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?

[dinpavent0]

I said $3.50 because I don't print my labels online. I do it the old fashion way, write them out and go to post office and mail the package. The cheapest is $3.50 with tracking if you do it that way. $2.66 is the cheapest way to send mail at the post office as well for media mail. Media mail starts at $2.66 with tracking.

[ted_200]

I am not aware of tracking being a part of a seller standard rating?  eBay does not require tracking in any of the ratings (transaction defect ratings, late shipment rating, cases closed without seller resolution).

Good Luck Selling!

Well... kinda, sorta, maybe, not exactly.

They use tracking to base "late shipment" data on, so if you have no tracking, they're going to "ask the buyer", and there's no telling what they'll say... so lack of tracking could have impact on seller performance for "late".

Additionally, if you get INRs as the result of no tracking, those count against your "peer based" performance metrics too, don't they?   

In any event, they certainly use it on their Top Rated seller rating, so it certainly does impact seller performance rating for TRS. 

[twnpopcards]

I do this on one of my other accounts and it has worked out very well for me.  Remember though if the buyer says they did not receive it you might as well just refund their money because you cannot prove they did.

Also if you are including cardboard in the envelope this causes the item to contain a stiff item in it and the minimum postage is now $.73 as USPS charges an additional  ounce of postage for this type of package.  If you buy the Butterfly stamps that also is supposed to make the item a non machinable letter and can hel you avoid damage caused by the envelope getting caught in the sorting equipment because of the cardboard.

[karmy2005]

That all depends on the seller and store type they have and what peoples definition of low dollar items are.

1. In my experience in selling low dollar items($1-$3), it is best to have paypal micropayments which is offered only to business accounts. 

2. In my opinion, it is best to have an anchor or franchise store to really have low dollar items become profitable. I make about 75 cents on average per $1 item I sell when factoring in micropayments with the anchor store. Its harder to make a consistent profit with the Basic or Premium store levels if you are mostly selling low dollar items.

3. I sell trading cards. I buy cards anywhere from 2-7 cents. If I can turn 2 cents into $1, I'll take that all day.

4. I get 1 INR case out of ever 1000 sold items, so it is a very microscopic low risk. How much did I lose when this happens? Maybe cost of stamp and a few pennies?

5. My profits are much higher with lower dollar items than it is with higher dollar items. I could sell 1 card for $100 and only make $15, whereas I can sell 100 cards for $100 and make $75. Plus, I can find these low dollar cards very easily, so I don't need to worry about running out of stuff to list.

6. You need to have the correct equipment to sell low dollar items at a high volume like me. I've spent over $1000 on said such equipment, and it was well worth it. So keep that in mind.

[poppyswag]

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@dinpavent0 wrote:
Pretty much almost exactly what i said. Free shipping and fees should always be part of the price of item.

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Why always? That is one size fits all for people who sell mostly smaller items.
Have an item listed right now where the shipping differential spans $50 - $150 depending on location. Someone in Alabama pays far less shipping than northern Maine or Washington state. If I rolled in the highest shipping I would be cutting out quite a few customers.

[grumpus_otter]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

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.

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This makes me wonder--since ebay takes a portion of your selling price but not of your shipping cost, wouldn't it be better to always charge for shipping and lower the item price accordingly? 

I am not sure how to do the math.  In femmefan's example, after ebay takes their cut, how much will the seller end up with in each scenario? 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@grumpus_otter wrote:

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 ... This makes me wonder--since ebay takes a portion of your selling price but not of your shipping cost, wouldn't it be better to always charge for shipping and lower the item price accordingly? ...

eBay has been charging their Final Value Fee on the buyer's total payment, including shipping, since 2011.

femmefan's question was suppoed to be a joke: The final value fee is exactly the same no matter how that $13.50 is broken down.

[hajbo]

Well I sold them and put them in my stamped envelope between two pieces of cardboard. They didn't get rejected for being too stiff/too thick, but they did get damaged (bent) in transit making them unusable, so I am going to do my first refund.
I read that with Paypal refund, Paypal gives back the variable portion (the 2.9 %) of their fee but keeps the fixed portion (the thirty cents).

Am I obligated to set my refund thirty cents higher, so the buyer is made whole again? Or set the refund at the original purchase price and he has to eat the thirty cents?

Lesson learned, cereal box cardboard is not very stiff

[nobody*s_perfect]

If you just issue a full refund, the buyer wil get a full refund. 

[hajbo]

Okay done, I misunderstood where the refund came from but I see now.

Buyer gets all his funds back. Paypal gives back their 2.9 percent, I make up the remainder, which is my net from the original transaction plus I make up the thirty cents that Paypal made the first time and is keeping. So after Paypal refund is done I am minus thirty cents. Not so bad.

[div_style]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

@kathy507

I ship quite a few pattern booklets and do not want them bent to be shoved into a mailbox. 

Using a stiffener is more effective than marking Do Not Bend.

If I really don't want something bent, I use corplast

https://www.uline.ca/BL_1854/Plastic-Corrugated-Pads?pricode=DC492&AdKeyword=coroplast&AdMatchtype=e...

Which is a corrugated plastic board, like cardboard but plastic.

It is lighter and less flexible than cardboard.

Also more pricey.

The trick is to make the corrugations go in the opposite way to how a carrier might try to bend it.

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I sometimes use foam board from the dollar store (Dollar Tree), 20 x 30 inch sheet for a buck.

Depending on the size of the items, one can make several package stiffeners from one board.

[shannonknee]

I thank everyone so much for this enlightening discussion! I too sell small value items and have wondered if I'm being stupid using eBay labels instead of postage stamps. Mine is a miniscule operation, but in my experience I find that selling items in lots makes eBay labels worthwhile, and saves me any potential (however unlikely) headache that using stamps might bring on irregularly shaped letters.

I am extremely "risk averse" and taking the straight and narrow road brings me comfort. It also makes me feel like a professional--which is a funny idea if you could see me and my stuff--but it matters to my dignity and conscience as a seller on eBay.

So if I were Person selling Pen Refills, I'd probably wind up making about 10 cents too. That's why, now, if I can't make an attractive lot to sell, I just donate the item(s)  to charity or give away. Which I hasten to add I do anyway, frequently! It's only the little choice items I sell on eBay to create a second income trickle.

Sometimes I like to charge that $2.66 or $3.50 shipping. Somehow, in my mind anyway, it adds personal value to my item, like, "This isn't coming wholesale from some warehouse in __________; this is coming from my home to yours." Not everyone feels that way, but I do. I actually prefer to buy from individuals with their homemade photos who charge shipping, because it eliminates the gamesmanship and wink-wink of "free shipping." Above board. But I'm old-fashioned and 20th Century and suspicious of Progress like that.

[dinpavent0]

I try to average what it may cost to ship to furthest place with bigger items and i have best offer. If it is not going to cost that much to ship to a closer area I give them a much greater deal since shipping will be cheap. I usually very close within a dollar of what shipping would be to ship to california and have offered deals when questions are asked even.

[dinpavent0]

I was told recently That eBay takes final value fee off entire sale even if its plus shipping. Whatever you receive for full payment that is what the percentage is from. So it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

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@hajbo wrote:

Lesson learned, cereal box cardboard is not very stiff

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Correct. Cereal boxes do not make good packing material. Next time use corrugated cardboard or foam board as a stiffener and ship the pen refills in a padded mailer. If the item isn't worth the cost of shipping & fees then you're better off keeping it, giving it away or donating it.

I give my extra office supplies to local schools because the teachers often have to buy their supplies out of their own pocket.