Using stamps to mail low cost item

[hajbo]

I have two Parker pen ball point refills that I would like to sell.
They will fit in a standard #10 envelope between two sheets of cardboard. I weighed them, they were one ounce and some change, less than two. I went to the USPS.com site to get a postage rate, for 1.5 oz letter I could mail it with two postage stamps.

Started a listing, under Shipping Details I want to use Free Shipping, under Services there is no USPS First Class Letter so I pick USPS First Class Package, and entered the weight and envelope dimensions, ebay rounds up dimensions to the next inch.
But now I will be paying 3.50 to mail a First Class Package, instead of .94 for a First Class Letter. I want to keep free shipping, and keep the listing price close to my cost, couple of bucks, I just want to send these to a loving home and be rid of them, 3.50 shipping will make it that much harder.
If someone buys this should I just skip the label and put on a couple stamps? I have bought button cell batteries on ebay that have come this way. Problem is, no tracking with regular mail, won't be able to show that the buyer got the mail, I would lose an INR case. But for such a low cost item what is the risk of that?

[m60driver]

I sell some small low cost items that easily ship in a plain envelope and that is exactly how I mail them.  I have never lost anything shipped with just stamps in a #10 envelope and never had a single complaint from buyers.  Just remember to go to my Ebay and mark them as shipped.  Just be wary that if they start to become a large part of your sales then any "above standard" Ebay rating may be compromised because you mail without tracking. 

[femmefan1946]

There is no lettermail available online from USPS or from Canada Post.

I ship most of my items untracked and using postage stamps.

In my categories, problems are few and I use Cookie Jar Insurance (self insurance) to cover the rare chances of a failed transaction.

I also sell discount postage (Canadian) on another ID, so my cost for stamps is extremely low. You can find mint never hinged US postage for sale at discounts from 20% off to 40% off.*

*Mint means full gum. This also means the stamps have never been used.

If the gum is missing, the stamps are used even if they are not postmarked, and it is illegal to use them.

(And the seller is sketchy to be selling them. Caveat emptor.)

Hinged stamps have disturbed gum, and are legal, but someone licked the hinge to put them in their album. Ick.

[femmefan1946]

But now I will be paying.... I want to keep free shipping,

No no no no no.

Free Shipping means the cost of shipping is included in the selling price.

It's marketing.

You don't pay it.

The buyer pays shipping.

Which is cheaper?

A $10 item with $3.50 shipping?

 Or a $13.50 item with Free Shipping?

Or if you were happy with getting $6.50 for your pen, you could market it as $10 /Free Shipping and the buyer is still paying for the shipping.

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

[membersinceaug2001]

I've shipped small things in letter envelope with no problem. 

Tracking isn't really needed anyways.  Never lost a single thing before tracking was shoved down everyones throats.

[vsn13204]

 I have shipped a few items that fit perfectly in a #10 envelope and put a stamp or 2. On the bad side there is no tracking si you are taking a risk.

[dinpavent0]

the 3.50 includes tracking and the lower amount does not. You are better off spending the 3.50 and get tracking to put in ebay so you have proof item was delivered. I have a lot of small items that fit in small envelope and cost me under a buck to send but no tracking. The 3.50 is the cheapest I can send a package. I don't print my postage I go directly to the post office and it is always minimum of 3.50. YOu can do free shipping just add the 3.50 to your price of item. That is how I do it and most people do free shipping. We just add the shipping cost right in the price. I always make sure shipping and fees covered and i am making a profit. That is how free shipping works.

[dinpavent0]

Pretty much almost exactly what i said. Free shipping and fees should always be part of the price of item.

[femmefan1946]

@dinpavent0

I don't print my postage I go directly to the post office

We Canadian sellers get discounts from Canada Post.

Anyone- a guy off the street-- can ask for a Small Business Solutions number from the PO and ship most parcels with a 5% discount.

If we are printing online, we can get the same discount from Paypal, Shippo and SnapShip (the latter is a Canada Post service).

From time to time those shippers have offered bigger discounts they have negotiated with Canada Post.

The highest was a 17% discount as I recall, but that ended last summer (2017).

I just printed a label for shipping tracked Packet USA which is advertised as costing$17.90 ($13.42US-- our rates are much higher than USPS) but which actually cost me $17.05. Much higher than my discount postage stamps, but I'll take it. I can also go to the PO and get a tracking number without extra charge if my package has the appropriate postage stamps on it.

