shipping encyclopedia

[peachielovebird]

Hi,

I have a 39 pc encyclopedia set  that I'll be listing soon. My question is  - how do I ship the set? They'll be sent via Media Mail and may go over the USPS 70lb limit. I can find a huge box that will hold them but it'll be very heavy for me, the mail carrier and the buyer. If I break the set up ebay only allows me to create 1 label I assume. So, can anyone suggest what I should do?

Thanks for any help!

[nobody*s_perfect]

You can purchase up to 5 labels for any eBay Sold item.  I recommend that you divide the books into boxes that weigh no more than 20 pounds if possible.

[alcoforever]

Before you go to the trouble of listing it, I would recommend checking the recent sold prices of encyclopedias.    I suspect you will find they are very low value.   Wikipedia has made them obsolete.

[wastingtime101 · Accepted solution]

I agree with the others @peachielovebird.

First determine if the set is valuable enough to be worth selling. If asking prices are low then you can probably sell locally - people will use for craft purposes at the very least.

If asking prices are high enough, then split up the lot into multiple boxes. Determine how much each box will cost to ship then list them with a flat rate high enough to cover all boxes. You can use up to 5 tracking numbers per transaction.

It's not a bad idea to create a manifest that says which volumes are in each box and put a copy inside of each box, plus keep one for yourself. Sometimes boxes shipped on the same day are delivered on different days and it will help both you and the buyer to know what is in each box.

[lesegouts]

If you need more than 5 labels just put the address on each box and take them to the P.O. They will give each box their own tracking #.  Media Mail via ebay is no less expensive than from the P.O. There is no discount.

[2013grotz]

Most of the others covered the actual mechanics in shipping this.  But I will say, encyclopedias have gotten redundant for the Internet both for convenience and age of the data contained in the books.  You might have a random person or two that wants it for kitsch value or crafts, but you'll likely find it impossible to sell them, much more for a good enough price to handle the shipping costs.

[nobody*s_perfect]

@2013grotz   OP posted last May.

@sbdmsw1978  The original poster is in California , so is unlikely to take you up on your offer. Unless you have a very rare set ( antique Britannicas etc.) which is worth shipping, you're better-off listing them on a local free pickup site.

[2013grotz]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

@2013grotz   OP posted last May.

I see that now. A little bit more exuberance than warranted upon discovering I can add something to a thread.

[ginbo-16]

I’m here for the same question. How do you print up to five labels?

[nobody*s_perfect]

After you purchase the label for the first box, the next screen has the option to purchase another label for this order. You can also find a link in the order history.