How often do you frequent your local post office? When was the last time you visited a UPS shipping center? Do you even know where your local FedEx branch is located? If these questions make you nervous, you're not alone. For many users, the scariest part of the entire auction process is shipping the item. Not packing, not labeling, but actually taking the box to the shipping center and sending it on its way. That's because when it comes to shipping, there are so many choices involved. Which carrier do you use? Which specific service offered by a carrier should you choosethe fastest one or the cheapest one? And what about all those extras, such as insurance and delivery confirmation? With all those choices, how do you avoid making the wrong decisions? If shipping is somewhat foreign to you, don't worry. It isn't quite as difficult as it seems, and it will become old hat after just a few trips to the shipping center. Examining the Major Shipping ServicesYou have several choices when it comes to shipping your package. You can use the various services offered by the U.S. Postal Service (regular mail, Priority Mail, Express Mail, Media Mail, and so on) or any of the services offered by competing carriers, such as UPS or Federal Express. You can deal directly with any shipping service or use a local shipping store to handle the shipping (and even the packing)but at a cost. As you've no doubt gathered, there are some significant differences in shipping costs from one shipping service to another. The cost differential is typically based on a combination of weight and distance; the heavier an item is and the farther it has to go (and the faster you need to get it to where it's going), the more it costs. As an example, the costs of shipping a two-pound box from New York to Los Angeles run from less than two bucks to more than $30. For this reason, it's a good idea to "shop" the major shipping services for the best shipping rates for the types of items you normally sell on eBay. "Mike Sez"
Of course, cost isn't the only factor you want to consider. You also want to compare how long it takes the package to arrive, what kind of track record the shipping service has, and how convenient it is for you to use. If you have to drive 20 miles to get to a UPS office, and you have a post office just down the street, that might offset a slightly higher cost for Priority Mail. All that said, which shipping service should you use? That's a good question, but not always an easy one to answer. Ultimately, you have to strike a compromise between cost, convenience, and speed. Using the U.S. Postal ServiceThe USPS offers several shipping options:
Caution
You can find out more about USPS shipping at the USPS website, located at www.usps.gov. This site includes a postage calculator (postcalc.usps.gov) for all levels of service. Using UPSUPS is a good option for shipping larger or heavier packages but can be a little costly for smaller items. UPS offers various shipping options, including standard UPS Ground, Next Day Air, Next Day Air Saver, and 2nd Day Air. You can find out more about UPS shippingand access a rate calculatorat the UPS website, located at www.ups.com. Using FedExFedEx is probably the fastest shipping service, but it can also be the most costly. FedEx tends to target the business market (which can afford its higher rates), so it isn't widely used for auction or retail shippingwith one significant exception: FedEx Ground. Tip
FedEx Ground is a terrific choice when you're shipping out larger items. It's designed for bigger and/or heavier packages, and its rates are well below similar services offered by the Postal Service and UPS. I use FedEx Ground to ship DVD players and various audio equipment, and it's extremely cost effective. For example, FedEx charges almost $5 less than Priority Mail to ship a five-pound item from coast to coast. That's a big savings! FedEx is also a convenient choice for many sellers, especially since you can now ship from any FedEx Kinkos location. You can find out more about FedEx shipping at its website, located at www.fedex.com, and can access the company's rate finder directly at www.fedex.com/us/rates/. Using a Professional Packing and Shipping ServiceIf you're new to this packing and shipping thing, you might want to do your packing and shipping through a professional shipping store. These storessuch as The UPS Store (www.theupsstore.com) or FedEx Kinkos (www.fedexkinkos.com)will handle the entire process for you. Just bring them the item you want to ship, and they'll find the right-sized box, pack it up for you, and fill out all the shipping paperwork. Of course, all this work comes at a cost. Make sure you find out how much you'll have to pay for this service, and add that cost to your shipping/handling charges in your auction item listing. How to Reduce Shipping WeightAnd Shipping CostsBecause weight is an important part of the shipping equation, here are a few tips for bringing down the weight of the items you ship:
Finally, be sure to include the weight of the box and the cushioning material when you weigh your item for shipment. A big box with lots of crumpled paper can easily add a half-pound or more to your item's weightexcess weight you'll have to pay for. Shipping Large or Heavy ItemsSome items are just too big to ship via conventional means. Suppose you just sold an old pinball machine, or a roll-top desk, or a waterbed. How do you deal with items that big? Assuming that the item is too big even for UPS, you have to turn to traditional trucking services. Some of these services will pack or crate the item for you (for a fee); others require you to do all the crating. In addition, some of these firms require you to deliver the item to their shipping terminal, and for the buyer to pick it up from their dock. (Other firms offer door-to-door serviceagain, sometimes for a higher fee.) In any case, it helps to make a few calls and ask for specifics before you decide on a shipper. Caution
For shipping oversized items, here are some of the trucking services that other eBay sellers have used. Check with each firm for information on fees and shipping policies.
