Question re: selling a lot of books shipment

[jewelbiz]

How do you pack up & ship out a lot of books?

in what kind of box ? A Sturdy box? 

does the post office believe you if the lot of books are in a box that doesn’t look like a media mail book?

how do you determine the postal fee for a lot of books package?

Thank you 

[bamorris]

Yes a sturdy box. Fill the voids with something to prevent books from moving around.

Use the total package weight and dimensions of the box to calculate the postage. My usual scales for shipping only go up to 10lbs. So I use my bathroom scale on heavier items. Round up to the nearest pound.

[policequilts]

A sturdy box and fill in so that they don't move around.

What I would do is leave the book packages open, but with my shipping label on.
I would go to the window and have them inspection the packages and have them stamped that they are media / books.  I would have a roll of packing tape with me and finish closing up the packages.

Never had a problem.

[jewelbiz]

I was always happy when in math I got a 65 grade & passed being lifetime very stupid in arithmetic.  Even now in old age, when I get change of a dollar I look at it in my hand, try to calculate and then ask the cashier, like an idiot, is this the right amount unable to easily figure it out!  I skipped the 2nd grade where basic math was taught.

How exactly do I do this, 

“Use the total package weight and dimensions of the box to calculate the postage.”

[nobody*s_perfect]

You have to look up the postage cost just as you would for any other package..  Here's eBay's shipping calculator.   It doesn't matter which ZIP Code you look up the cost for, since Media Mail postage is the same for any Zone.

http://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

[pargran3]

Just like any other calculated postage. You do not have to fill in an amount. Just put the books in the box. Weigh it. Plug the numbers into calculated media rate when making the listing.

I would also add in packaging to put the books in a sturdy plastic trash bag and tape it shut. Water damage is entirely possible when shipping books. That is easily avoided with the inside plastic bag.

Welcome to the math challenged club. Never was my strong point either.

[monica-sells]

In addition to the excellent responses here...when I ship books I always wrap around 6 inches worth of thickness (be it 2 books or 6 books) "together" in clear food wrap/saran wrap or similar. Then put them together like modules into a sturdy box with bubble wrap between them. This prevents that 'domino' effect of weight.

Also, I rarely exceed 20 lbs per package...have you seen the age and physical condition of some mail carriers? LOL....plus your box will not get as abused as a heavier one (IMHO)

Calculating is the same as any other class of mail...(except, as noted, there is no discount at ebay, pirateship, ship station, etc....) It can be VERY slow too........

[jewelbiz]

Thank you all I figured it out.  Best thing would be for me to pack books up very well inside plastic bag in sturdy box with lots of packing material unsealed so they at post office can see box of books and have post office pricing the box finally then with my tape in pocket, after that then seal up box there.  I’ll estimate postage as best as I can writing on listing if my postal fee is wrong I’ll give a immediately a postal refund…..

Got to get started selling my books en mass.  My Sister (lives in another country)  thinks all belong in garbage she tells me constantly.  Here I love each & every one of  them so much & she hates them calling them smelly, dust collectors vile & putrid.

[luckythewinner]

How do you pack up & ship out a lot of books?

In a box with media mail.

in what kind of box ? A Sturdy box

Of course I use a sturdy box, I would be foolish not to.

does the post office believe you if the lot of books are in a box that doesn’t look like a media mail book?

Yes they believe you. And if they don't, they will open it and inspect it as is their right.

how do you determine the postal fee for a lot of books package?

You pack it up and weigh it just like every other package. Why would it be any different?

[m60driver]

Not only do you need a sturdy box, you need to use plenty of stuffing material in the empty spaces and use plenty of packing tape.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@jewelbiz wrote: ... I’ll estimate postage as best as I can writing on listing if my postal fee is wrong I’ll give a immediately a postal refund….. .

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It's based on the weight of the box.  Shouldn't be difficult if you have a scale.

[jewelbiz]

Again asking you all….

Will it be necessary to list 1) title, 2) author, 3) publisher, 4) date, 5) number of pages, 6) condition…..anything else?

Too time consuming to list all of these at 1 time with all necessary requirements so best do 4-6 at a time?

plus too heavy for me to lift them all here pictured packed in a box at once…

[luckythewinner]

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@jewelbiz wrote:

Will it be necessary to list 1) title, 2) author, 3) publisher, 4) date, 5) number of pages, 6) condition…..anything else?

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It is not necessary to give the buyer the basic information he probably needs to find your item and decide whether to buy it. 

You are free to waste as much of your own time on low-quality listings as you want to.

[dhbookds]

on that kind of lot or smaller........I just show the titles with authors in the description........  Condition would be ........spines tight, no missing pages, covers show wear, pages are yellowed.......(some have previous owner names .....if they do)...........

I would group by author if you are going to break it up.......and then combine author by genre/series........I know nothing about these books.....they may be all Sci Fi........  Title would be Lot of x# Sci Fi......with most popular authors/series or as many as you can get in the title.  I would aim for lot of 20 or more (what would fit in a box) and then price less than $1 each....I would use calculated media mail........ 

People like buying lots of authors they like.....so that would be main goal......

just my thoughts