Ebay - Shipping & Handling

i don't know if this was ebay's version of a x-mas gift, but i actually received a nice little sellers' package after selling a few items. in this package, ebay included cheap but good weighing 'plates' which can weigh things up to quite a large amount (but definitely not your stereo), a measuring tape, some useful reminder notes and a few shipping enveloppes. this might be a better option than spending the money to get your own scale. other than that, the post office should be happy enough to weigh things for you or tell you price ranges, even if you walk away without posting anything. they are not solely there to sell their wares, but also to give info to the general public. they have always been really helpful to me! i thought i'd be annoying them too at first, but i was wrong :) i actually did what you suggested: walked in with an example envelope with the dimensions i wanted to post, and said 'gimme the shipping charges for Canada, the U.S. and abroad'. i was expecting a long complicated conversation, but i was done in a minute :)

most people I think just estimate on shipping and handling. I know that is what I do. I just look at what others have for a shipping cost and usually put down my cost around there. Always ask a little more for shipping then you think it will actually cost because you have to pay for envelopes unless you do priority mail. Also, be sure to send items in padded envelopes because people get upset up the items are even minutely damaged. As for internation shipping, you can either write in the item description that the cost to send internationally will be determined after the auction ends or you can check that you do not send items internationally. Hope this helps.

I have started selling things recently on eBay. Only books and clothing but the postage costing was the hardest thing for me to work out. Some people post things so cheaply and others are a bit over thetop with their fees. I found that if you go on your postal web sit (or there is a link on Australian eBay) you can work out what it would cost before you put your item up for sale. Good luck and happy selling!!!

I use ebay's option to let the buyer calculate shipping to their zip code. I don't have a good scale, so I estimate the weight. If it feels like around 3 pounds, boxed up, then I put the weight in at 3.5 pounds. That way I know it'll be covered, or at least close. The buyer puts in their zip code and pays you whatever the cost comes up to. Sometimes I'll use the print at home postage they have (easy to use if you know the weight!) but usually I just run it into the post office and pay cash there. That keeps my paypal account higher. LOL! That way if I've gotten the weight wrong, I'm not overpaying.

I sell a few things on ebay and have never had anyone say anything about my shipping charges. I usually weigh the item and add a little and that's the shipping, in the US, regardless of zip code. (and that's through USPS) Have you ever considered Craigslist for your larger items? Then there's no shipping worries and it's free to list. That's what I use for bigger items that wouldn't be cost effective to ship. If you haven't used it before, definitely check it out before you start listing everything on ebay. Otherwise, don't stress too much about the shipping fees. If you weigh your item, and I use a cheapo kitchen scale from walgreens, and check the price on the USPS website you should be good. I normally add $1 or something just to cover my paypal fees, because I'm like some other buyers, I won't buy unless they accept paypal but sometimes on cheaper items it isn't worth it if you have to deduct fees. I think a lot of people do this, just as long as you don't add $10 on to shipping. In fact, your listing could be flagged if your shipping is too outrageous because then they assume you are trying to avoid final value fees by just putting it in shipping. But that's a whole other subject. Good luck and I'm sure you will do fine!

Unless you have a set of accurate scales & a sheet of all the postage prices in the USA & world wide, the only way you'll know what to charge in postage is if they're taken & weighed at the post office. You can only become a power seller if you make over a certain amount of money in a certain time frame anyway. You need weight your items, to go to the USPS website, & there is where you can find out the postal charges. On there yuo can find out exact weights for US zip codes, as well as many other countries. Postage you cant really charge more than it is going to cost you, but you can charge a small amount more for packing fees (make sure they're packed properly) & you can also charge a small handling fee for the time it takes to pack up & take the item to be posted. I usually just select World Wide as my postal range, that means, anyone, anywhere can bid or buy the item i'm selling & since they're the ones paying for the items & it's shipping, i don't care where it's being sent to. Good luck with selling your items, just be sure to be fair with your handling fees as there is always a chance someone will not be happy if you charge too much more than actual postage & that could result in negative feedback for you.

Well do you have a postal scale? You can get them reasonable on ebay for about 20 to 30 dollars. Don't buy them in the stores, they are very expensive. If you have one, weigh each item, take into account the packaging and add a few ounces. Then go to the postal website and look up that weight for different classes of mail (first class, media, priority,etc). Media mail would be best for heavy items. The usps website will list the United States by zones. I think it's 1 through 8. Just look at the weight and then each of the zones and make sure you charge over the highest shipping for whatever zone. That's what I do. A scale is really a necessity if you plan on selling alot. Then for overseas, you can do the same thing. If you know the weight ahead of time, you can find out all shipping prices at home and don't have to lug everything to the post office. Just go to the postal website. In fact, try downloading the shipping assitant from their site. It's for free. Good luck! I've been selling for years! Btw, with priority mail, it's 4.05 for up to 1 pound anywhere in the US.

I am an eBay Seller and have sold many items around the world and if you want to sell on eBay you need to offer this, especially since it allows you to sell your items to everyone. The best to do is to calculate your shipping and if you want to add handling charge for doing it will allow you to do so. Just make sure you weight your item, I always include a pound over what I weight for packing items that I might include with the item. This way you are protected. In the end, it seemed my shipping quote was always a little higher than what the actual cost was, which I would consider good since you don't want to be cheated on shipping, ever. Also, if you go to http://www.stamps.com, and you order the service they will ship out a 25 pound scale to you for free, which is a great deal, especially if you are going to ship often. Otherwise you can use a house scale for your weight measurements and go to http://www.usps.com for instructions on weight and measurements of the items. Good luck to you.

