Newbie Shipping Help

[bgsansone]

Hello,

i am trying to figure out how people are selling an item (ie: dvd, videogame) for around $5 and free shipping.  I cant seem to find any shipping options that are cheaper than the item.  Any help is appreciated. 

Thank you.

[chapeau-noir]

If the item qualifies, they probably use media mail.  Or, they're selling loss leaders.  Or doing huge volume.

For instance, you have a laserdisc with $11.50 'economy shipping' - you can probably ship it for under $4 first class.

[jayjaspersgarage]

It's hard to tell in every case but they probably have hundreds of thousands of them and get huge discounts from the shipper.  Go in to FedEx and ask them what kind of rate you would get if you could show a solid track record of shipping 100,000 widgets versus three of them.  Sometimes people have connections and can ship using a larger companies facilities after hours.  The possibilities for competitive advantage are endless.

First rule of life:  It's who you know that matters most not what you know.

[dra_biz_05er]

If your item is under 16 ounces, sometimes you can send USPS First Class package for $2-$3. If it’s a book or magazine, Media Mail can be really cheap. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Current online rates for First Class packages start at $3.01-$3.49 for packages up to 4 ounces.

[farmalljr]

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@dra_biz_05er wrote:

If your item is under 16 ounces, sometimes you can send USPS First Class package for $2-$3. If it’s a book or magazine, Media Mail can be really cheap. 

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Magazines do NOT qualify for Media mail rates. Neither do comic books...

[soh.maryl]

Magazines, because of the fact that they usually contain advertising, do not qualify for Media Mail.

[toysaver]

"i am trying to figure out how people are selling an item (ie: dvd, videogame) for around $5 and free shipping"

There are people who can't do basic math, not stupid; just their brains work differently.  Also not everyone is here to make a huge profit.  Sometimes cleaning out a closet and getting the item recycled is the reward.

[gracieallen01]

If someone is shipping items from China, they can do so for very little compared to US sellers - and the dollar may go much further in their country than here.

[deltilogical]

They get special rates because the ULU considers them a developing country.  A 3rd world country Not only that but ebay and paypal have worked together with the USPS to get special rates, out of concern for Chinese sellers to get products to US consumers (that is literally what the USPS site said, it is beyond me why this is a concern of the USPS).    That is why it is cheaper to send material from Beijing to Des Moines than sending that same item across the street in Des Moines.   Of course, a large group of Americans were upset when the Trump Administration tried to skew this back in our favor!

[soh.maryl]

As you go along here, you'll discover that it's a waste of time and resources (yours) to think about how people are listing items at lower prices.  Your focus should be on YOUR selling and YOUR interests.  

[craft-stash]

Forget Free S&H on anything under $10.😎

[kabilab]

I have been selling movies since 1992, but, on e-Bay only 7 1/2 years using my current account. Using $5, as an example, Media Mail is $2.89, e-Bay's fee is 60 cents and the credit charge is 45 cents. Add in the cost of a mailer, toner/ink, label paper and the wear on your printer, without factoring in the DVD cost, and it comes to $4.24. If, though, a seller were not concerned with profit, you can not compete with such a person.  My approach is to only list product I am either unable to sell in my store or that is so unusual, it would be difficult to move unless it were exposed to a far greater clientele.

[chapeau-noir]

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@deltilogical wrote:

They get special rates because the ULU considers them a developing country.  A 3rd world country Not only that but ebay and paypal have worked together with the USPS to get special rates, out of concern for Chinese sellers to get products to US consumers (that is literally what the USPS site said, it is beyond me why this is a concern of the USPS).    That is why it is cheaper to send material from Beijing to Des Moines than sending that same item across the street in Des Moines.   Of course, a large group of Americans were upset when the Trump Administration tried to skew this back in our favor!

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And who was this "large group of Americans"?  It was just about the only thing he did that pretty much everybody agreed on.  What we didn't agree on is withdrawing from the UPU completely, which would have skrooed up the mails to and from something like 117 participating countries and done more harm than good.  Forcing a UPU meeting was a much better idea.