eBay

cannonball-jojo · ‎01-04-2018

I was curious if any sellers out there have used a USPS shipping software that is doing a good job for them. I mainly ship small boxes that weigh less than 10 lbs.

I have a decent scale to weigh items, and the boxes will be the same in about three different sizes. I am hoping to download some software or an app that can preset certain values, and streamline the process of ascertaining the shipping cost and creating paid postage labels on a HP laser jet printer at home.

It does not have to be anything too intricate or complicated. I am not a mass seller. I hope to find something in a reasonable price range.

Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

cannonball-jojo · ‎01-04-2018

@partial*eclipse wrote:
cannonball-jojo wrote: ... How is it seller error if I set my account preferences to "no discounts" and the pricing is different? ... Right now my only option is to go to the post office.
It's seller error when the seller chooses to set up his listing with Parcel Select Ground, which is only available as an online discounted service, and then ships the item at the Post office.

You have listings set up with Parcel Select; if you ship those at the PO, then you will be sold either Retail Ground or Priority Mail, which both will cost more than Parcel Select. In order to charge an accurate price, you must set up the shipping calculator with the service that you will actually use.

As noted in the other post, the shipping calculator for USPS psotage is (approximately) 99.99% accurate when set up correctly.

Now we are getting somewhere. Thanks for that info. It is hard for a newbie to know the plethora of shipping options. Which service selection should match with USPS walk in customer rates? I am talkig about lowest cost and probably the slowest delivery option - is it Retail Ground Service?

missjen831 · ‎01-04-2018

@cannonball-jojo wrote:
@partial*eclipse wrote:
cannonball-jojo wrote: ... How is it seller error if I set my account preferences to "no discounts" and the pricing is different? ... Right now my only option is to go to the post office.
It's seller error when the seller chooses to set up his listing with Parcel Select Ground, which is only available as an online discounted service, and then ships the item at the Post office.

You have listings set up with Parcel Select; if you ship those at the PO, then you will be sold either Retail Ground or Priority Mail, which both will cost more than Parcel Select. In order to charge an accurate price, you must set up the shipping calculator with the service that you will actually use.

As noted in the other post, the shipping calculator for USPS psotage is (approximately) 99.99% accurate when set up correctly.

Now we are getting somewhere. Thanks for that info. It is hard for a newbie to know the plethora of shipping options. Which service selection should match with USPS walk in customer rates? I am talkig about lowest cost and probably the slowest delivery option - is it Retail Ground Service?

Retail ground can actually be more expensive than priority. Slowest and cheapest method isn't, and this is just my opinion, but its generally not a good idea when selling on ebay (unless buyer asks for it) because buyers want their items fast. Also, the longer your item is in the hands of the carrier, the more likely it is to be damaged. Most of what you have listed can ship first class and priority at a low rate.

One life is all we have to live
Love is all we have to give

**Formerly known as MissJen316**

partial*eclipse · ‎01-04-2018

cannonball-jojo wrote: .... Which service selection should match with USPS walk in customer rates? I am talkig about lowest cost and probably the slowest delivery option - is it Retail Ground Service?

Parcel Select Ground and Retail Ground used to be known as Parcel Post.

It's natural to assume that the slow ground method wil be cheaper than Priority Mail, but as noted in the other post that's not the case. For online postage, the prices for Parcel Select and Priority Mail are identical (or just 5 cents apart) for all packages up to 18 pounds, except those that are over 1 cubic foot and going to Zones 5 - 9 (those incur the dreaded "dimensional weight" fee for Priority). IIRC, the same is true for the equivalent retail services.