eBay

z50com · ‎07-24-2017

We all have shipping scales.

Is your scale calibrated?

How do you know if it's accurate or not?

Is it high quality or chinese trash?

With the Post Office checking packages it's a good time to check and calibrate your scale.

My scale is a Toledo Y8213, made in the USA.

100 lb x .02 lbs

I check it's accuracy at least once a month.

zzydny · ‎07-24-2017

I've never checked my scales, and not even sure how to get them calibrated. I have two; neither of them are fancy but I don't think of them as "trash."

The scale I use most often is a battery-operated Saga. It's accurate as far as I can tell--well, the PO has never alerted me to a problem and most of my sales are First Class so they would tell me if the weight was off since I go to the window with all my shipments--but I use it for light stuff only.

My other scale is also Saga. It is electric and it has a separate read out so I can weigh larger packages. It is not accurate for light items so I wouldn't think of weighing anything less than a couple of pounds with it but it seems fine for bigger stuff. Again, no problems at the PO, so I guess it's okay.

starroute-us · ‎07-24-2017

Mine are fine, and folks that take items in to the PO can ask if the PO scale has been checked recently if there is any difference and you know yours is working correctly.

fuzzface50 · ‎07-24-2017

I rarely check my little scales that i mainly use for ebay. but my big scale(for scrapping) gets checked before using first time for the day it gets used on.

post office i normally use usually calibrates their scale before opening in the morning and again when they reopen after lunch. One time, their scale didn't match my numbers and the guy knew my numbers were right on all the time decided he better calibrate his and sure enough it was off. he admitted to me that he was running late that day and saw me pull up so he just opened the window and never did it that morning.

retrose1 · ‎07-24-2017

I never check my scales, I use FR for the most part and buy my shipping at the PO. Never had a problem after I get the package into the system, nor do I think I ever will.

(*Bleep*)

partial*eclipse · ‎07-24-2017

I'm a naughty girl; I have never calibrated my scale which is now 10 years old.

Every once in a while, if I have to go to the PO I make a note about the exact weights of my packages for the day. Then I get an Acceptance scan receipt that lists the precise weights of all the Accepted packages. This has always matched the weights shown on my scale.

The calibration instructions for my scale are complicated and require a set of weights which I don't have. Given the excellent track record for this scale, I'll carry on as I have. Especially now that an error apparently won't lead to an embarrassing "Postage Due" process for the buyer.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/My-Weigh-UltraShip-35-Digital-Scale-noAC-noSS-Postal-Shipping-Postage-Bench/...?

ersatz_sobriquet · ‎07-24-2017

It's a concern that sellers need to pay attention to now more than ever with this new adjustment coming where the post office will start charging the seller retroactively on incorrect postage.

I take most of my packages to the counter (after theft at the post office over the holidays) and get a receipt, so if there was a discrepancy I would have heard about it by now.

Start here to find out if you have incorrect postage history, click on the tab in the upper left corner

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

luckythewinner · ‎07-24-2017

@z50com wrote:
How do you know if it's accurate or not?

I know because the weight I put on my label matches the post office receipt.

thatsallfolks · ‎07-24-2017

Here's mine. I can check its accuracy in seconds. Seriously, this is what I use for 90% of my sales:

timemachine777 · ‎07-24-2017

@z50com wrote:
We all have shipping scales.

Is your scale calibrated?

How do you know if it's accurate or not?

Is it high quality or chinese trash?

With the Post Office checking packages it's a good time to check and calibrate your scale.

My scale is a Toledo Y8213, made in the USA.

100 lb x .02 lbs

I check it's accuracy at least once a month.

What do you need a scale for? I just look at it or pick it up if I'm not sure. Then I add 1 to 3 pounds for packing mat, depending on the item size. Plus insurance depending on how it's going ship.

Almost forgot...I finally add in eBay's rip off 10% FVF fee on Shipping FEES.

thatsallfolks · ‎07-24-2017

@timemachine777 wrote:

What do you need a scale for?

We must not be calibrated as well as you are.

But seriously, why would you be surprised that other people use a scale?

omgitlightsup · ‎07-24-2017

An error of 1-2% is quite common in instruments like postal scales, and postage doesn't go up by pennies per gram, so you don't have to be right on the nose.

Of course, the farther off you are, the more likely you are to hit that point where the postage goes up.

You do not need the scale calibrate to NIST traceablilty standards. You can purchase a set of standard weights and use them once a month to make sure you're not drifting off. You can even use sacks of flour if you want to.

zzydny · ‎07-24-2017

@omgitlightsup wrote:

.....You do not need the scale calibrate to NIST traceablilty standards. You can purchase a set of standard weights and use them once a month to make sure you're not drifting off. You can even use sacks of flour if you want to.

Interesting! I honestly didn't even know how calibrating was done. Bad me.

I don't even need to weigh many of the items I sell because 1 bandana = between 2 and 3 ounces packed and ready to ship. But I still weigh the envelope anyway just because I think I should.

timemachine777 · ‎07-24-2017

@thatsallfolks wrote:
@timemachine777 wrote:

What do you need a scale for?
We must not be calibrated as well as you are.

But seriously, why would you be surprised that other people use a scale?

I'm just kidding around. Though personally, I really rarely use a scale. I only use them on very heavy items. I've been shipping items for over 30 years, and I noticed that most people can actually learn very quickly how to weigh items by simply picking them up as they move them about.

Take Z for instance. I doubt that he weighs every wrench or drill that he commonly sells, or anything else that he handles a lot of. After a while he's going to know what weighs what, or a very close estimate. Plus he ships a lot in priority boxes, and 1st class.

I ship flat rate standard unless Priority is in the ballpark. I don't like USPS Boxes. They're too thin. So if I'm the one doing the listing for a specific item, I know from experience that something that size and weight when packaged costs x dollars. So that's my shipping price. I'm rarely wrong, but if I'm wrong, I'm usually over, so I will send the buyer a partial S&H refund.

omgitlightsup · ‎07-24-2017

Most people I know used to add on an ounce or two just to be sure.

But now it sounds like doing that will be just as bad as underpaying. You'll get a credit at the end of the month and have to do extra work settling your books. Eventually the IRS will have full contact with eBay sales and it'll be more work for everyone... and the USPS is still going to do exactly what they did before, weigh every package to see if it matches the postage.