In addition, eBay itself offers a Freight Resource Center (ebay.freightquote.com) for shipping large items; you can obtain freight quotes and initiate shipping directly from this page. You can also contact Freightquote.com via phone, at 888-875-7822. How to Price Shipping and Handling for Your Item ListingsLet's think back to the start of the auction process. You probably remember that I recommended you include your shipping and handling charges up front so that bidders know what to expect. But how do you figure shipping costs before you know where the item is going? Working with Flat FeesThe solution is easy if you're shipping something that weighs (packaging included) less than a pound. For these lightweight items, you can use USPS Priority Mail, which ships one-pound packages anywhere in the U.S. for a single price ($4.05 at the time of writing). Because you can also use free boxes (provided by the postal service), you know that your cost to package and ship a one-pound item will be $4.05. Easy. Tip
If you're shipping books, CDs, or videos, you also have it easyif you choose to ship via USPS Media Mail. These rates are so cheap that you can do some creative rounding of numbers and say that any item weighing two pounds or less can ship anywhere in the U.S. for $2.00. The actual Media Mail rate might be $1.56 or $1.84 or whatever, but $2.00 makes a convenient number to state up front; the gap between actual and projected shipping can go toward the purchase of an appropriate box or envelope. Tip
Working with Variable FeesWhen you're shipping items that weigh more than a pound, the calculation gets much more complex. The fact is that if you're selling an item that weighs, let's say, four pounds, the actual shipping costs (via Priority Mail) can range from $5.60 to $10.90, depending on where you are and where the buyer is. That's because Priority Mail ratesmost shipping rates, actuallyvary by distance. So there's no way to quote an exact shipping cost until the auction is over and you get the buyer's ZIP code. That said, there are three ways you can deal with this situation in your auction listings. First, you can calculate an average shipping cost for your item, figuring a cost halfway between the minimum and the maximum possible costs. Using our four-pound example, the minimum cost for Priority Mail shipping is $5.60 and the maximum is $10.90, so you would charge the buyer the average of these two numbers, or $8.25. (Or maybe you would round up to $9.00.) The theory here is that you lose money on some shipments and make it back on others, so over the long term it's a wash. Of course, nearby buyers might complain that they're paying too much (which they are, because they're in fact subsidizing sellers who live farther away). You'll have to decide whether you can live with the occasional complaintor refund the difference if it's too large. Next, you can simply state that buyers will pay actual shipping cost based on location, which will be calculated at the conclusion of the auction, and not include a flat shipping and handling charge in your listing. If you take this approach, you have to request the buyer's ZIP code at the end of the auction, refer to various rate charts to figure the shipping cost, and then relay that cost to your buyer. It's a bit of work, but it gets the job done. (It's also made easier by the fact that eBay is now including the buyer's ZIP codewhen availablein its end-of-auction notification emails.) Using eBay's Shipping CalculatorFinally, and this is my new preferred method, you can choose to include eBay's Shipping Calculator in your item listings. The Shipping Calculator, shown in Figure 23.3, is a great tool; it lets buyers enter their ZIP code on the auction listing page, and then calculates the actual shipping cost, based on the shipping service you selected. (You can also choose to have the Shipping Calculator add a predetermined handling charge for each shipment, which we'll discuss in a minute.) When buyers use eBay Checkout at the end of an auction, or choose to pay via PayPal, they can also use the Shipping Calculator to automatically add shipping and handling fees to their total. Figure 23.3. Add eBay's Shipping Calculator to your item listings so that buyers can automatically determine shipping and handling fees.
