I heard Neal Boortz advertising a special on Stamps.com on his radio show. I have used Stamps.com since I started selling on eBay back in 2003. It is fast, easy, and you can print anything including international postage (all classes). In my “super economical” fashion, I use the 10 to a page labels for domestic shipping. (Some sellers use plain paper and attach the postage with clear tape and avoid buying labels all together.)

The Neal Special on Stamps.com includes:

$45 in postage
$50 digital scale (wow, nice!)
$5 supplies kit
4 week free trial ($15 value)

Total value = $100

If you are not using an online postage service, or aren’t happy with the one you are with now, you might want to check out the Neal Special. Just go to Stamps.com, click on the radio icon in the top right corner, and on the next page enter the code NEAL. What do you have to lose? And if you don’t like the scale, you can always sell it on eBay!

Post from: EveryJoe

Online Shipping for eBay

In a post on the eBay Announcement Board, Power Sellers will receive “double final value fee discounts on all fixed-price and auction-style listings from October 1- December 31.”

The holidays are coming quickly and is the busiest time on eBay. Take advantage of the extra traffic and this discount by offering free shipping on both fixed-price and auction-style listings during this time. Remember, you aren’t actually shipping the item for free – just work the shipping cost into the sales price of the item.

If you want to be really resourceful this year, learn how to get free items to sell on eBay during the holidays. Click here for a list of creative “out of the box” ideas for getting free items to sell on eBay.

[Image Source: Flickr, eBay Coach photos]

Post from: EveryJoe

Offer Free Shipping on eBay – Get Discounts

If you are selling internationally, you may want to take some time to research the import fees and limits for the countries you ship to. Many eBay buyers don’t know what the limits and fees are in their own countries. Here is a scenario of what can happen if the seller is not informed:

1) Customer orders eBay item(s) from you.
2) Package arrives in customer’s country.
3) Customer is charged a hefty fee because the value of the shipment.
4) Customer refuses package due to the additional fees, or customer pays the fees to obtain his product.
5) If the customer refuses the package, it probably won’t make it back to the seller; and the customer will probably file a Paypal claim to have his money refunded.
6) If customer pays the fee, he will probably leave negative feedback for the seller.

Granted, it is not really the seller’s responsibility to understand all of the customs rules in other countries. Sellers who go the extra mile to stay informed can avoid situations like these. The following links will help:

Shipping to Canada

Shipping to The United Kingdom

Shipping to Australia

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

Customs Fees When Shipping to International Addresses

I received this question from a reader, and felt like others may benefit from my answer. Jennifer asked, “You talk about shipping and getting shipping materials for low cost. Why can’t you take the item to one of those shipping companies (like Goin’ Postal) that ships things and packages them? They have all the packaging stuff, etc. It seems so much easier than doing it yourself. What am I missing?”

Well, Jennifer, you are missing the cost and time factor. If you are shipping 10 items a day, it is not time efficient to carry all that merchandise up to another location to let them pack it. (Consider gas prices, having to get out in bad weather, or carrying small children with you, if you have them.) You will be standing there waiting for at least an hour – an hour you could spend doing something more productive.

The boxes, packing materials, and packing services at those stores are expensive and not cost effective for a small home business. By the time you pay the shipping store for the boxes, packing materials, and their services to pack the item, you have dipped into the profit on your eBay sale, or more likely, it has cost you money to sell the item. Unless you have an unusually large, bulky, or fragile item, you should just ship it yourself. Shipping is a huge part of running an eBay store, and unless you are a huge seller with negotiated rates with a major carrier, you are better off just doing it yourself. For most home eBay sellers, packing and shipping takes up about 50% of the time they spend working on their stores, so if you plan to sell on eBay, be prepared to spend a good portion of your time shipping.

The packing and shipping process is much faster if you do it at home yourself and schedule a daily USPS pickup by your mail carrier. (If you only have a few items, you can just put them in your mailbox wihout having to schedule a pick up.)

When running any business, you have to look at costs. Shipping costs are a big one for eBay sellers which is why we try to find low cost or free supplies and use the most cost efficient carrier for the type of item we are selling.

(I personally have nothing against the postal stores and have used them for shipping personal items or other reasons. But as a daily part of your eBay business, they are not cost effective)

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

What About Using Goin’ Postal for Shipping eBay Items?

