Shipping Rates
The buyer pays for shipping unless you offer free shipping. It's important to enter accurate shipping prices so you're not paying extra. eBay has a shipping calculator you can use to find out what you should charge for shipping. You might want to offer free shipping if shipping is not too expensive and you'll make a good amount of money if the items sells.
Some options for shipping from USPS are:
Parcel Post - Parcel Post is good for large packages and delivers in 2-8 days.
First Class Mail - First class mail is a good option for small, lightweight items such as jewelry or greeting cards. The item can weigh up to 13 oz. Delivery is in 3 days or less.
Media Mail - Media mail is a great inexpensive way to send education materials such as books.
You can offer international shipping using eBay's Global Shipping Program that you can read about here. You can also enter a flat rate or calculated cost that varies depending on location.
Storing Items
Organization helps you save time while fulfilling orders or makes it less likely you will make mistakes. Always keep track of inventory in a Word document, spreadsheet or notebook. It helps to have a closet or some type of space to store packaging and your items in. Some ideas on storing items:
- Plastic bags in snack, sandwich, quart and gallon sizes are good for small items like jewelry.
- Clear plastic storage boxes are great to store items because you can see through the boxes. If you want something cheaper, cardboard boxes work well for storing larger items.
- Use labels or post it notes on side of boxes or bags.
- If you're selling media (books, CDs, DVDs), bookshelves are great to hold items. I like to alphabetize items so it's easy to find them.
- Drawers are another good place to store items.
Some good packaging materials to have are:
- mailing boxes
- bubble mailer envelopes (good for small items)
- two or three inch shipping tape, clear
- bubble wrap in two different sizes
- styrofoam packing peanuts
- plastic bags, buy in bulk, various sizes, use them for shipping and storing
- tissue paper
You can find bulk packaging items for sale on eBay or try to get them free. Depending on how you are planning to ship, you can sometimes get mailing boxes for free such as USPS flat rate boxes (link). Save packages and packaging material you get in the mail so you can reuse it.
Once an item sells, you can print out a shipping label right from eBay I like to print out shipping labels online and use the USPS Schedule a Pickup so I don't even have to go to the post office. Carefully package your item so it won't get damaged during shipping. Ship the item within 1-3 days. If you need a longer time, you can say how long your handling time is in the "handling time" option under Shipping. (screen cap)
Now you have your items shipped! Check back next week for the final part of the eBay tutorial.
No comments:
Post a Comment