You can activate the Shipping Calculator when you're creating a new item listing on the Describe Your Item page. Just follow these steps:
You can now proceed with the rest of the listing creation, as normal. Because the Shipping Calculator can be added to your item listings free of charge, there's no reason not to use itespecially because it greatly simplifies the task of calculating exact shipping charges to your customers. Determining the Handling ChargeAside from the pure shipping costs, you should consider adding a handling charge to the shipping fees your customers pay. After all, you need to be sure that you're compensated for any special materials you have to purchase to package the item. That doesn't mean you charge one buyer for an entire roll of tape, but maybe you add a few pennies to your shipping charge for these sorts of packaging consumables. And if you have to purchase a special box or envelope to ship an item, you should definitely include that cost in your shipping charge. (This argues for planning your shipping before placing your item listingwhich is always a good idea.) Tip
So you should have no compunction against "padding" your shipping fees with an additional handling charge. In fact, eBay's Shipping Calculator lets you add a separate handling charge to its calculations. It's an accepted part of doing business online. How to Track Your ShipmentIf you think the package might be lost in transit (it's taking too long to arrive), you can always avail yourself of the tracking services provided by UPS, FedEx, and other major carriers. These services typically provide tracking numbers for all packages shipped. In most cases, you can track your package by entering the package's tracking number into the carrier's website. "Mike Sez"
The one major shipping service that doesn't offer tracking (by default) is the U.S. Postal Service. What you can get from the postal service (at a cost of from $0.50 to $0.60or free, if you print your own electronic postage labels) is delivery confirmation. USPS confirmation, however, does not confirm that an actual person received the package; it confirms only that the mail carrier delivered it (stuck it in the mailbox, that is). If you want a signature confirmation on a USPS shipment, you need to send your item with either Signature Confirmation or the certified mail option. Signature Confirmation costs $1.90 ($1.35 if you print electronic postage labels), while certified mail costs $2.40. Both require the recipient to sign on delivery, and are good options if you're shipping something extremely valuable. When to Recommend InsuranceIf you're shipping a moderately expensive item (over $50, let's say), it might be worth the expense to insure it. You can always give the buyer the option of buying insuranceor just do it yourself and include the costs in your normal shipping and handling fee. As to cost, the U.S. Postal Service charges $1.35 to insure items up to $50, $2.30 for items between $50 and $100, and $2.30 plus $1.05 for each additional $100 for higher-priced items. UPS includes $100 worth of insurance in its basic rates; additional insurance can be purchased for additional cost. What to Do When Things Go WrongIf the package never arrivesor arrives damagedyou have some work to do. If you insured the package, you have to file a claim with the carrier. Information for claim filing appears on most of the shipping services' websites, but you might have to visit your carrier's local office to obtain the proper claim forms. Tip
Note, however, that the procedure for filing a claim can be long and involved. Take the example of the U.S. Postal Service. The process starts with the buyer, who must take the package (merchandise, box, peanuts, and all) to their local post office to fill in half of a claim form (PS 1000). After this form is processed, the post office sends you (the seller) the half-filled-out form, via the mail. You then fill out the rest of the form and take it (along with your original insurance receipt) to your local post office for processing. When enough time goes by the USPS will (or won't, if you filled in something wrong) send a check for the insured amount directly to the buyer. Other shipping services work differently, and some even send the insurance check to you instead of to the buyer. However it works, you need to communicate with the buyer while you're waiting for the claim to be paid so that both of you are in the loop about what's going on. If you receive the insurance check, you'll then need to refund the buyer's money; if the buyer receives the check, he should notify you when he's been paid. Caution
Tips for Less-Painful ShippingTo wrap things up, here are some additional tips you can use to take some of the hassle out of shipping your eBay items:
|