Seller calculating shipping fees

[penni*9]

Hello eBay community.

I've only been selling for about 3 months, and I'm looking for guidance as a seller and how to calculate shipping costs. I've read eBays guides but still a little confused.  What I have been doing is just adding what I think the shipping costs will be.  For small packages, it's around $13.00 to ship, and I write my own shipping labels.  Also, I am shipping larger items using UPS, for instance, a golf club.  Shipping UPS it costs about $125 for added insurance and delivery confirmation signature.  Would it be more cost effective for me to use the shipping calculator and use eBay shipping labels?

Thank you!

[nobody*s_perfect]

Yes, it would.

When you set up a listing, you have a choice between whether to set a flat rate for shipping, or set up calculated shipping. In your situation, it would be better to set up calculated shipping, but be sure to enter accurate weight and package dimensions.

When you purchase shipping labels through eBay, you pay less than you would at the retail counter, for UPS, USPS or FedEx.  Sometimes MUCH less.

[susanb1872]

Shipping is the hardest part of selling so here are some suggestions. I would stop using free delivery for now since you don't know what the shipping costs are. Are you using a scale to determine the weight?  You definitely can ship the golf clubs much, much cheaper-I have used USPS in the past for golf clubs. If you are not sure of the shipping costs, take the item to the post office before you list and they will give you the retail shipping cost estimate. I would try to stay away from FedEx and UPS since they can add extra charges after the item ships. I would suggest you start with a small lightweight package to experiment with calculated shipping and buying your labels through ebay to get the hang of it-it just takes practice.

[anasazirose]

Oh my, it will be SO much less expensive to purchase the shipping and insurance on ebay. 

To decide how much to charge, I use calculated shipping. 

Start by setting up a few shipping polices offering USPS Ground Advantage and Priority as well as UPS.

Then when you list the item, enter correct package dimensions and weight - and select which shipping policy you want to use for that listing.

The buyer will see and pay the retail shipping costs.

When the item sells, you click on 'purchase shipping, CONFIRM the package dimensions and weight are accurate, then click 'buy label', print the label and you're done.

You can play witht eh shipping calculator here: https://www.ebay.com/shp/calc/rates to see what the retail vs discounted rates are.

[stainlessenginecovers]

1st; your prices are all over the place. That $499 golf club also shows 4 other sellers selling the same thing for WAY less. 

2nd; since you are in Florida, shipping to Cali would be your furthest. You can just go to the USPS website and input the size/weight of each item, from your zip to 90620 and you will see what it costs to ship to the furthest point. 

3rd- then add 15% to the figure from the USPS website and that would be your shipping cost. 

But, since you are on one side of the country, it would be best to use the calculated shipping for each and every item, add 15% 'handling' so the 'fee' you pay is covered (with a bit for packing materials). Someone in Florida may only pay $20 for that golf club, while someone in Arizona may pay $60. So again, Calculated would be best for you (and get rid of the Free Shipping)

[penni*9]

Thank you everyone!  This information is a great help! 🙂

[penni*9]

Thank you for this information.  It will help me a lot as I think I have been paying more shipping than need be. 

For the putter sale, the reason for the higher price is that it has never been used, and it appears the others of the same brand and type are preowned/used.  Some buyers are looking for New for their collections. 

I do compare asking prices with other sellers.  So far, I've done well but the shipping costs are eating up profits.

Thanks again!