- Thread starter
- #1
THE BEST WAYS TO SHIP ON EBAY (to save YOU money as sellers- so you can pass it on to YOUR buyers):
To start with if you have NO PLANS to have TOP RATED SELLER STATUS (you must ship next day every time, you must ship with tracking every time, & you must offer 30-day returns), then you might as well ship single cards that sell for under $5.00 (or whatever you can afford to lose) in a CARDBOARD CD MAILER. With these postage is a .71 cent stamp (or a .69 cent FOREVER stamp) & these mailers cost less than .25 cents each. So $1.00 S&H is the MOST you should charge. This way many more of your cheap single cards will sell! NO ONE wants to pay $3.00+ S&H for a $4.99 OR LESS single card.
I'm trying to HELP everyone who sells & buys on eBay here...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW FOR PACKAGES THAT NEED TRACKING:
Did you know you can buy NEW Quality Kraft bubble envelopes (#000 or #00- the only 2-sizes you'll need for sports cards) on Amazon for less than .15 cents each (in lots of 50, or even just 25) with FREE 5-7 day Shipping without PRIME? I've bought (50) count #00, and #000 bubble envelopes MANY TIMES on Amazon for $6.00-$6.50 TOTAL (that's LESS than .15 cents each KRAFT QUALITY envelope).
I can't tell you how many newer eBay sellers use $1.69+ envelopes simply because they don't ask ANYONE where to get them cheaper. Some actually think buying them in the Post Office is a "patriotic" thing to do, when it's FACTUAL that the Post Office DOES NOT WANT YOU in their office buying anything!
Also if you have a printer, or buy an HP 1010 brand new for $35 at Best Buy (with free HP color & black ink which is worth more than $35 alone), you can print your own USPS labels with tracking for $2.66 postage (up to 3-ounces), or $2.87 (up to 5-ounces) using eBay's PRINT SHIPPING LABEL free service that ALL big eBay sellers use and small ones who are smart enough to have looked into- and use this service.
THE POST OFFICE DOES NOT WANT PEOPLE LINING UP AT P.O. WINDOWS WHERE THEY HAVE TO PAY EMPLOYEES $20.00 an HOUR TO PRINT YOUR LABELS, that's why it starts at $3.50 FOR POSTAGE AT P.O. WINDOWS! So they made a deal with eBay for FAR LESS COST to print your OWN labels; which is EASY. If you make a big mistake, you can CANCEL labels as long as you do not use them to ship. Then just reprint the label correctly. No one does new things exactly right the first time! But after a few tries, it's so easy children are doing it!
This way you don't have to charge $3.50-$4.50 to ship one card (even BGS graded cards!)! Charging over $3.25 S&H for up to a 5-OZ package also happens to be against eBay's Excessive S&H and FEE AVOIDANCE rules (especially anyone charging .25 cents to $1.00 for EACH ADDITIONAL single card won- THAT'S NOT ALLOWED ON EBAY for lightweight items under 6-ounces!).
I'm telling you all the best ways to ship inexpensively (for free), that took me ten years to learn one step at a time! eBay should be teaching you these things, BUT THEY DON'T! So stop HURTING your buyers, risking eBay suspension, and please learn from me...
Then use refurbished XL ink cartridges from Amazon (the ones that come in a box) for $20.00 ($25.00 MAXIMUM) for (2) TWO XL black (which has TWICE as much ink as standard HP ink cartridges!), or one color/one black (if you need color for personal use, but you'll NEVER NEED color for printing shipping
labels).
For eBay label printing you need to change the printer settings to BLACK INK ONLY & DRAFT QUALITY (which saves a GREAT DEAL of ink) and works just fine for all USPS labels. I printed thousands of shipping labels this way with three different company printers since 2001 & never once had any kind of problem.