Does USPS offer a discount to US sellers using PP or Shippo labels?

[eleeper-half]

"I have two Parker pen ball point refills that I would like to sell.

They will fit in a standard #10 envelope between two sheets of cardboard. I weighed them, they were one ounce and some change, less than two. I went to the USPS.com site to get a postage rate, for 1.5 oz letter I could mail it with two postage stamps."

Technically, you also need to pay a "non-machinable" fee (currently 22 cents, I think), because the envelope cannot be bent enough to go through the automatic sorting machine:

1.2 Nonmachinable Criteria

A letter-size piece is nonmachinable if it has one or more of the following characteristics (see 601.1.1.2 to determine the length, height, top, and bottom of a mailpiece):

   Has an aspect ratio (length divided by height) of less than 1.3 or more than 2.5.

   Is polybagged, polywrapped, enclosed in any plastic material, or has an exterior surface made of a material that is not paper. Windows in envelopes made of paper do not make mailpieces nonmachinable. Attachments allowable under applicable eligibility standards do not make mailpieces nonmachinable.

   Has clasps, strings, buttons, or similar closure devices.

   Contains items such as pens, pencils, keys, or coins that cause the thickness of the mailpiece to be uneven; or loose keys or coins or similar objects not affixed to the contents within the mailpiece. Loose items may cause a letter to be nonmailable when mailed in paper envelopes; (see 601.3.3).

   Is too rigid (does not bend easily when subjected to a transport belt tension of 40 pounds around an 11-inch diameter turn).

   For pieces more than 4-1/4 inches high or 6 inches long, the thickness is less than 0.009 inch.

   Has a delivery address parallel to the shorter dimension of the mailpiece.

   Is a self-mailer that is not prepared according to 201.3.14.

   Is a booklet that is not prepared according to 201.3.16.

[hajbo]

Right, I get the "free shipping" concept, but that is my point. I can list the item high to cover my expense for the 3.50 ebay shipping label. Or I can list it lower to cover my expense for two stamps. I lose the tracking, but I can price the item more aggresively and attract a buyer. The difference in list price would only be a few bucks, but these items are only worth a few bucks and might just sit at a higher price. They might sit anyway, who knows, but I want to move them so I am wondering how common it is with other sellers, when selling low value items, to skip the higher price label and just go with standard postage stamps, sounds like it is not all that uncommon

[hajbo]

I think I have the non-machinable covered:
Go to usps.com > Quick Tools tab on upper row > Calculate a Price icon > enter a "from" zip code and a "to" zip code, and select "calculate price based on shape and size" > put in weight 0 lb 1.5 oz, select "Letter" > select "Content is rigid"
From there, the available services come up, scroll down to see that First Class Stamped Letter is 92 cents, I think that should have the non-machinable fee included since I picked rigid in the previous step, so two forever stamps should be good

[div_style]

I send 1000s of low cost items a year using letter mail (no tracking) and rarely any problems.  Low cost items are not scammer magnets.   If I put 1 cent per item in my virtual cookie jar I would be way ahead.

[ted_200]

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@hajbo wrote:

Right, I get the "free shipping" concept, but that is my point. I can list the item high to cover my expense for the 3.50 ebay shipping label. Or I can list it lower to cover my expense for two stamps. I lose the tracking, but I can price the item more aggresively and attract a buyer. The difference in list price would only be a few bucks, but these items are only worth a few bucks and might just sit at a higher price. They might sit anyway, who knows, but I want to move them so I am wondering how common it is with other sellers, when selling low value items, to skip the higher price label and just go with standard postage stamps, sounds like it is not all that uncommon

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I ship that way about half the time.  I'm selling mostly lower $ items, at 99¢ start Auction, there is no "add it to the price".  Bidders will pay what they'll pay, I get to keep what's left after paying the Post Office. 

For every 100 items shipped that way, I get to keep about another $200.  The INR costs on those items averages maybe $10, the INR rate is very low* - there is still plenty of money in the self-insurance cookie jar.  I was TRS before the tracking upload requirement, not even the old 20% fee discount could make buying all those tracking numbers pay.  For me. 

* INR rate is going to vary quite a bit depending on what you sell, what it's worth, and what sort of people are in your buyer demographic... gift cards for video game stores, just as a made-up example, will have a much higher frequency of non-receipt claims than I do.