Shipping costs!! Oops!

[dieselram94]

I recently sold some items I no longer need (leftover parts) from a diesel pickup I am building. I sold a gauge bezel for $25 plus $10 shipping. I boxed it up and had my wife ship multiple items out. It turns out this item about eleven by thirty inches cost me $34.90 in shipping!! Oops, my mistake completely. So of course I eat the extra cost of shipping. How do you pros figure cost of shipping accurately?

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[Ursus]

Make sure you put both the weight AND the size of the package in the eBay postage calculator. The size of the package is probably what bit you on this one. USPS had three tiers (I think) when it comes to sizes of boxes for parcel post. Put the size and weights in, and the buyers should pay you the correct postage.

 

[dieselram94]

Make sure you put both the weight AND the size of the package in the eBay postage calculator. The size of the package is probably what bit you on this one. USPS had three tiers (I think) when it comes to sizes of boxes for parcel post. Put the size and weights in, and the buyers should pay you the correct postage.

Thanks, I won't do any more estimating for sure.

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[dumpsterdiver]

If you use the calculator enough you can estimate within a few dollars and those few dollars mostly depend on how far away from you its going. However you will be forced to repack a few things when you are in the learning process. If it was far away you probably needed a flat rate box.

 

[ridgecrawler]

to use the USPS, calculator you will have to enter your zip code and the zip where it is going, Measure the length, width, and height and have an accurate weight.

 

[cheese]

You don't charge your price for shipping. You put the dimensions and the weight in the shipping calculator and ebay tells the customer how much shipping is. You will never lose money on shipping this way. There is no reason you should ever have to undercharge or overcharge for shipping. If it's going to someone the next state over, it will tell them how much shipping is and they pay it. If it's going across the country, it will tell them the higher price and they will pay it. It will show before they bid and there will be no questions or mistakes. Simple and worry free.

 

[dieselram94]

Yup, looks like I am going to buy a scale. Some lessons certainly hurt. Thanks everyone!

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[cheese]

I don't even list an item until it is packed in it's box, taped shut and ready to ship. I mark what it is on the box. This way there is no guessing about the weights or dimensions. Also, the items are protected now while they wait to sell. I've had some items hang around for a year before they finally sold, and they stayed dust free and protected in these boxes. Also, the stuff is easier to store this way. Boxes can be stacked much more easily than loose items, and when it sells, there is no hassle, it's already packed. All I have to do is print a label and slap it on and put it in the mail.

 

[dieselram94]

I don't even list an item until it is packed in it's box, taped shut and ready to ship. I mark what it is on the box. This way there is no guessing about the weights or dimensions. Also, the items are protected now while they wait to sell. I've had some items hang around for a year before they finally sold, and they stayed dust free and protected in these boxes. Also, the stuff is easier to store this way. Boxes can be stacked much more easily than loose items, and when it sells, there is no hassle, it's already packed. All I have to do is print a label and slap it on and put it in the mail.

Excellent, this is exactly how I am going to do this from now on. Is there a fee for printing a label?

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[Cojones]

Larger items should be shipped FEDex. It usually comes out to half the price of USPS. You can print a fedex label directly through ebay. FEDex does not charge you till the item is delivered, while USPS will charge you once you print the label.

 

[Beachkid23]

Larger items should be shipped FEDex. It usually comes out to half the price of USPS. You can print a fedex label directly through ebay. FEDex does not charge you till the item is delivered, while USPS will charge you once you print the label.

I can tell you 23 lbs from fort myers fl to California was $50 FedEx. USPS was a loss on the sale. If its over 4 lbs and won't fit in a flat rate box, I'm going FedEx.

 

[dieselram94]

Larger items should be shipped FEDex. It usually comes out to half the price of USPS. You can print a fedex label directly through ebay. FEDex does not charge you till the item is delivered, while USPS will charge you once you print the label.

I can tell you 23 lbs from fort myers fl to California was $50 FedEx. USPS was a loss on the sale. If its over 4 lbs and won't fit in a flat rate box, I'm going FedEx.

Thanks for the heads up on this. Is it always best to drop item off at FedEx vs having FedEx pick it up?

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[dirtdigginfool]

I listed an RC truck with BIN of $219.00...and I state that I do not ship outside the country-mostly due to the fact I don't sell that much and I have had a hassle before. Sooo..dude from Australia buys it...hmm..well he paid for it and he specified fast shipping and I figure $90.00 would cover it...figured wrong..ugh..$124.00 later it went out. AND then he dings me...says the engine wont turn over...sold AS IS - not running condition, parts only...sheesh.. ddf

 

[dieselram94]

I listed an RC truck with BIN of $219.00...and I state that I do not ship outside the country-mostly due to the fact I don't sell that much and I have had a hassle before. Sooo..dude from Australia buys it...hmm..well he paid for it and he specified fast shipping and I figure $90.00 would cover it...figured wrong..ugh..$124.00 later it went out. AND then he dings me...says the engine wont turn over...sold AS IS - not running condition, parts only...sheesh.. ddf

That sucks, luckily I have yet to have a bad buyer. I'm sure it will happen though...

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[cheese]

It doesn't cost anything to print a label. Ebay has it all set up so that when the item sells, you can see in in your sold items. From there, you will see a button to click to print a label. You click it and it puts the buyer's name and address, your return address, the proper amount of postage, and everything on it automatically. It debits your account for the shipping automatically. It really is easy. I use USPS for everything up to 70 lbs. It's usually cheap enough for me, and the mailman picks it up at my home. An added bonus to printing labels on ebay is that if you meet certain criteria, you get a shipping discount. It is more of a discount than the ebay fees on shipping, so I get my fees back and then some!

 

[Tallone]

I don't even list an item until it is packed in it's box, taped shut and ready to ship.

There are, potentially, a couple of downsides to this approach. Every now and then, somebody will ask a question about an item and you will have to unpack the item to examine it and respond. If you do a good job with your photos and description in the listing this should be a rare occurrence but it does happen.

The other possible problem is if somebody wants to buy multiple items from you and put all the items in the same box to reduce shipping cost.

I have had both scenarios happen to me so I never box anything until the item is sold. This, of course, does lead to a little uncertainty in estimating shipping cost but I find that if I weigh the item and add a pound or so (depending on the size of the item) I rarely miss the true cost by more than a dollar. Sometimes I make a little extra on shipping, sometimes I lose a little but it all pretty much evens out in the end.

The only time I use ebay's calculated shipping is for really large (130+ inch girth) or very heavy items.