You're best off using the original CD-ROM printer drivers as they NEVER BLOCK newer refurbished ink cartridges. Updated online drivers do NOTHING but sometimes cause ERROR messages when you use refurbished ink cartridges! However, if you use the refurbished ink I recommended from Amazon, they fixed the issue with ERROR pop-up boxes even with new HP 1010 printers & software!
As far as paper labels themselves: the best thing to do is use pre-glued printer sheets from Amazon (that have great buyer ratings for sticking very well) for under .10 cents per sheet (2 labels per sheet) or .05 cents per label. The time it takes you to tape a non-glued label to packages greatly justifies paying .05 cents for pre-glued labels, plus no cost for easy to use Scotch tape in a holder. You can buy lots of 50-sheets (100 labels) or 100-sheets (200 labels) with FREE (non-PRIME) Shipping also which usually takes 5-7 days to get to you.
All you need to package up to three single thin cards is a toploader for each card or one that fits all three cards (but put a penny sleeve on each card) with a SMALL piece of MASKING TAPE (blue or beige like painters use) which is the ONLY tape that is easily removable even in cold weather. If there's already
tape on the toploader you are using, that's fine; just don't think you can charge collectors for USED TOPLOADERS (that's just plain GREED)! I'm trying to keep sellers from destroying NEW toploaders that buyers get! Scotch Invisible tape is the WORST BY FAR.
You want collectors to get toploaders they can reuse, or use for the card they just bought. If they buy only .99 cent to under $5.00 cards, you can package them in alternative safe ways besides toploaders, but the cards must arrive in buyer's possession the same condition you sent them in! So please keep that in mind because eBay will FORCE a refund that sellers HAVE TO PAY FOR every time if cards are damaged
compared to the card described or pictured. They should have the right to a new toploader that is not DESTROYED with irremovable tape all over it!
Packing this way is ALL YOU HAVE TO DO! You don't need peanuts, extra paper inside, cardboard (unless
it's a $50.00+ card then I slide ONE loose piece of cardboard the length of the envelope to help prevent bending). But taping cards to a piece of cardboard then taping another piece of cardboard to sandwich the card IS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY, and a total waste of time which makes you want to charge MORE for S&H! ???
You should own a small -RED- DO NOT BEND stamp, or use a red Sharpie to write DO NOT BEND (neatly) on the front & back of each package. This covers you if the Post Office bends & damages cards you shipped. If you fight your Post Office hard enough; they refund you up to $20.00 (from petty cash) for packages they destroyed or lost IF YOU CAN PROVE IT! Having a great personal Mail Carrier is very helpful in situations like this! However, REPLACEMENT Mail Carriers are USELESS in almost any state and cause most Postal problems.
Using these tips may cost you some money up front (less than $50 total if you have to buy a printer), but then you are covered with all the supplies you'll ever need for sports cards to last a LONG TIME! These tips will save newer sellers a huge amount of money because just going to the Post Office for postage is $3.50 MINIMUM postage & $1.69 for one padded envelope (that's just DUMB)! So you are saving $2.25+ per package right there on every package using MY TIPS! If you are paying $1.69, or even 3/$1.00 bubble envelopes (which are very low quality), MY WAY costs less than .15 cents for KRAFT quality bubble envelopes (paper or poly), so what makes the most sense?
Use these tips and you'll have everything memorized in a few tries because of all the money & time you will save. You'll never have to go to the Post Office again (especially during HOLIDAYS & waiting on line for an hour+).
One last tip; if you ship just ONE package by Priority or Priority Express USPS mail, you can request a FREE NEXT DAY pick-up by a USPS Truck at your location, plus add all 1st Class packages to that pick-up as well. --- This is so INCREDIBLY HELPFUL during holidays!
I hope this helps everyone in at least one way or many, but I'm sure it will help many of you in a few ways if not all. You now can charge $3.25 S&H (no matter how many single cards are won) which will get you more repeat buyers, MORE BIDS whether they win or not (you still get more money!), more multiple items
bidders (remember you get more money when they bid whether they win OR NOT!), more buyers listing you as their FAVORITES, and you'll get much better feedback always!
