Finding a cheaper way to ship

[sb_dog_creations]

Hello--I'm a seasoned buyer on here but new to selling. I have sold about 5 things so far, small items, and have found shipping to be my highest expense.  Some of my items I ship are so small they would fit inside a regular postal envelope; however, I have always print eBays shipping label with tracking. Is this protocol to do this or can I ship in the US without a tracking#? Is there another way to ship without going to the USPS? I've always included shipping with my charges but have recently found that I'm making very little profit, if any at all, once all fees are deducted. 

Any advice from you seasoned sellers out there would be very helpful. I'm trying to keep costs down to a bare minimum, whenever possible. Thanks!

[garmentvarmint2004]

 SB...

I do not agree   that there  no specfic Customer  bases  for certain  Item   categories    For instance  how many people  are going  to  buy  from  you---who do   not  own a  DOG?

Your items cute--but since  I do  not own a  dog ,  myself---I have no reason  to buy from  you.

And are the personalities of  dog owners  different from the personalities  of  non dog owners?   Of course they are.  And most people who are involved with Marketing jobs  or  Advertising jobs  will  say the  same thing.(How do you  think those Dog Food  Companies  come up  with Commercials  we  see on  television all  the time?  ) 

Do you think they spend millions  of  dollars  on Ads that have not been tested out?

[sb_dog_creations]

Garment Varmint--
Well...let me answer your question. I have the name S & B DOG CREATIONS PLUS MORE! simply because I want to have ...dog items...yes; however; I do have other items not pertaining to dogs, as well. Am I trying to concentrate on dog items? Yes! Why? Because I'm a huge dog lover as well as a big dog advocate!

Why would you buy from me? I will tell you. You DO NOT personally have to own a dog to be interested in my items I list. Perhaps you have a family member who loves dogs. Or know a "hard to buy for" person who just happens to have a dog or is a dog lover. Your best friend. Your neighbor. When it comes down to reality, lets face it, we all know someone who has a dog.

My products make great Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, anniversary, friendship, housewarming and just "anytime any day gifts." With that being said, one does not have to OWN A DOG to be interested in my products I list. 🐾🐾👍🏼🐈🐈🐩🐩😊 For this reason, I always view ANYONE and EVERYONE as potential customers. You never know what another person is thinking and you always want to give them a reason TO BUY from you.

Thanks for your input.

[garmentvarmint2004]

ZMOZ...

I could not  disagree with you more.  Of course    there ARE  specific Customer Bases  for many/ most  product Categories.   For instance this  OP's    base  is   almost exclusively  going to  be  Dog Owners.  AND dog owners  are going to  have personalities  and  lifestyles  that  are  different   from  people who do not own dogs.

Most  Dog  Food   Marketing efforts  and   advertising  is  based on  theprofiles  of owners versus non-owners.

And   look  the poster above  who   said he sold postage stamps  for years  without Tracking.   And he rarely   had  false claims of  non-delivery.    

That is  because  his  Stamp   Customer Base  had  different   attititudes  than  the attitudes of  the  General Population.