This new policy exists for a few reasons. First, buyers should be informed of shipping fees. It is only fair. Second, sellers must offer full disclosure and show the shipping fee before the buyer bids.

eBay has provided a way to bulk edit your listings through Selling Manager and Turbo Lister. According to eBay:

“Sellers will be able to revise listings in three ways using eBay’s tools:
Revise them individually (listing by listing) using Sell Your Item (SYI) or your favorite listing tool. Revise them in bulk using our Bulk Edit tool, which is available in My eBay and Selling Manager. You can revise 10 listings at a time in My eBay or up to 200 at a time for Selling Manager. Revise them in bulk using Turbo Lister.”

Click here to read the eBay FAQs regarding bulk editing your listings.

Post from: EveryJoe

eBay Specified Shipping Now Required

This topic comes up on every eBay forum and group that I belong to at least once a month. A seller, usually a new seller, offers a tip about using the free USPS Priority/Express Mail supplies for other classes of mail. The uninformed seller suggests that you turn them inside out and use them for First Class, international, Parcel Post, and Media Mail. Here is an actual post from one of my forums:

“I actually dont pay for my First class shipping supplies. My secret is turning the priority mailers from USPS inside out and voila! They do get a little wrinkled but they look like that when the post office handles them anyways…just a tip.”

Not a good idea! This is definitely not a way to cut corners for these reasons:

1) if you choose to use the Tyveks for first class, don’t be surprised if you get an email from a customer saying he was charged extra in shipping. The USPS upgrades the shipping rate to Priority/Express if they catch you using the materials inside out. Not a very good way to impress a customer.

2) The package may be returned to you and the customer won’t receive it at all. You’ll have to pay to ship it all over again.

3) It is written right in the USPS Domestic Mail Manual that materials provided by the USPS with markings for Priority Mail may ONLY be used for shipping at the Priority Mail rate of postage. “Priority Mail Packaging Provided by the USPS – Priority Mail packaging provided by the USPS must be used only for Priority Mail. Regardless of how the packaging is reconfigured [TURNED INSIDE OUT] or how markings may be obliterated, any matter mailed in USPS-provided Priority Mail packaging is charged the appropriate Priority Mail rate.” Click here to read the actual USPS document.

4) You may not re-use Priority or Express materials for other classes of mail. Sounds great for recycling purposes, but is not allowed by the USPS.

Using these supplies for situations other than what they are intended for is considered stealing from the post office and you can be fined. Remember, the post office is a branch of the Federal Government and they are serious about fraud and theft. Click here for a list of legitimate ways to get free shipping supplies for other than Priority/Express mail.

Of course, if you want to make clothing with the Tyveks, that is another story!

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

Don’t Get Creative with USPS Priority and Express Mail Supplies

The eBay Power Up Newsletter had some great tips for improving shipping DSRs. Make a note of these!

1. Charge exact shipping fees. (Work your expenses for supplies, ink, etc. into the sale price of the item.)

2. Add a note to all listings, your store homepage, and all of your automated emails explaining how your items are packed, how they will be shipped, and how often you ship.

3. Communicate with your buyers. Send an email a week after shipping the item to confirm receipt.

4. Make sure your packaging looks neat and professional. The package is the buyer’s first impression of you as a seller – make it count.

5. Include an invoice or packing ship. It may use a lot of paper and ink to do this, but it is professional and the proper protocol for online selling. Chalk it up as a buiness expense.

6. Ask for positive feedback and good ratings. Ask for feedback from your customers about how you can improve your shipping time, packaging, etc.

7. Offer return shipping on refunds. (This is a biggie – but it can pay off in the end.)

8. Dissatisfaction spills over into all areas of your DSRs. If the customer is unhappy with one aspect of the sale, he may go on a rampage and rate you low on everything. Cover all your bases to avoid an angry customer.

9. Offer free shipping if possible. Again, work the shipping cost into the sale price of the item. Add “free shipping” to your title. Some buyers search on these terms alone.

10. Always use USPS Delivery Confirmation. If there is a problem with the package, you can track it to see what happened, and take steps to resolve the problem immediately.

4.8 DSRs and higher may appear higher in search results, so take these steps to improve your chances of appearing at the top of the page!

