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

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

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