Cost to Ship products - any other services other than USPS FEDEX and UPS?

[curiouspeppapig]

Hi, I apologize if this has already been discussed and I am opening a duplicate thread. I looked up briefly and did not find anything that is directly related.

I have recently started selling items and quickly noticed that the cost to ship items seems to be eating away very much into my sales. I am deliberately selling products almost at a breakeven price to establish my seller's account, however noticed soon that the shipping cost is almost 50% of the products themselves. 

How do people sell anything above 1 pound or even something less than a pound but its price is less than $10? I see folks selling things for like $3 or $4 - what do these guys use for shipping? It must not be top three definitely - usps, fedex and ups..... Please help me understand this. Thank you for your time. 

[rock.star]

For items of a pound or less you should be using first class package instead of priority mail. 

[dtexley3]

Some people don't realize what it costs to ship until they realize they're losing money. 

Some are shipping from China or Asia and ship for under $2 per pound, and unlike US sellers they pay just under $2 for up to 4 items as long as the total weight for those items don't exceed 1 lb.

[curiouspeppapig]

I understand the first class and use it to ship anything under 1 pound. 

Even First class shipping for items that are 7oz or more seem to cost like $3.5 to $5.5 every shipment and it is currently my biggest cost after products I ship. 

For example, If I acquire a product at less than 3 dollars and ship for $4, to break even after fees and shipping material, and gas etc, I need to be able to sell the item at least for $10-$11 just to break even.

And yet, i see sellers selling items for like less than $4 including shipping. How are these people shipping and able to break even and profit. This is boggling my mind.

[dtexley3]

Some are shipping from China or Asia and ship for under $2 per pound, and unlike US sellers they pay just under $2 for up to 4 items as long as the total weight for those items don't exceed 1 lb.

That means they pay just under $0.50 shipping for 4oz items. Or under $1.00 for 8 oz items.

Some also buy stamps at deep discounts and use those to reduce costs.  Of course there's no tracking which leaves them at risk for false Item Not Received claims, but plenty of people seem to do well with this.

[postingid7659]

I don't understand it either.  

I pre-ordered some items from a manufacturer expecting to sell at trade shows only to have those all cancelled due to the pandemic.  So I put them on eBay, where I found a seller running his with first class mail shipping for about a dollar over cost.  Doing the math, by the time you subtract eBay fees, labor and costs for some kind of boxes, he has to be at best making like a quarter on each one, and more likely a loss on them.  Why would you even bother?  

You do get a postage discount printing labels through eBay.  That may help. 

[electrola_man]

It's important to make sure that you end up with what you need out of an item after a sale, whether you used "Free" shipping or added a separate charge.  I sometimes sell items for $2-5, but I make sure the shipping charge covers all of the shipping-related expenses (postage, box, bubble wrap, tape, shipping label, Ebay fees on the shipping part of the cost, and now Ebay fees on the tax the customer pays that goes through me where I get that charge).  Always set up your listing so that if it ends up a sale at the lowest price possible, you end up okay.  I see listings out there that I know the sellers lose on; some would have been better off throwing the item in the trash and not spending the time.

[disneyshopper]

I try not to list items unless I can get at least $20 for them, unless my acquisition cost is VERY low, as it takes the same amount of time to photograph and list an item for $50 as it does for $20.