Section 136. Set Payment and Shipping Options

136. Set Payment and Shipping Options

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

135 Choose Auction Extras

SEE ALSO

137 Review and Post Your Auction

The whole purpose of your auction, of course, is to make money, so you must let potential buyers know how you'll accept payment, how you'll ship the goods, and who will pay for shipping. Here's how to do it:

1.	Choose Payment Methods If you haven't started to fill out the Sell Your Item form yet, back up to 129 Start the Sell Form and Choose a Category to learn how to begin the process of creating an auction listing. How will you accept payment? At the top of the Payment & Shipping page of the Sell Your Item form, select all the ways you will accept payment. One of the best ways is to use the PayPal online payment method because money is automatically sent from the buyer to your PayPal account. You can also choose to accept money orders, cashier's checks, personal checks, cash on delivery (COD), and credit cards (if you have a merchant account). You can also specify other payment methods in your item's description. TIP Money orders and cashier's checks are good choices for payment because they're essentially as good as cash. Personal checks can be a bit more problematic because you must ensure that they clear the bank before you ship your goods. If you choose to accept personal checks, make sure that they clear with your bank before you send the goods. Also, keep in mind that cashier's checks can be forged, so you shouldn't ship the goods until the check clears your bank and is deposited in your account. Only ship goods after you actually see the money deposited to your account.
2.	Say Who Will Pay for Shipping Costs As a general rule, buyers pay shipping costs. It's a well-established practice, and unless you have a specific reason for wanting to pay shipping costs, you should have the buyer pay for them. Make your choice in the Shipping Costs section of the Sell Your Item form. 136. Set Payment and Shipping Options
3.	Provide Shipping Rates The buyer will want to know how much he must pay for shipping, so you should provide that information in your auction listing by selecting the appropriate options in the Shipping Costs section of the Sell Your Item form. If you know the shipping costs for the item and want to provide a flat rate for shipping to anywhere in the United States, enter that information, along with any shipping insurance fees you'll add (if you want to include shipping insurance). If you're going to add sales tax, add it by selecting your state from the drop-down list box next to Sales Tax and typing the percent amount of sales tax in the text box next to it. If you're not sure how much shipping will cost, use the eBay shipping calculator by clicking the Shipping Calculator link on the right side of the Shipping Costs section. You enter information such as the size and weight of your package and the city to which you are going to ship. The calculator then displays for you the U.S. Postal Service and UPS costs for various shipping options. TIP When you use the shipping calculator, you don't know from which city the high bidder will be. To be safe, choose the city farthest from your location and use that rate as a flat fee. You also have the option of including a shipping calculator in your auction that buyers can use to find out how much shipping they'll be expected to pay. To choose that option, click the Calculated Shipping Rates tab in the Shipping Costs section.
4.	Include Payment Instructions and Return Policy In the Payment Instructions & Return Policy section of the Sell Your Item form, spell out your payment instructions, even though you've already detailed them in step 1. You should spell out payment instructions in as many places as possible, so there is no misunderstanding about how you'll accept payment. Also, if you have any special instructions, here's the place to include them. TIP When you list your payment options, be sure you don't contradict yourself in different sections of the auction page. Payment information can be listed in two places: in the item description itself and at the bottom, outside the item description. Double-check that you're including the same payment information in both places. If you don't, you might confuse buyers so much they won't bid. Also be clear whether you will accept returns of your goods, and if so, under what circumstances. And make clear whose responsibility it is for paying shipping for returned goods. Unless there's a good reason otherwise , buyers should always pay for return shipping.
5.	Detail Shipping Locations Will you ship only to the United States, worldwide, or only to specific regions of the world? Enter that information in the Ship-to Locations section.
6.	Provide Escrow Details Will you accept escrow payments? An escrow payment is when an escrow service such as escrow.com holds the buyer's payment until the goods are shipped to him and he approves the item. The escrow service also handles disputes between buyer and seller. You don't need to use escrow services for low-cost items; an escrow service should be used only if you're selling expensive items such as jewelry , vehicles, or boats.
7.	Click Continue When you're done with the Payment & Shipping page of the Sell Your Item form, click Continue to move on to review your auction and post it. To back up through the pages of the Sell Your Item form, click the Back button (not your browser's Back button).