sold to the Great-nephew of the woman who sent it and it was sent to another family member. Cool when that happens! 🙂 I wonder how often that is. 🙂

[antiquesnorthstar]

If you can't find a postcard club in your area, look online for one. Maybe on Facebook.

Auctions should have lower prices. But I agree with Mcdonnell below, they are DIFFERENT customers. I send a lot of inventory to auction and then when it's done I move it into my store. Sometimes I raise the price, sometimes I don't. depends on if it's a common card or not. No sense raising it if their are several listed. THAT is one of the keys there. I don't know why somebody would go through all the time to list a card and then NOT put it into a BIN stock? I sell more cards in BIN than auction! Auctions just feed my store sales. But EVERY seller has their own niche. I see sellers selling cards for $1 with free shipping. That's not me.

[antiquesnorthstar]

I ordered that size and am still waiting on an international sale to use them for that. VERY curious how this will go with my post office and using their international stamps. Fingers crossed I won't have any issues.

I used them for a few domestic shipments just to try a few out. I still use the higher postage for tracking on those. It's requirement for my ebay status. Handy size. Doesn't take up as much space as the bubble mailers and they're cheaper too. Now I'm curious about how well they protect. I HATE hearing about cards damaged in transit.

[spinach-eater]

Hi everyone. Another good place to source postcards is at postcard shows. I keep an eye on this website http://www.postal-history.com/showpage.html for shows near me. A lot of dealers have .25/.50 cent boxes that usually have some gems.

Also, I too use the 6 1/2"x4 1/2" cardboard mailers. I offer free shipping on almost all of my postcards. I have my mailing costs down to about $.44 per mailer. I'm selling about 600 postcards a month so I buy the cardboard mailers in 10k lots, so that's $.06 each and I buy first class forever stamps from other ebay sellers in bulk (2000 stamp lots) for about $.37 per stamp.

For international sales, I charge $2.50 and use the same cardboard mailer. Since international shipping only costs $1.20 (2 forever stamps and a $.22 extra ounce stamp), I consider the "extra" $1.30 as a kind of insurance against having to refund for lost international cards. I have about 20-30 cards a month that are shipped internationally.

[deltilogical]

If you can answer, what is your international failure rate, roughly? 

When I sold off a bunch of duplicates and extras last year, the one item I sent overseas apparently went astray. I felt bad but the buyer contacted me 8 months later. 

I did use commemoratives on the envelope and I can't help but think that may indicate to some parasites in the shipping stream (shippers, customs, post, etc)  that it might be worth a peak. 

[spinach-eater]

Knock on wood, but in the past year only 2 cards haven't shown up out of several hundred. I tell international buyers that it could take over 4 weeks to get to them. I always ask them to wait an extra week and then open a case if it doesn't show. They either just forget about it and don't want to open the case or the card finally shows up. Heck, I recently had a postcard take 21 days to go from Maryland to Florida.

[4166mcdonnell]

I can't remember ever losing a postcard going overseas - thankfully. The handful of problems I had over the years were with US addresses and even that number was miniscule.

Like you with the person who told you 8 months after the fact they had not received their postcard, I did have one overseas customer claim that he did not receive a bunch of beer coasters I had sent him 6 months earlier. (Postcards and beer coasters are my 2 biggest sales categories on eBay.) He never contacted me and went straight to eBay to claim non-delivery. He caused me to be put on hold with both eBay and PayPal. I immediately refunded everything to him, said nothing to him and blocked him from being able to buy any more from me. For a short while I even blocked his country from buying from me because I was so upset. (I have since unblocked that country and gotten some really great customers from there.) I had supplied him for over a year and always left glowing feedback for him.  I do not trust those who wait 6 to 8 months to claim non-receipt especially as Visa and Mastercard allows buyers in some countries up to 6 months to cancel previous purchases.  With him being the only overseas customer who burnt me this way in over 11 years here on eBay I have not changed my habit of dealing worldwide and consequently have a number of regular customers in a number of countries and a number of them are very aggressive bidders who regularly bring my selling prices up. Overall I am really happy with my overseas sales.

[kenandbetty]

I have been using that size rigid envelope for a few years now and all the International sales go with the International stamp.  I can get up to 4 postcards in the envelope using the same stamp.  Have not had one not make it, or needing extra postage.

I also have noticed that sometimes when my auction item doesn't sell, I switch it to BIN for a higher price and lo and behold it sells!  Go figure.  

Have had a great month (June) when I had two postcards sell for over $100 and 5 for over $20.   Sell about 220 cards a month.  With that in mind, have a hard time listing cards for BIN when the chance that I get more money with auction is there.  About 90% of my sales are from auction.  

Also, how long to keep BIN on for...GTC or 30 days.

[markomundo]

Hello everyone, decided to visit this forum for the first time in a long while. I'm glad to see that it is still active. This shipping and handling thing seems to come up a lot and so many sellers have a different approach.
Here are a couple of my thoughts on what I have read so far. I list everything first as a 7 day auction, starting at $2.50 with free shipping. I always like to let the potential buyer set the price they are willing to pay. I'm sure that many cards have under-sold (and many of have sold for much more than I would have thought) but I like to offer great deals to my customers, many of them return. Everyone likes to feel as though they got a bargain! Since I am also a shopper, I look for "free" shipping, anyone hear of A*az*n prime? I think the free shipping often makes a difference. If the auction item does not sell, I will re-list as a BIN, usually two months later. I let to keep things fresh. I do not re-list as a GTC since I like to maintain control over my listins and I do not like my customers to see the same items over and over. When I re-list as a BIN, i price it lower and I offer $1 buck shipping. This covers my cost and a little extra. I send the postcard in a very stiff thank you greeting card and I have had no problems, though there is no tracking info. A first class stamp is fine, I look for cool ones from the USPS web site. Currently I am using Star Trek stamps. I don't use the rigid mailers as often, only for sales of $15 or more. Always too much confusion at the post office with the mailers, letter or package, etc. Gotta go go now, just wanted to add a few cents worth to the conversation.

[antiquesnorthstar]

Thanks for your comment.  I am a larger volume seller and as such I have ebay 'standards' I have to maintain.  One of those standards is I am required to ship with a tracking number.   

So here are a few other things I've learned.  I CAN'T use a tracking number label (costs $2.61) in a flat envelope.  It can only be in a thick envelope.   I had a Post Office employee come to my store and work with me on this.  So the flat smaller firm mailers mentioned above, can't be used unless you make them thicker!   BUT, they work great for International.  A little more firm mailer, but I can use the international stamp for $1.20 on them.  International is a little different since you can't track those outside of the US.    Since I JUST started doing this I don't have enough feedback on their 'success' during mailing and 'lost' items at this point.  But I can see sales are picking up now that I have lowered my international shipping rates with these mailers.