Advice on shipping

[rwbdigital]

Hello.  I was going to start with Amazon but am reconsidering and leaning towards ebay to sell my product, which means I'll need to manage my own shipping to the customer.  I have 0 experience.  I am looking for some advice on how to ship my goods.   I will need to ship a package of fabric that can easily fit 10" X 10" soft package and weighs ~1.1 lbs, within the U.S..  FedEx seems like the most reliable but also most expensive... can anyone offer any suggestions on what carrier to use, and how to package for most cost effective shipping? The fabric will be within a private label poly bag, that will go in either a shipping envelope or box. 

I would like to use my own shipping packaging, if possible, but I don't know what's best.  If I use the express packaging of FedEx, for example, I'll need to buy FedEx boxes (vs using my own box or envelope), which I'd like to avoid, but if it makes more sense, then I'd do it. 

Any advice would be really appreciated.  Thanks in advance.  -Rob

[dirk12955]

How about a flat rate envelope from USPS?    They're no cost from the PO 

and can go just about anywhere in the USA for less than $10.00

Then again,  might not be big enough for 10 X 10  

[mam98031]

Any particular reason you want to Ship FedEx?  USPS Ground advantage is likely less expensive.

[rosszonebricks]

Get yourself a postal scale.   Even the good ones are around $20.   Accurate weight size (and dimensions) are the #1 tip for avoiding any surprises when purchasing shipping labels.

It sounds like with packages of fabric, you may not need to ship in boxes at all.   You could just put in a generic polybag, which are extremely inexpensive.

USPS Ground Advantage (formerly First Class Package) sounds like it would be the most economical, and easy to use with eBay selling.

[lakefor94]

On a different angle, what is the cost of the product? 

Many sellers ship with bags. I don't.  I always use a box because bags tend to get beat up, can be torn up and generally look like a dusty, dirty presentation to the buyer when delivered.  

If you care about your product and want a decent presentation to the buyer, use a box.

If a box is not in the budget,  toss it in a bag.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

FEDEX express is probably too expensive and not what it once was, now that its operations have been merged with FEDEX Ground/Home.

For an item this size, your initial inclination to go with Amazon FBA might be the right answer. Amazon can ship for less than you would pay for Ground Advantage or FEDEX ground, and you would need no labor or order packaging supplies.

Get out your spread sheet and compare your costs for three alternatives, averaging your zone one and zone 8 costs.

Since you have not told us what this product is for, we can't comment on the appropriateness of the sites. But today's earnings announcement from Ebay was no encouraging.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Like the others, I recommend USPS Ground Advantage; I can't imagine why you'd prefer FedEx.  Ground Advantage is especially economical if you can get the package weight below 1 pound, but even at higher weights it's a much better value than FedEx.  

For weights over 1 pound, you might find that a USPS Priority Mail flat rate envelope is cheaper than Ground Advantage, depending on distance and exact weight.

[dbfolks166mt · Accepted solution]

     Shipping can be one of the more complex issues for a seller to address given all the options. For other than flat rate packages/boxes the costs are based on package size, weight and distance shipped and it is an important factor for the buyers as well. At some point depending on the package it becomes cheaper to ship UPS than it is for USPS but for what you are selling USPS is probably your best shipping option. 

     Since you are just starting it is probably best if you utilize calculated shipping on your listings and make sure the package dims and weight are correct. Once you get an idea of your average shipping costs you can factor that into your price and use free shipping if you wish. NOTE: EBay applies the FVF's to the total cost of the item which includes shipping and sales tax. 

     NEVER purchase your shipping labels directly from the PO as you will pay full retail unless you have an agreement with USPS. Most sellers probably purchase their labels through eBay but I tend to utilize Pirate Ship which has the same discounted rates as eBay and has a couple of shipping classes that eBay does not offer primarily ground advantage cubic and priority mail cubic. I also purchase those labels using a cash back rewards CC, which further reduces my shipping costs, and simply upload the tracking information from Pirate Ship to the eBay order. 

     USPS flat rate envelopes or padded flat rate envelopes may also be an option for what you are shipping and could potentially be cheaper than the ground advantage. You can also list multiple shipping options in your listing so the buyer has options to choose from. They will see the costs for the different options you offer. 

[rwbdigital]

I was thinking reliability.  I will likely go with USPS. Thank you!

[rwbdigital]

Good point and something to consider. Thank you.

[mam98031]

---

@rwbdigital wrote:

I was thinking reliability.  I will likely go with USPS. Thank you!

---

I have exclusively used USPS for my entire selling career, while there are issues from time to time, the vast majority of transactions go off without a hitch.  

[rwbdigital]

I did think about this, and have run some rough numbers. And I'm still thinking about it.  Not good on ebay earnings and will have to also consider that... lots of news on it.  Amazon seems to be fine and still an option.  Thank you for the feedback.

[farmalljr]

---

@rwbdigital wrote:

I did think about this, and have run some rough numbers. And I'm still thinking about it.  Not good on ebay earnings and will have to also consider that... lots of news on it.  Amazon seems to be fine and still an option.  Thank you for the feedback.

---

I would tell you if you want ease of shipping/handling/labor, a-zon FBA WILL be the easiest. Waiting on payment MAY be an issue, so consider that aspect as well.  @dbfolks166mt has some REALLY good advice. I would have advised similar. I too use pirate ship.  Right now, I think there are better pricing there, then eBay. I don't buy ANY labels on eBay other than USPS labels (when I do), as there have been issues in the past with FedEx and UPS. 

[dbfolks166mt]

@rob_b_harris wrote:

I did think about this, and have run some rough numbers. And I'm still thinking about it.  Not good on ebay earnings and will have to also consider that... lots of news on it.  Amazon seems to be fine and still an option.  Thank you for the feedback.

I would tell you if you want ease of shipping/handling/labor, a-zon FBA WILL be the easiest. Waiting on payment MAY be an issue, so consider that aspect as well.  @dbfolks166mt has some REALLY good advice. I would have advised similar. I too use pirate ship.  Right now, I think there are better pricing there, then eBay. I don't buy ANY labels on eBay other than USPS labels (when I do), as there have been issues in the past with FedEx and UPS. 

     Thanks for mentioning the UPS and FedEx issues I forgot to include that. Any UPS or FedEx label you purchase through eBay is only an estimate but it is actually what the buyer pays if you are using calculated shipping. Both UPS and FedEx are infamous for unilaterally billing, and being paid, for surcharges that are added to the shipping costs after the package is delivered. EBay has no shipper protection against these charges. 

     While Pirate Ship does not have FedEx as one of their available carriers they do have UPS. Any UPS label you purchase through Pirate Ship comes with seller protection against unilateral surcharges provided the dims and weight were correctly entered when you purchased the label. 

[mam98031]

---

@rwbdigital wrote:

I did think about this, and have run some rough numbers. And I'm still thinking about it.  Not good on ebay earnings and will have to also consider that... lots of news on it.  Amazon seems to be fine and still an option.  Thank you for the feedback.

---

@rwbdigital 

You might want to do more research before making that conclusion.  Amazon is usually more expensive to sell on.  Rules are even stiffer than on Ebay as well.