Suggestions for Sellers of Paperback Books

[tamaralea]

I'm trying to get some positive discussions going.  I was able to sell a paperback book, by charging and shipping by 1st class mail.  I had a lot of competition and my price wasn't the lowest.  I was the only person offering 1st class mail.  Buyers can be impatient, so it may be worth trying.

[castlemagicmemories]

Buyers can be impatient but many buy based on price, and so the shipping cost is a driving factor of that price as it is considered, too. 

Of course, your call, and congratulations on your sale! 

[atikovi]

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@tamaralea wrote:

I was the only person offering 1st class mail.  Buyers can be impatient, so it may be worth trying.

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People buying used books probably want to save money so the cheapest shipping is best for them. 1st class may be quicker but media mail is cheaper.

[tamaralea]

Everyone listed with media mail except me.  Not everyone is looking for the lowest price.  Some people want items fast.  That was the point of this post.  I ran into this with my kids' college textbooks.  By the time they gave me the title, author, edition, they couldn't wait 2 weeks for delivery.  

[billydurham]

I used to sell Books on Half Com ( Which was part of eBay before eBay closed it) Media Mail is what I used for

shipping Books.

Media Mail has a Barcode so it goes faster than you would think it would.

In my experience it goes almost as fast as first class mail, if not just as fast.

The only issue with shipping Media Mail might be if you were shipping to Hawaii or Porto Rico, then 2/3 the

time it would go on a airplane and 1/3 the time it might get put on a ship - if the ship , it would take a long time. 

The cost difference could be huge depending on the size of the book.

If the Book is under 16 oz then First Class could be the same or just a tiny bit more expensive as Media Mail

then I would go with First Class.

(If the Book is bigger than 16 oz, then Media Mail would be better as it

would be much cheaper than Priority Mail)

Note: Media Mail is for sending Books inside the USA only - what I mean is you could not use it to send a Book to someplace outside the USA 

[adoptanoldcat]

MM is not, in my experience, just as fast and in fact took 2 weeks recently. I think offering an option of 1st class is a great idea.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@billydurham wrote: ... If the Book is under 16 oz then First Class could be the same or just a tiny bit more expensive as Media Mail ... 

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Shipping one pound via Media Mail costs $2.75.  Here are the current prices for First Class packages. As you can see, First Class will cost more than MM unless you are mailing just 4 ounces to Zones 1 - 4, and it can cost up to twice as much as MM .

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I agree. I think giving the buyer an option for Media Mail , First Class (when possible), and even Priority is probably best. Let the buyer choose.

[moldy5]

I have no clue why but my last 10 books shipped at media mail got there in the same time frame as a 1st class item. Got 4 buyers who messaged me commenting about the speed of delivery. I was kind of embarrassed to admit that it wasn't me-the P.O. must have been extra slow those days & just whipped them thru!

[muttlymob]

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@billydurham wrote:

Media Mail has a Barcode so it goes faster than you would think it would.

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The barcode isn't what determines speed of delivery.

The mail class is.  Media Mail, barcode or not, is likely to be the slowest class of mail by design.  It is a surface service, on a space-available basis.

[slippinjimmy]

I use a mix of Media (over 8 oz) and First Class (Under 8 oz) and have been longer than eBay has been around.

First class is faster and always has been, how much faster depends on the zone (and possibly partially dependent on where you are shipping from).

My First Class  almost always arrive in 3 days regardless of zone, my Media Mail arrive in 5 - 7 days dependent on destination. Even for zones 1 or 2 MM takes longer because it takes 24 - 48 to be processed through the first sort facility while First Class is done the same day as drop off (or at worst overnight).

Although its rare, Media Mail is subject to delays in transit due to high volumes or if there is a lack of MM or Parcel Select and USPS wants to fill containers before forwarding to the destination facility.

In any event, a sample size of 1 paperback is hardly going to give any reliable indicators of the "best" way.

A better test would be to list 100 Books, offer both First Class and Media Mail and see which buyers choose. I could be wrong but I think you will find that most pick Media Mail if there is more than $1 difference in cost.

Plenty of research out these shows buys really don't like paying for shipping, they really don't like waiting for delivery either, what they really want is "instant delivery for free".

There are plenty of things that buyers don't know they need until they do and then they need it right there and then. Unless it's a copy of the Mueller report that doesn't generally apply to things like books.

[membersinceaug2001]

It's really silly having these "classes" of mail.  Just think, the cheapest gets to sit around longer, and sometimes handled more, costing the po more than if they would just deliver it!

Same goes for all this nonsense tracking.  More scanning = slower delivery. 

[wpt05]

@tamaralea 

The book you sold was actually the lowest price.  

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=Seth+Godin+This+is+Marketing+&_sacat=0&_sop=15&rt=nc&...

The other books that you see sold for less are actually ebooks delivered via email.  They are not physical copies of the book.  They are probably all copyright thefts and that is the reason they sold for less than your item.  

[tamaralea]

I was NOT the lowest price.  At least 2 (non ebook) sellers were cheaper than me, with shipping.  I think you should look at your competition.   If they are all using media mail, a first class listing will stand out.  eBay gives all of them estimated delivery dates and the first class will appeal to some buyers.  Aren't most paperbacks less than 8 oz?  If so, according to your statistics, first class is reasonable.

[wpt05]

@tamaralea 

Follow the link I provided above.  All 8 were ebooks.  You may also notice that some of the listings have now disappeared since they were reported for copyright theft.