Best of luck!!!
To start with if you have NO PLANS to have TOP RATED SELLER STATUS (you must ship next day every time, you must ship with tracking every time, & you must offer 30-day returns), then you might as well ship single cards that sell for under $5.00 (or whatever you can afford to lose) in a CARDBOARD CD MAILER. With these postage is a .71 cent stamp (or a .69 cent FOREVER stamp) & these mailers cost less than .25 cents each. So $1.00 S&H is the MOST you should charge. This way many more of your cheap single cards will sell! NO ONE wants to pay $3.00+ S&H for a $4.99 OR LESS single card.
I'm trying to HELP everyone who sells & buys on eBay here...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW FOR PACKAGES THAT NEED TRACKING:
Did you know you can buy NEW Quality Kraft bubble envelopes (#000 or #00- the only 2-sizes you'll need for sports cards) on Amazon for less than .15 cents each (in lots of 50, or even just 25) with FREE 5-7 day Shipping without PRIME? I've bought (50) count #00, and #000 bubble envelopes MANY TIMES on Amazon for $6.00-$6.50 TOTAL (that's LESS than .15 cents each KRAFT QUALITY envelope).
I can't tell you how many newer eBay sellers use $1.69+ envelopes simply because they don't ask ANYONE where to get them cheaper. Some actually think buying them in the Post Office is a "patriotic" thing to do, when it's FACTUAL that the Post Office DOES NOT WANT YOU in their office buying anything!
Also if you have a printer, or buy an HP 1010 brand new for $35 at Best Buy (with free HP color & black ink which is worth more than $35 alone), you can print your own USPS labels with tracking for $2.66 postage (up to 3-ounces), or $2.87 (up to 5-ounces) using eBay's PRINT SHIPPING LABEL free service that ALL big eBay sellers use and small ones who are smart enough to have looked into- and use this service.
THE POST OFFICE DOES NOT WANT PEOPLE LINING UP AT P.O. WINDOWS WHERE THEY HAVE TO PAY EMPLOYEES $20.00 an HOUR TO PRINT YOUR LABELS, that's why it starts at $3.50 FOR POSTAGE AT P.O. WINDOWS! So they made a deal with eBay for FAR LESS COST to print your OWN labels; which is EASY. If you make a big mistake, you can CANCEL labels as long as you do not use them to ship. Then just reprint the label correctly. No one does new things exactly right the first time! But after a few tries, it's so easy children are doing it!
This way you don't have to charge $3.50-$4.50 to ship one card (even BGS graded cards!)! Charging over $3.25 S&H for up to a 5-OZ package also happens to be against eBay's Excessive S&H and FEE AVOIDANCE rules (especially anyone charging .25 cents to $1.00 for EACH ADDITIONAL single card won- THAT'S NOT ALLOWED ON EBAY for lightweight items under 6-ounces!).
I'm telling you all the best ways to ship inexpensively (for free), that took me ten years to learn one step at a time! eBay should be teaching you these things, BUT THEY DON'T! So stop HURTING your buyers, risking eBay suspension, and please learn from me...
Then use refurbished XL ink cartridges from Amazon (the ones that come in a box) for $20.00 ($25.00 MAXIMUM) for (2) TWO XL black (which has TWICE as much ink as standard HP ink cartridges!), or one color/one black (if you need color for personal use, but you'll NEVER NEED color for printing shipping
labels).
For eBay label printing you need to change the printer settings to BLACK INK ONLY & DRAFT QUALITY (which saves a GREAT DEAL of ink) and works just fine for all USPS labels. I printed thousands of shipping labels this way with three different company printers since 2001 & never once had any kind of problem.
You're best off using the original CD-ROM printer drivers as they NEVER BLOCK newer refurbished ink cartridges. Updated online drivers do NOTHING but sometimes cause ERROR messages when you use refurbished ink cartridges! However, if you use the refurbished ink I recommended from Amazon, they fixed the issue with ERROR pop-up boxes even with new HP 1010 printers & software!
