Chose your carrier, get your supplies, and ship online
The eBay website is a great place to sell your goods, but of course it isn’t the be-all and end-all of the selling process. Once you actually make sales, there are still additional steps to be completed before the transaction can be considered a successful one, like handling payment and shipping sold items to buyers. This last item is what we’re going to discuss in this article.
Shipping often isn’t just a matter of “package well and drop in the mail.” Other important considerations include choosing a shipper, obtaining packaging materials at a cost that won’t break you, and finding ways to avoid spending all of your waking hours shipping if you’re selling in increasingly high volumes.
Choose a Shipper
This may just be the first step in the shipping process.
The answer to the question of which carrier makes sense for you depends on the types of items you sell. In the U.S. There are really three major carriers from which most sellers choose:
• United States Post office (USPS). The least expensive of the three for domestic shipments of smaller and less bulky items, but service is slightly worse in some ways—lines at shipping desks are generally longer, pickups aren’t as easy to schedule or work with, and the tracking and recovery services (in the case of problems covered by insurance) are cumbersome and thin at best. Delivery is reliable, but a little unpredictable in terms of time frame. USPS offers its own line of free, identically-sized, flat-rate, and (in some cases) self-sealing boxes for the Priority Mail service, available at any location.
• United Parcel Service (UPS). Price-wise, UPS is a better choice for heavy or large items than USPS, though for very small items they may be slightly more expensive. Delivery and tracking are more robust and reliable than they are through USPS, as is recovery in the case of problems with insured items. UPS has clear and stringent rules about packaging, and may open your package to inspect it on the suspicion that it isn’t packed up to standard. If they find that it isn’t, they may refuse to ship it or require that you purchase a larger and/or stronger box and/or additional padding.
• Federal Express (FedEx). FedEx is generally more expensive than either USPS or UPS but their service is also generally the most reliable of the three, since their computerized tracking system is much more robust—your package is monitored at virtually every stage of its journey. FedEx also offers a line of standard-sized and special item boxes available for free at FedEx locations.
Don’t simply choose your shipper at random. Weigh your needs—check the shipping costs for item(s) that you most commonly sell and consider extra costs like packaging, insurance, and the potential for trouble in your decision. Note that none of these shippers will ship boxes that clearly bear the labeling of the others, so don’t expect to be able to use free USPS boxes at UPS or the more interestingly-shaped FedEx boxes at USPS, etc.
Once you think you've decided on a shipper, read on for tips on packing supplies and the tools you need to get started with online payment and shipping label preparation.
Packaging, online payment, and pickups to make life easier
The supplies you’ll need in order to ship will vary depending on the types of items you’re selling and the shipping method that you use, but in general you’ll need one or all of the following:
• Boxes or envelopes. If you’re not choosing a shipper that offers free boxes, or if the shipper you choose doesn’t have free boxes that suit your items, you’ll need to track down boxes or envelopes of your own. Don’t buy these at office supply stores if you can avoid it, and be wary of cast-off grocery store boxes, which often have low burst strength ratings (placing your item in jeopardy) and may also contain vermin (i.e. insects or mold that can damage your item in shipment). Use your local phone book to find box and container manufacturers or wholesalers that can give you a good deal on bulk boxes or containers.
• Padding and/or packaging. This is probably the most diverse category of packaging material, since it will vary based on the type of item you’re shipping.
For computer and consumer electronics devices you’ll likely want to obtain a stock of plastic anti-static bags. For any type of item you’ll want at least a basic plastic bag if your shipping container isn’t lined with plastic. Roll foam, bubble wrap, or peanut foam is also needed to create padding between your item and the inside of the box—up to two inches of padding on all sides can be required, depending on the shipper, and all of them are wary of shipping packages that are padded with newspaper. Here again local wholesalers can help—in most areas you’ll be able to find packing or packaging supplies manufacturers in your phone book who can sell you peanut foam, roll foam, or bubble wrap by the square or cubic yard at greatly discounted prices over what you’ll find in office supply stores.
• Packing tape and labeling supplies. These can conceivably be purchased at office supply stores, though you’ll be able to get a better deal if you can find an industrial shipping supply store. Your choice of tape is important—uses only tape intended for packaging and shipping.
• A shipping scale. This may represent something of an investment, but if you sell in any volume at all it will be a good one since it’ll save you tons of time—all of the major shippers calculate shipping at least in part by weight (unless you’re using flat-rate sized boxes) and having a scale on hand will allow you to pay for and print shipping labels without having to stand in line at the shipping counter.
• A tape measure (large items only). If you ship a lot of larger or oddly-shaped items, you’ll also want a cloth or flexible tape measure, since the major shippers have size restrictions and surcharges for packages that have very large dimensions.
• A printer. If you’re going to use the online or account-based shipment processes of the major carriers to pay for shipping in advance and schedule pickups, you may need a printer to print shipping labels for your packages.
Account Logistics
Each of the major carriers offers products or programs that will enable you to ship from your location via online payment and scheduled pickups, rather than having to go to their counter with a dolly full of boxes to stand in line. If you plan to ship in moderate to high volumes, it’s a good idea for you to look into the services offered by each of the major shippers to determine whether one of them has an online/account payment plan and pickup service that will work for you.
• For USPS shippers. If you plan to use USPS, you can print shipping labels and pay for shipment online for all of their major services. Then, schedule a pickup to have your packages collected and shipped.
• For UPS shippers. If you plan to use UPS, check out the Internet Shipping Service and review their small business offerings to see if there are other ways in which they can help you.
• For FedEx shippers. If you plan to use FedEx, open an account to gain access to FedEx Ship Manager, where you’ll be able to print and pay for shipping labels and schedule pickups at your location.
There’s no rule that says you have to limit yourself to one shipper—if your volume is high enough and your goods diverse enough to justify the extra effort on your part, there’s no reason not to use the shipping and pickup programs of all three carriers in order to minimize your shipping costs and hassles.
Note, too, that using the online or account-based shipping services for the carriers above doesn’t depend on your having high volume, nor does it cost extra. Anyone can pay for and print shipping labels for the major carriers online, so streamline the shipping process for your eBay business today.
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