Beginner Question: What's the best shipping method?

[kagaut1670]

I'm brand new to selling things on Ebay, and I'm wondering what the best way to ship items is. When I listed my item that is going to sell,  I selected "Calculate Shipping Cost." I have since realized that Ebay WAY under-calculated the size and weight of the package that I will be sending.  So, what's the most cost effective shipping method? I would hate to end up losing money on my first sale... Is USPS Retail Ground the way to go?

Thanks in advance!

[joplinbargainreseller]

Hello  kagaut1670,

I am relatively new also, so allow me to share how I ship. I take the item, the package it will ship in, the wrapping or bubble wrap or what ever will be in the package with the item (if any), put it together as if ready to ship, THEN I weigh the "package", make note of the weight, then measure it, make note of that too. When I am listing the item, I go to the shipping part of the listing process. There I enter the weight and dimensions of the package, I can choose from several different shipping options. It shows how much it costs to ship to three different areas of the continental United States, like the east coast, central and west coast. Now this is how the shipping platform was up to a week ago. There has been an "Upgrade" that I haven't had time to fully go over.

I find it is to get your weight and dimensions of the item so there is no "guessing" to make you unsure of what or how eBay is calculating your shipping.

I hope this helped in some way.

-Diana- 😂

[monster-deals]

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@kagaut1670 wrote:

 I'm wondering what the best way to ship items is.

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The way this question is worded....there is no answer or there are 1,000,000+ answers.

It is like saying "how much is a car?"

[sunderingsea]

It would be great if there were some simple, step by step guide with various options.

I'm coming back into selling after not doing it for about 7 yrs, and it's just as confusing as the first time. As I recall I had to muddle my way through shipping the first item before I understood it, sadly, and it looks like that's how it's going to be again as this info is all over the place.  For the record I'm bummed that there is no link to click and ship through usps, or w/e that was ebay used to do.  As I recall, I weighed the package, went to the usps site and printed out a label, then took it myself to the post office because nothing was safe on my front porch more than five minutes. I have no idea what this type of shipping was called, all I remember was stuff got where it was going for about $6. Good luck to us both. 😕

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@sunderingsea wrote: ... I weighed the package, went to the usps site and printed out a label, then took it myself to the post office .... 

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Purchasing postage at the Post Office or through Click N Ship costs more than purchasing your postage label through eBay.

Most sellers who use USPS choose First Class package for pieces up to 15.99 ounces, and Priority Mail for pieces over 1 pound.  

Sometimes the Priority Mail flat rate or Regional boxes are cheaper than the regular Priority Mail rates that are based on weight, distance, and package dimensions.  It's very important to enter accurate dimensions if your package is big enough to include surcharges, i.e., either (1) over 1 cubic foot (1728 cubic inches) or (2) over 22 inches long.

Regardless of which service you use or where you purchase postage, you will find that prices are significantly higher than they were just a few years ago.  You can play around with eBay's shipping calculator tool to get a feel for rates:

http://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

[arizonahugz]

I prefer flat rate shipping as it's quick shipping and I don't have to worry about the cost.

[kh-jean]

Hi everyone,



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Thank you for understanding.