As far as paper labels themselves: the best thing to do is use pre-glued printer sheets from Amazon (that have great buyer ratings for sticking very well) for under .10 cents per sheet (2 labels per sheet) or .05 cents per label. The time it takes you to tape a non-glued label to packages greatly justifies paying .05 cents for pre-glued labels, plus no cost for easy to use Scotch tape in a holder. You can buy lots of 50-sheets (100 labels) or 100-sheets (200 labels) with FREE (non-PRIME) Shipping also which usually takes 5-7 days to get to you.
All you need to package up to three single thin cards is a toploader for each card or one that fits all three cards (but put a penny sleeve on each card) with a SMALL piece of MASKING TAPE (blue or beige like painters use) which is the ONLY tape that is easily removable even in cold weather. If there's already
tape on the toploader you are using, that's fine; just don't think you can charge collectors for USED TOPLOADERS (that's just plain GREED)! I'm trying to keep sellers from destroying NEW toploaders that buyers get! Scotch Invisible tape is the WORST BY FAR.
You want collectors to get toploaders they can reuse, or use for the card they just bought. If they buy only .99 cent to under $5.00 cards, you can package them in alternative safe ways besides toploaders, but the cards must arrive in buyer's possession the same condition you sent them in! So please keep that in mind because eBay will FORCE a refund that sellers HAVE TO PAY FOR every time if cards are damaged
compared to the card described or pictured. They should have the right to a new toploader that is not DESTROYED with irremovable tape all over it!
Packing this way is ALL YOU HAVE TO DO! You don't need peanuts, extra paper inside, cardboard (unless
it's a $50.00+ card then I slide ONE loose piece of cardboard the length of the envelope to help prevent bending). But taping cards to a piece of cardboard then taping another piece of cardboard to sandwich the card IS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY, and a total waste of time which makes you want to charge MORE for S&H! ???
You should own a small -RED- DO NOT BEND stamp, or use a red Sharpie to write DO NOT BEND (neatly) on the front & back of each package. This covers you if the Post Office bends & damages cards you shipped. If you fight your Post Office hard enough; they refund you up to $20.00 (from petty cash) for packages they destroyed or lost IF YOU CAN PROVE IT! Having a great personal Mail Carrier is very helpful in situations like this! However, REPLACEMENT Mail Carriers are USELESS in almost any state and cause most Postal problems.
Using these tips may cost you some money up front (less than $50 total if you have to buy a printer), but then you are covered with all the supplies you'll ever need for sports cards to last a LONG TIME! These tips will save newer sellers a huge amount of money because just going to the Post Office for postage is $3.50 MINIMUM postage & $1.69 for one padded envelope (that's just DUMB)! So you are saving $2.25+ per package right there on every package using MY TIPS! If you are paying $1.69, or even 3/$1.00 bubble envelopes (which are very low quality), MY WAY costs less than .15 cents for KRAFT quality bubble envelopes (paper or poly), so what makes the most sense?
Use these tips and you'll have everything memorized in a few tries because of all the money & time you will save. You'll never have to go to the Post Office again (especially during HOLIDAYS & waiting on line for an hour+).
One last tip; if you ship just ONE package by Priority or Priority Express USPS mail, you can request a FREE NEXT DAY pick-up by a USPS Truck at your location, plus add all 1st Class packages to that pick-up as well. --- This is so INCREDIBLY HELPFUL during holidays!
I hope this helps everyone in at least one way or many, but I'm sure it will help many of you in a few ways if not all. You now can charge $3.25 S&H (no matter how many single cards are won) which will get you more repeat buyers, MORE BIDS whether they win or not (you still get more money!), more multiple items
bidders (remember you get more money when they bid whether they win OR NOT!), more buyers listing you as their FAVORITES, and you'll get much better feedback always!
Best of luck!!!