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Shipping 100s of Products a Week on Ebay - Solution?

by Matias1021
8 replies
I recently started an Ebay business and im selling about 1 to 2 products a day. Even with the low number of sales i still find it time consuming and annoying the packing + the drive and wait at the post office, it is the worst part of the process for me.

I know that in the near future i will be investing in more products and selling a lot more a day. I wanted to know what is the most cost-effective way of handling the shipping process?

For the powersellers in here, do fullfilment services cut too much into the profits? rent a warehouse? and what about the heavier items?

thanks.
#100s #ebay #products #shipping #solution #week
  • Profile picture of the author john_kennedy
    Assuming that you are in the US and are accepting PayPal. Use PayPal to print the shipping label, get a label printer so that you can simply print the label and stick it on to the box.

    Then go to usps.com and set up carrier pickup. It is free and your mailman will come to your house (I always specify the back door so I can keep an eye on things) and he will pick up the package.

    This eliminates having to manually write out the shipping, driving to the PO and waiting in line to ship the package.

    Also, invest in a good scale. You can find them on ebay for under $20.

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
    Some ideas...

    Work out a deal with your local post office. Often they'll allow you to drop off packages that are already weighed and have postage without having to wait in line. If you're shipping enough, they'll even pick them up at your house daily in many areas. You will need a good professional grade postal digital scale to do this and you'll need to either print out your postage from PayPal or other online postage provider.

    Have a good, organized, shipping area. This means having standard sized boxes and envelopes, tape and packaging materials always on hand. Buy these in bulk from places like U-Line.

    Hire a local teen to help you package and ship items. If you have a "live in labor force" (ie your own kids), so much the better.
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  • Profile picture of the author Shane Lowry
    The USPS has been advertising that for items under 70lb's you can use setup boxes to ship without weighing.

    That in conjunction with them picking up from your house/ office and the label printing sounds like you'll have it covered.

    Again, this is assuming you are in the states.

    Kind Regards,
    Shane
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    • Profile picture of the author Alton Hargrave
      If you are shipping lightweight items, consider using Priority Mail boxes. You can order them online at no cost. Don't use the flat rate Priority boxes for lightweight items. Just regular Priority Mail boxes or your own small plain unmarked boxes. You can get small boxes at dollar stores sometimes. They will give them to you after restocking.

      You will find that lightweight items are cheaper to ship Priority Mail than Parcel Post sometimes.

      Wrap and tape well, the trip can be rough sometimes.
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    • Profile picture of the author Baystreet
      I pay for and then print my labels online at USPS.com and then have my regular mailman pick them up when she delivers my mail.

      That alone will save you from having to go to the Post Office and stand in line.

      As far as fullfilment services goes it really depends on what you are selling. Take a look at Amazon's fullfillment service: Fullfillment by Amazon

      Amazon shows you how to calculate your costs and then you have a starting point that you can use to compare costs with the other places you find.
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  • Profile picture of the author Amanda_Moon
    What kind of items are you shipping? Also, are you in a spot where you can trust to set your packages at the front of the house?

    I have used ebay for years. I print the labels through paypal as well. Then I schedule the packages to be picked up the next day from the post office. Here, there is a limit on the amount (and weight) of items you can leave from them to pick up.

    Both of those services are free to use. I also agree that you can call and work something out with the post office. They generally are willing to make the pickups. Also with paypal, the customer gets a email copy of the tracking number as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matias1021
    thanks for the advice everyone, i didnt know carrier pick up was offered for free..that pretty much answers my question.
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    • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
      Originally Posted by Matias1021 View Post

      i didnt know carrier pick up was offered for free..
      Pickup is free but local postmasters can set their own rules for it. In my case, they would only pickup large orders from residential addresses twice a week. This made it more practical for me to drop off the packages at the post office since that's what they preferred me and some other frequent eBay sellers in my area to do.

      Oh, and you have to be careful about your neighborhood association or apartment rules. I've heard of people running afoul of those when they're shipping a lot of products from a residential location.
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