eBay

chappello1 · ‎02-24-2022

I have been selling for many years but all I sold was books and shipping was determined by weight for Media Mail. I am now branching out to selling other items and I would appreciate input about which are the best options to offer. I will be selling paper items and antique toys and some glass products - nothing heavy but most will be fragile. Thanks.

dbfolks166mt · ‎02-24-2022

Try searching the previous postings about shipping options. There are a number of them out there that have some very good information in them. Following is one example.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Shipping-and-boxes/m-p/32722492#M1947935

calntom · ‎02-24-2022

Deep subject.

I will start with what I use most. Most items that are under 2 lbs. go USPS unless they are of certain value, perhaps $100 or more. Expensive items go UPS Ground, no matter what the weight.

Anything over 2-3 pounds generally goes UPS Ground unless it will fit in a Regional A USPS box. But to ship USPS, it has to be under $100 or something in which I don't have an investment.

Some folks use a lot of the USPS Flat Rate boxes. I don't because UPS Ground beats that price most of the time.

Small items of not much value and under 1 lb. go USPS 1st Class package. I ship most everything in a box to keep it from getting torn up. I don't sell any clothes, just mainly items that are parts. I ship a lot of small parts that weigh under 1 lb. and also a lot of heavier items up to 100 lbs.

Hope this helps get your shipping list going.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎02-24-2022

Packages under 1 pound can be send as USPS First Class packages if you purchase your postage online (e.g., though eBay). For packages over 1 pound, use Priority Mail.

USPS Priority Mail has 3 types of pricing: Flat rate, Regional rate, and regular rates based on package weight and distance.

There are 5 flat-rate boxes: 1 small, 2 medium and 2 large. Each of these ships at a specific price regardless of weight or destination.

There are also 4 Regional-rate boxes, known as A (2 shapes) and B (2 shapes). Each of these boxes has a maximum weight capacity and has a postage cost based on the destination Zone: The "A" boxes have a maximum weight of 15 pounds; the "B" boxes may weigh up to 20 pounds.

All the other Priority Mail boxes, as well as any box provided by the shipper, ship at the regular rates that are based on weight and distance. This includes all the numbered boxes (#4, #7, #1092 etc.). For those boxes, you would choose just Priority Mail (not any specific packaging) from the drop-down menu.

IMHO there is no need for you to learn about the UPS and FedEx options, for the items you propose to sell.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎02-24-2022

Hi, i usually ship USPS with an occasional package UPS Ground. But i prefer USPS.

When i sell fragile glass items, i always double box. Have sent fragile glass things internationally without issue when double boxing. (Make sure there is two inches between each box, with plenty of packing material.) I order enormous bags of styrofoam peanuts from Uline because that is most economical (but you need plenty of space to store them), and nearly always ship using boxes. I do not cut corners on packaging, and thankfully have never had breakage in transit in 10+ years.

Many like the USPS Priority padded flat rate mailer envelopes for sending easy to ship, non-fragile items.

coolections · ‎02-24-2022

Priority is the way to go. There is not much difference in price than first class. Flat rate could work on a lot of stuff but compare the cost to priority. Use Ebay shipping option for your discount. Heavier items UPS would probably be a better choice but personally I would never sell heavier items here on Ebay.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎02-24-2022

@coolections wrote:
Priority is the way to go. There is not much difference in price than first class. ....

Online postage for First Class packages ranges from $3.37 to $6.28, depending on weight and distance (Zone).

Priority Mail weight-based shipping for up to 1 pound costs $7.37 to $9.68, depending on Zone. Flat rate envelopes start at $7.75. But with Priority you get insurance and maybe a free box/envelope.

mtgraves7984 · ‎02-24-2022

I use USPS exclusively and have extremely good luck with them. First Class when I can, Priority if it warrants it.

iart · ‎02-24-2022

That's a hard question. You'll make mistakes but learn from them.

We ship 1st class if able. Items go fairly fast but they're also stacked with other 'light' 1st class mail instead of heavy boxes going media or priority. So, safer (we hope).

For large and heavy items, we often use Fed Ex. Dropping off can be a pain and time consuming though.

Trial and error for different costs Priority flat rate vs. regular priority - based on how far away it goes.

We like accepting best offers, for one reason, we can see where the item will ship before responding. Buyers further away get a higher counter offer than those who are closer.

We default choose the USPS 'economy' option which doesn't tie us in too much.

Giving away our secrets here!

lepke1979 · ‎02-24-2022

As mentioned, less than 1 pound, USPS First Class will usually be best. Prices are in tiers, 4 oz, 8 oz, 12 oz, and 15.999 oz. I have found that 13 oz is cheaper at retail than 14+ for some reason. So will usually put the item at that weight even if it's really 14 or 15 oz to help the buyer. But that's up to how you want to go about things.

Above 1 pound, USPS Priority or Parcel Post may be your best bet. But FedEx/UPS may be be better if the item is heavy. Will usually stick with USPS even if they're a couple dollars more only because it's more convenient. You may want to look at Pirate Ship for labels because they offer cubic shipping as an option. Which will be slightly cheaper than regular priority mail if your package is under a certain size. They also have an agreement with UPS now so you can play with box weights and sizes and see what prices are for various zip codes. Not sure how UPS on eBay compares with Pirate Ship, but supposedly the price is locked in with the latter. Whereas, you may see a charge after the fact with eBay.

Bottom of pages have weight charts:

https://www.pirateship.com/usps/parcel-select-ground

https://www.pirateship.com/usps/priority-mail-cubic

https://www.pirateship.com/usps/priority-mail

If you are Top Rated, flat rate stuff will be cheaper via eBay compared with elsewhere. The other USPS rates should be the same outside of cubic shipping. Pirate Ship also has Simple Export Rate which is usually cheaper to get stuff out of the country if under 4 pounds. But you may want to stick with GSP starting out because it can potentially be less of a headache.

https://www.pirateship.com/usps/simple-export-rate

nobody*s_perfect · ‎02-24-2022

@lepke1979 wrote: ... . I have found that 13 oz is cheaper at retail than 14+ for some reason. ...

You need to check that again. The retail postage cost for 13 ounces is $7.05 - $765; online price is $5.49 - $6.28.

http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/notice123.pdf

The shipping calculator in eBay listings defaults to show the retail prices; for weights above 13 ounces, it will bounce the price up to Priority, just as the clerk at the Post office would.

lepke1979 · ‎02-24-2022

@nobody*s_perfect wrote:
@lepke1979 wrote: ... . I have found that 13 oz is cheaper at retail than 14+ for some reason. ...
You need to check that again. The retail postage cost for 13 ounces is $7.05 - $765; online price is $5.49 - $6.28.

http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/notice123.pdf

The shipping calculator in eBay listings defaults to show the retail prices; for weights above 13 ounces, it will bounce the price up to Priority, just as the clerk at the Post office would.

Well, that explains why the price jump. Will usually just set the weight to 13oz even if it's a couple ounces higher.

chappello1 · ‎02-26-2022

Priority Mail seems pretty expensive. Are UPS and FedEx cheaper? Also, does Ebay provide a choice of only two options? I tried a dummy listing and it seems like I can only offer two options. Somewhere else ( I don't even remember where!) there are all kinds of options for USPS, FedEx, and UPS. (media mail was so much easier!) Thanks for your help.