Ive been to eBay couples of time but I never tried trading from there. Im still not used to their programs and have some skeptical thoughts of how the transactions work. MAybe someday I'll joined in the site.

Most post offices here in the United States have a mechine in the lobby which will weigh your package, tell you the postage, and allow you to drop the package into the mechine for latter pickup. I like to use a one tate priority box, as it is often cheaper. If you want to know about postage to other countries you will have to go inside the post office and ask a window clerk.

When I wanted to get rid of some of my things especially books and the DVD's and VHS my toddler doesn't want to watch, I just go to the USPS website and look in there. Usually media mail is the cheapest and I will just put extra for a tracking number. For other items, I use the flat rate box of $7 no matter what the weight as long as it fits in the box. I usually don't ship worldwide just in the US. Just like you, I don't want to be a powerseller but just getting rid of some stuff to be able to buy other stuff at ebay.

depending on what you are selling and how big the item is, you may be able to estimate how much it will cost, sending worldwide will be difficult but if sending within australia, i would try www.austpost.com.au, you will be able to put in measurements of your pascel and get a price,you could always have pick up only or post to australia only, be careful not to overcharge on postage as this may stop people from bidding or may make people give you negitive or neutral feedback rather than positive.i think the austpost website would probably be your best bet mate.

I generally list items using the 'shipping calculator' feature on ebay. As others have already mentioned - get ahold of a good postal scale to weigh the item and packing material. Be sure to select the option on ebay's shipping calculator to include the cost of your shipping materials - bubble wrap, boxes, etc. Unlike some others - I only accept paypal, not checks or money orders. It works well for me.

I think someone mentioned in another posting to purchase a good set of scales. If you are just selling a few items here and there, then you don't need to worry about such an expense. If the items are small enough, then purchase a $10-20 scale (kitchen scale, bathroom scale) to weigh your packages. Remember to account for what type of packing you may use. For example, a book will obviously be somewhat heavier when packaged in a box, and even a large amount of newspaper stuffed into a package to secure loose or fragile items can add significantly to the weight, as well as the box itself. After you have a fairly accurate weight, you can use the "calculate postage" option as www.usps.com for both domestic and international postage, using the rates you find work best for you. Remember that those rates represent what it costs to ship the package, not the cost of the shipping supplies, so you'll want to factor in the cost of shipping supplies as well. And S&H can also include your trip to the post office if it is a significant distance. Just don't get too greedy, or you'll scare off bidders.

If you have a lot of stuff that you are going to be selling I would suggest that you get a small postage scale. You can get one at Walmart for $20 or less and will take a lot of the troubles out of guessing about the cost of shipping. Another idea is to take advantage of the flat rate shipping boxes that the post office has. Hope this helps you....I have been selling on Ebay for many years and love almost every minute of it.

you got a good question, i am about to ask that same question here on mylot, as i have several things that are needed and used clothes to sell. i am planning to sell it on ebay.ph. all i want to know is how the shipping cost maybe...

As I'm unsure of where you are in the big wide world I can't give you any weblinks but most post offices have online sites where you can get a price for postage. You just need the weight of the item and depending on what it is - you just enter the information and the destination and ... volia ... a price appears!! So if you have some decent scales it should be easy for you - and it's a lot easier just to look something up online than to drag yourself down to the post office just for a price. This is also extremely helpful when you are going to post the item as you know how much it's going to cost you. As I'm in Australia, I personally list on my auctions a price for delivery Australia wide and then one for worldwide. The worldwide price I use comes from the country farthest away that I find I have most business with [in my case the UK]. You also will find that there are different prices to send goods overseas depending on if you send it via air or economy/surface mail. For my first few auctions when I was starting out I only listed a price to send locally and had written on the auction "contact me if you want a price for overseas" and then i could get a price for them exactly. If you decide to add a handling fee for your auctions, you need to make sure it's reasonable. A lot of ebay sellers have 99c auctions and then a HUGE shipping and handling fee - this it to avoid eBay fees as you don't pay them on shipping ... also if something goes sour on the transaction eBay will only repay you the cost price ... not the actual price that you paid including s&h. The forums over on eBay [under the help section] are a great place to hang out and learn more. Hopefully you'll be up and selling soon!

I always look at other people that are selling the same or similar things and see what they are charging. There are usually a wide range of prices so I pick something in the middle...

The shipping and handling is used by different people on ebay for different things. Most include the fees that Ebay will charge them, the listing fee, final listing fee, the paypal charge for receiving the money.......... It is best to weigh the packages that you are going to send and calculate the weight, do not forget that when they are wrapped they will be heavier also. For international sellers you have to be careful, it can be very expensive to send to some countries so you have to be careful If you calculate these figures wrong, you can lose a lot of money and also could end up paying for the auction and make a loss

I have sold several things on ebay. I tend to look at how much others are charging for the same item - you can usually get a good idea from that. I also look at the post office web site (royal mail as I am in the UK) which tells you how much it would be to send items anywhere in the world providing you know how much the item weighs. I tend to say I will post in the UK and give the postage amount and ask that if someone outside the UK wants to bid they contact me for the postage costs. That way they tell me where in the world they are so I can work it out and e-mail them back. That way you can even take the item to the post office, weigh it and they will let you know how much it will be. Good luck