Section 167. Handle Shipping with Shippertools.com

167. Handle Shipping with Shippertools.com

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

150 Ship the Goods

For most people, the worst part of selling on eBay is shipping the items. Finding goods to sell, creating the auction, watching the bidding, and collecting the money is fun; filling out shipping labels, taking your items to the post office, and then trying to track down shipping problems is drudgery.

The www.shippertools.com site neatly solves the problem. With this software package, you can print shipping labels, get discounts on shipping services such as delivery confirmation, and easily track all the items you're shipping. Shippertools.com uses the U.S. Postal Service for delivery. Here's how to use it:

1.	Register at the Site The Shippertools.com service isn't freeyou pay $6.95 per month, so it's worthwhile only if you sell a great deal of items every month and need some way to manage it all. You can cancel at any time, but every month you'll be billed $6.95 until you cancel. To register, go to www.shippertools.com, click Subscribe , and follow the instructions. The site accepts payment only through PayPal, so you need a PayPal account if you want to use the service. For details, go to www.paypal.com. After you're done registering and paying, log in to the site by entering your username and password on the left side of the screen. (Use your Shippertools.com ID and password, not your eBay ID and password.)
2.	Create a Shipping Label The site's most useful feature is its capability to create customized shipping labels you can affix to your packages. You create the form online and then print the labels on your printer. 167. Handle Shipping with Shippertools.com To start creating a shipping label, click the New Label tab and fill out the Confirmation Service area at the top of the form. You can choose to have delivery confirmation or signature confirmation. Here's how each differs : Delivery confirmation You receive a confirmation from the U.S. Postal Service that the package has been delivered. It confirms that the package was delivered to the address but does not require that the recipient sign for it. Normally, the service costs $0.45 for Priority Mail and $0.55 for First Class, Media Mail, Parcel Post, and other package services. With labels from www.shippertools.com, Priority Mail delivery confirmation is free and you get all other delivery confirmation for $0.13. Signature confirmation The recipient must sign for the package when it is delivered, so you receive a confirmation that the recipient actually received the package and signed for it. Signature confirmation normally costs $1.80 per delivery, but when you use www.shippertools.com, it costs $1.30 per delivery. You also have a choice of two label types: complete address label or barcode only. The Complete Address Label option prints a complete address label including the delivery confirmation barcode, sender and recipient addresses, and type of shipment (Priority Mail, Media Mail, Parcel Post, and so on). When you print the label, it includes a barcode, which the U.S. Postal Service scans while the package moves to its destination. You can then track the package. As the name implies, the Barcode Only option prints only the barcode and not the full address. The U.S. Postal Service can deliver the package using only the barcode. Unless there's a specific reason you don't want the shipping address on the label, select the Complete Address Label option.
3.	Finish Filling Out the Form Fill in the recipient's name, address, and email address, and then click Next . TIP When filling out the shipping form, you have the option of saving the person's address information to your Shippingtools.com address book. If you expect to ship to the same person again, enable the Add to Address Book option.
4.	Print Your Label The next page that appears shows the name and address of the person to whom you're shipping the item, lets you select the type of mailing service (Priority Mail, First Class, and so on), and lets you select your printing format. For example, if you have adhesive labels, select that format; if you have Avery 5168 labels, select that format; and if you're going to print to plain paper and then cut out and tape the labels, use that format. After you select the print format, click Next ; from the next page that appears, click Display Label . You can then preview your label before printing using the Adobe Acrobat reader. After you preview the label, click the print icon to print the label. WEB RESOURCE www.adobe.com If you don't have a copy of Adobe Acrobat, you can get it for free from this site.
5.	Track Your Package To track the status of all your packages, click the Packages tab. You'll see a list of all your packages, including the recipient, the status of the package, the date it was shipped, and a confirmation number. When the package is confirmed as delivered, the Status line shows that the package has been delivered. For more detailed tracking information about any package, click the confirmation number.