shipping costs

[tom3746]

I would like to sell a pair of collectible antique Aladdin electric lamps on eBay. Unfotunately, the shipping costs is as much as the lamps would sell for. Is there any way to save on shipping costs?

[partial*eclipse]

You. could try listing them with "Local pickup only."

[tom3746]

Thanks, I thought about that but I have been trying to sell them locally on Craig's List and have not gotten any respose.

[lindyslucky]

Shipping is a problem. Many of our items cost as much to ship as the item itself.

Shipping costs have risen so dramatically, it has truly changed what we sell.

Not only does the buyer pay more, but the fees deeply affect our bottom line.

Figure your lowest acceptable price with the fees.

List with local pickup available.

Dont expect a quick sale.

We have sold items after a year of being cycled in and out for sale, sometimes two.

Items do reach a wider group, and ebay can bring higher prices, but your bottom line may not be what you would like.

You may want to consider a charitable donation.

A tax deduction for a good cause is an option.

[berserkerplanet]

Post dimensions and weight of each one, and maybe a quick photo. They can then be evaluated for shipping options to see if anything is economical and safe enough to ship them (ie: will size of package permit use of FedEx Smartpost? Can they fit in any of the USP flat rate boxes? etc)

I assume you mean to sell them as a pair, not individually?

[tom3746]

Attached (I think) is a picture of the lamps. They are about 20 inches tall and I do want to sell them as a pair. In looking at similar sales, these should sell for around $75 for the pair. But when I look into shipping costs, the cost is around $40 via USPS.

[berserkerplanet]

Urghhhhhh. I was picturing some sort of flashlighty smaller things.

You didn't mention the weight - will be the driving factor and important.

I would pop the shade harp uppers off for starters. If they don't come off then unless it's feasible to disassemble them (undo wires at socket, unscrew sockets to entire release shade assembly), the box is going to get much biglyer*

I'd individually box each base in what looks like 13" x 5" x 5" boxes with the bases wrapped with 3-4 wraps of 3/16" bubblewrap, more bubblewrap pads on both ends,  and then either styrofoam pieces, paper wads, cardboard tubes, airpacks or something stuffed in  around the narrow uppers to keep them centered in the boxes.

Wrap the removed shade harps individually in a wrap or 2 of bubblewrap.

A 15" x 12" x 10" corrugated box is a standard size, and I'd cut it down to 15x12x8 or 15x12x9 - that keeps it under 1728 cu-in which avoids USPS dimensional weight issues, and provides enough airspace for cushioning.

2ea  15"x12"x1-2" flat pads made of bagged packing peanuts (one on bottom one on top)

3ea  15"x9"x1-2" flat pads made of bagged packing peanuts (one per side & one between boxes)

Lay the bubblewrapped harps on top of the top peanut pad and good to go.

(bagged peanuts don't annoy buyers with static issues or disposal hassles, and keep the peanuts in place better for less settling issues.) If not peanuts, then tons of bubblewrap, or lots of airpacks work too. Might even be able to get away with crumpled newspaper, but it can get heavy and can collapse.

So, at this point we have a reasonably protected package that's 15x12x8 and I'm going to assume 10 pounds (which may be low - if so use the calc to see).

Here is a range of costs using eBay labels (with the associated online discounts) for that package:

To Zone 8  (Sacramento, CA to New York City, NY):

USPS Priority Mail        $35.64

USPS Parcel Select     $35.59

FedEx SmartPost         $22.00

FedEx Home Delivery   $17.85

To Zones 1,2 amounts (Sacramento, CA to San Francisco, CA):

USPS Priority Mail        $9.09

USPS Parcel Select     $9.09

FedEx SmartPost         $13.53

FedEx Home Delivery   $9.90

At that box size, shipping is mostly driven by weight and not volume. Give the low amount of the FedEx Home Delivery shipping option, you could increase the box size a bit for more padding and protection without incurring much of an increase.

I wouldn't bother with Smartpost in this case since it is slower, more hands are on the package, more transfers, next to impossible to prevail in an insurance claim ($100 max), and it's more than FedEx Home Delivery. Same thing with Parcel Select, slower, rougher treatment, and no point.

I always do calculated shipping to give nearby buyers a lower shipping cost, and if going calculated I'd offer both Priority Mail and FedEx Home Delivery - distant buyers FedEx is cheaper, nearby buyers about the same price but USPS is faster.

Use the eBay shipping calculator here http://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator to play with shipping numbers. (You can increase/decrease the box dimensions and weight to see how prices vary)

*if no disassembly or the harps don't come off box will end up more like 22x12x8 which will trigger USPS dimensional weights and increase FedEx costs also:  Z8 FedEx HD becomes $19.69 and PM $38.61  but both might be more since box weight will increase due to extra padding needed for the extra 7-8" of length around and inside the inner boxes.

[dtexley3]

If the total weight comes in a 9lb or less the SmartPost rate will drop sharply.  

For some odd reason 9lbs 1oz is $7 more than 9lbs even for zone 8.

[dtexley3]

You could also use 14x12x10 which are cheaper and don't need to be cut down for dim weight.  Downside is you have less padding on the ends.  I go through lots and lots of 14x12x10.