Is it cheaper to ship ?

[reincarnated-treasures]

Is it cheaper to ship with your own boxes. If so what's best ground shipping., first class. Any help would be appreciated

[richard1rst]

Please forgive my bluntness but you have 289 listings and have made several sales and you are only just now getting around to asking about shipping methods and costs? Thus should have been investigated before you even listed your first item.

As with many things in life there is no ONE answer.

If your item is under 1 pound and shorter than 22” then first class mail is your best bet.

If it is over 22” and/or over 1 pound then there a whole host of variables you need to be aware of.

If it is going to a fairly close state then Priority Mail is probably your best bet - UNLESS it is over 22” and especially if it is over 30“ and absolutely if it is over 1 cubic foot. Then UPS and/or FedEx will most likely (BUT NOT ALWAYS) be better.

If it is going across the country, even without regard to the qualifications I have mentioned, then most likely (BUT NOT ALWAYS) then UPS and/or FedEx is probably your best bet.

Unless it is going to Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico or any U S Territory.

Then you also need to be familiar with Cubic Rate, flat rate and regional boxes which have entirely different rate structures.

You can use any post office free box for Priority Mail only. Beyond that you MUST use your own boxes.

I notice you have some items marked Parcel Select. Understand that it is a slower delivery system and, in some cases at least, is not really cheaper than Priority mail. For whatever difference there may be you have to buy a box for Parcel Select whereas with Priority Mail you may be able to use a free Post Office box - in other words consider the cost of the box in your price comparison and the speed of delivery for the happiness of your buyer.

You need to download USPS, UPS and FedEx rate cards and become familiar with them all. There are Oh So many variables.

And as a completely off subject suggestion - on the handkerchief vase you need to specify the size of the vase. I only checked a couple of others but size is also missing and is an important piece of information that should be included.

[slpentico]

In many cases it is cheaper to ship with your own boxes (I reuse Amazon boxes that I collect from friends and family). If the item is under a pound and not high value then first class is likely the cheapest option and if it’s over a pound it’s hard to say the best option. There are some situations where priority mail might be cheaper than parcel select. If priority mail is cheaper then use a free priority mail box that is for that priority mail service. ANY high value item should be shipped priority mail if possible because of the $100 included insurance (can add more insurance if value is over $100). If your shipping a small 20lbs brick of lead then priority mail flat rate would likely be cheapest. 

honestly your question has no concrete answer. If shipping any other service than priority mail USPS doesn’t provide boxes for those services, so clearly you use your own box. If shipping priority then it would be smart to use a priority box. Shipping cost can vary wildly depending on size, weight and destination. There have been numerous cases where USPS wanted way to much to ship a package to a location and UPS or FEDEX was the cheaper option. I avoid FEDEX though because what you are quoted for shipping FedEx on eBay many times is inaccurate and once you drop off the package FedEx can an does jack up the shipping costs and bill eBay who then charges you, 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@slpentico wrote: .... ANY high value item should be shipped priority mail if possible because of the $100 included insurance (can add more insurance if value is over $100). ... 

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Priority Mail includes $50 of insurance.  eBay Top Rated Sellers get $100 of insurance with Priority Mail, but the OP isn't a TRS.

When purchasing USPS insurance over the automatic amount, the sender must pay for the full insurance bracket value.  In other words, to insure an item for $105, the sender would have to pay the rate for $200 coverage.

[tools*]

$100 of insurance is included with a free Pirate Ship account since they pass along the Commercial Plus "rates," and you can pay for postage with a cash back credit card and save even more.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Fine: eBay Top Rated Sellers and sellers who purchase postage through PirateShip get $100 of insurance with Priority Mail, but the OP isn't a TRSand probably isn't willing to work their way through the options on PirateShip.

[slpentico]

Thanks for that, good catch, I forgot only top rated get that. I’m not even top rated anymore. It appears eBay is now faulting eBay sellers for USPS’s inability to meet their delivery time obligations and as such my on time shipment rate has been suffering… that’s the only requirement I currently do not meet. Thanks eBay, gotta kick sellers while their down I guess.