Why Does it Cost So Much to Mail Something so Small?!

[johnso9y_3]

Hi all,

The item I'm trying to sell a replacement game pieces that, when packaged, is about 1 oz per package. The package is a 4 x 6 bubble mailer. The object is flat as is the piece of cardboard it'll be encased in while in the bubble mailer.

The calculated shipping on eBay is $4.00 - $4.45. If I charge the buyer for shipping, I'm afraid I'll never sell anything. However, if I take on this cost, I'll be operating at a loss.

Is there ANY way to bring the price down to something reasonable? I figured that something that I could send with a Forever Stamp would charge only a little more than a Forever Stamp.

If I go to the post office, send the package from there, and request a tracking number, will I get a better price? What price should I expect by going directly to the post office? If I choose to go the post office, can I avoid being charged for shipping through the eBay website?

[somanypostcards]

I mail most of my postcards backed with semi-rigid cardboard in letters without tracking.  If the letter contains a number of postcards so that it is fairly rigid, I write "hand cancel" on the envelope and pay an extra $.20 for this.  I am a seller in good standing, but I do not qualify as a top rated seller since letters do not have tracking.  Shipping this way usually costs $.55 - $.95 per order.

[lightlily_arts]

The post office will charge you the retail rate which could be $4.00 to $4.45.   The First Class mail rates are the same for each tier meaning 1-4 oz, 5-8 oz, 8-12 oz, and 13-16 oz.   eBay charges sellers their  commercial rate. However,  then their final value fees which include shipping nullify the discount.  The only option you have is to send it by regular mail, but then you don't have any tracking.  eBay is not the place to sell low cost items unless you are willing to chance shipping without tracking.  The best you can do is charge the shipping since replacement parts would be hard to find.

[flomantiques54]

Please keep in mind when working with small value items, ebay takes a Final Value Fee from what your customer pays for shipping.  And the listing fee of $.30 is a large percentage of smal value items.  So you'll need to calculate the percentage they charge on your category.  An example, when I get  payout I can see that ebay takes 12%-13% of the total transaction proceeds on my listings.  This means that they take 12%-13% of the shipping that buyers pay me.  This is problematic at both ends of the value scale.  If I ship internationally with very high shipping costs, ebay takes 12%-13% of what the buyer pays for shipping.  My solution is to determine the worst case shipping cost, both domestic and international,  and add a handling fee based on that amount.  So that when a buyer pays X for shipping, I can deduct 12%-13% and be left with enough to pay for the ebay shipping label.  It may make shipping high for the customer, but they actually pay me enough to cover the shipping after ebay takes the FVF away from the shipping paid.  

[soh.maryl]

Helpful, but the original message is 1 1/2 yrs old.

[kh-vince]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.