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

10 Tips to Improve eBay Shipping DSRs

My friend, Jordan Gaffey, has been stationed in Japan with her husband for 3 years. Jordan’s husband serves in the US military. I met Jordan a few months ago through a WAHM website called MomPack. Jordan expressed her frustration with buying online, especially on eBay, because many sellers won’t take the extra steps involved in shipping to a US military address.

Jordan offers the following suggestions about how all online sellers can accommodate our troops who have a APO/FPO address. (Hey, it is the least we can do for those serving our country, right?)

1) Remove shipping restrictions for international buyers, or add a note that you will ship to APO/FPO addresses. Jordan has wanted to order items several times in the past and ran into road blocks because the item had to be shipped overseas. When shipping to a US military address, the price is the same as for regular First Class or Priority. The only difference the the small green customs form that must be attached to the package. Jordan mentioned that she and other military moms want to give smaller sellers their business and buy their products, but sellers are not interested in making the sale happen.

2) When shipping an item to an APO/FPO address, always include either insurance or delivery confirmation. Priority Mail takes longer to reach Japan than to travel across the USA. Some orders never arrive and are lost in transit. In these situations, when contacting the seller, Jordan was told it wasn’t the seller’s responsibility. Sadly, she did not receive holiday gifts for family. (Imagine how depressing it would be to live in a foreign country at holiday time, and the gifts you order for your children don’t arrive! Now, that is a tough one to swallow.)

3) Please pack items carefully. This is very important. Jordan mentioned that at least three parcels contained broken items, or the box itself was crushed. Customs performs spot checks and they include a note in the package regarding the inspection. Then, Customs tapes the box back together. Packages sent to APO/FPO addresses travel through the US and arrive in California, are placed on a barge or plane, travel an average of 5,000 miles, are processed at a sorting facility, then dispatched to all of the bases. The package has a long trip to make, so make sure the box and packing materials can withstand the handling.

Remember that the brave men and women of the military are giving of themselves all around the world to keep America safe. Let’s do our part by helping them enjoy items from home. We can all take a few extra minutes to help someone who serves our country.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

Support Our Troops – Ship to US Military Addresses

Packaging can be tricky. You want your item to arrive intact, not damaged, and looking professional. But, are you over-packaging your items to the point where you are paying more for shipping?

eBay sellers are always looking for ways to cut costs, especially since our costs are always rising. Think about it, eBay fees increase, postage fees increase, and the cost of doing business increases all the time. We have to stay on our toes and continuously re-evaluate our processes to find ways to cut costs, without sacrificing quality.

Take a look at your shipping process. For example, some sellers of children’s boutique clothing have been brainwashed to believe that they must wrap the clothing in tissue paper and tie it with a fancy ribbon. Where did this idea come from? From traditional brick and mortar boutique shops who package their items that way.

But, if you are just starting out on eBay, you are not an established brick and mortar (or even eCommerce) boutique, and you probably don’t have the budget for expensive wrapping. You can easily cut this cost – it just is not necessary.

Clear plastic works just as well, looks professional, is inexpensive, and protects clothing if the package should get wet in transit. When you order clothing from major catalog retailers or online department stores, doesn’t your order usually come wrapped in plastic? It is perfectly acceptable. Granted, your customer won’t have the “boutique experience” when opening the package, but do they really care? They are getting a bargain on eBay, not shopping at Bloomingdales online.

In some cases, reducing your packaging by just one ounce can mean the difference in a few dollars per package. I’ve seen it happen myself, especially on first class and international shipping. By trimming the packaging just a bit so that the weight stays below a certain threshold, I can save $2 on one package sometimes. Add this up over 100 or so packages a month and you have a substantial savings. Work smarter, not harder! Remember, not all profit is based on income and revenue. Your profit margin is also based on controlling costs.

Look on eBay for plastic packing materials and lightweight poly mailers. You can get these for just a few cents each when purchased in bulk.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

How to Reduce eBay Shipping Costs

I found a neat site the other day – Shipping Coach. The blog is written by Mark Taylor, a leading authority on supply and demand chain management. Shipping Coach provides a wealth of information about shipping services, major carriers, how to get lower rates through USPS, shipping supplies, shipping insurance, and more. The blog only has a few entries, but well worth reading and full of good ideas.

You can also refer to eBay’s Help Index for more information on shipping issues.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

Shipping Coach – Tips and Advice for Online Sellers