Shipping Scrap

Originally Posted by Lurch

Ive been experimenting with Ebay lately to see if i could sell me scrap for a little more on there. I always ship through USPS so i checked their website for shipping costs and it said $5.80. Thats what i put shipping costs as on Ebay. Anyways, the item finally sells so i go to the store to have it delivered and they charged me almost $13. They said i must have looked at it wrong but i do this every time and this has never happened. Who do you guys usually ship through?

You really need to take the time to learn about USPS and the best way to ship things. I usually try to use USPS because its usually less expensive.

A good example is I like to use Priority mail. Sure, you can use a flat rate box, but this often isn't the cheapest way to use it. Today I had 2 business phones I needed to ship. They wouldn't fit into a med flat rate box (about $11.00). My next choice would be a large flat rate box at near $15.00. That really can cut into any profit. It's a lot of shipping.

USPS Priority mail ships by region. For me, if something ships to the eastern half of the U.S. it is actually cheaper to NOT use a flat rate box. I shipped a 16x12x4 box (which is larger than the flat rate box) for $7.00 priority mail.



If something will fit into a flat rate box, PRIOR to shipping, always use the ebay label creator to check what the cost of a "large package" Priority mail will cost. You will need to add the dimensions and weight but in some cases it can be considerably cheaper.

One word of caution, I am selective of what I ship USPS. It is much more difficult to make an insurance claim with USPS. If I have something with a larger value or that is fragile I will pay a few dollars more and use FedEx because I've never had a problem getting paid for a damaged package.

On ebay I usually just list the item with "standard shipping" then after a purchase go to the shipping calculator and check a few different ways to see what would actually be the best way to ship an item.