Weight and shipping charges

[denisstephenso_7]

Hello

shipping is tricky. Needing exact measurements. Weight even worse because I don’t want to lose money and pay for shipping I errored on. I have bathroom scale. How to get exact weights means correct shipping charges for buyer. Can be scary don’t want to overcharge buyer or hurt myself 

can you advise

[wastingtime101 · Accepted solution]

Ditch the bathroom scale. Get a shipping scale. You can get a great one in the $30-35 range. Make sure you're factoring in weight of box and packing material, not just the item. Make sure you measure the outer dimensions of the box, don't just go by what's printed on the box as sometimes the printed measurements are inner dimensions.

[mr_lincoln]

Hi @denisstephenso_7 

I have several simple counter top balance scales graduated UP to the following weights:

1 lbs

5 lbs

11 lbs

25 lbs

50 lbs 

Any time I exceed the max weight on one I go to the next one.  These get me close enough to be accurate.  Keep in mind that USPS always rounds UP to the next nearest Pound amount for anything over 1 Lbs.

That means that if you weight a packed item at 2 Lbs 7 Ounces the label cost is based on rounding up to 3 Lbs.

I use the Calculated shipping setting which means Buyers see what THEIR cost is to ship from my location to theirs.

Also make sure that you are Opted OUT of eBay sharing YOUR discount with Buyers for their shipping costs when using the Calculated setting.  That can be done on this page near the bottom - the section titled "Shipping discount settings": Shipping Preferences (ebay.com)

[m*and*l*sales]

Back in the old days, before we could purchase shipping online, we had to:

package up the item,

trudge to the Post Office,

get it weighed and receive a shipping quote,

then report back to the buyer with the cost,

get paid,

and then go back to the Post Office to pay for shipping.

Things are much easier now.

If you can't afford a shipping scale (seriously, they are worth every penny),  you can see if your local Post Office will provide you with the weight and dimensions (in person) for you to use for the calculated shipping rates online.

[fern*wood]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

I have several simple counter top balance scales graduated UP to the following weights:

1 lbs

5 lbs

11 lbs

25 lbs

50 lbs 

Are these display pieces you collect?  Most people just use a really simple digital countertop scale and round up.