I'm a retired USPS Rural Carrier. I'm adding to your excellent video to carefully place the label so the barcodes are flat on a box. If you put the label so the barcodes are across the break in the box flaps it can sometimes move or even break the label which makes it harder to scan. Thank you for your helpful videos!
Perfect timing for this video, I inherited my late father's storage unit and I recently got switched to part time at work. So I have to face my shipping fears and start selling to help with bills. Some encouraging words to other fearful eBay sellers, that I told myself. Better to try and make a mistake, get experience vs not trying at all because of fear: win/lose vs lose/lose.
Hey Scot: Another great video...20+ years selling on eBay I have shipped thousands of items everything from a rare postage stamp to a lawnmower, it just takes a little practice. I always charge shipping, no matter what you are selling you got to cover the shipping cost. Like you I send out offers to watchers, I accept many offers from buyers knowing the shipping is covered, I then only worried about the cost of the item...all my items in my store are paid for so every dollar is profit....Cha...Ching...love that sound.....
What do you mean all your items are paid for? That seems like a given, imo. Unless you're selling stuff you don't want at home, or ppl donate their stuff, you have to buy the inventory (from thrift stores, garage sales, etc...) you're reselling.
@andrewwashere82 i personally mean that I charge shipping so any best offer consideration can be reduced to profit. What did I pay? How much money will I make at that offer price? It simplifies the math. That's all. I offer free shipping on some items to compete with other sellers. I often find myself saying NO to offers on those items because I am already eating the cost of shipping. It's a head game for me although it is really just math. Will I make a profit either way.
@@andrewwashere82 What I mean is, while I have purchased all items in my store, (mostly from Estate Sales) I did so with profits that I have made over the years. I have no overhead cost like storage, no employees and all supplies are bought and paid for with profits. I will only purchase additional inventory if there is money in my eBay bank account.
I finally listed my first 6 items, with the help of all your excellent guidance, tutorials and encouragement. Yes, I am using USPS calculated shipping on all my items so far. Setting up my shipping policies on eBay was daunting, but your videos helped me with that too! Thanks so much! 💕🙏🏻 (And I did get that Rollo printer!)
Just started selling on eBay & shipped my first item yesterday. I just wanted to say thank you sir for giving me the confidence I needed to start this new business adventure. Your videos have been a tremendous help!
Good video @TheChaChingKing I’ve been selling on EBay for a couple of years now and I remember shipping was the one thing that scared me the most when starting. And it really wasn’t hard to learn. Keep the good videos coming.
you are so good at explaining things to those of us thinking ( but very nervous as well ) to start this reselling journey ! I am not ready quite yet to list my first item, but i am getting close lol ! Thank you 💗
Try listing something from your junk drawer. Old pliers, camera battery charger , new watch battery, etc. Think small, lightweight, unbreakable and under $10 in value. Do one listing on your phone and get a feel for the process. Use your phone camera. The lesson will either cost you $15 or make you $15. Sell what you know and already own. Build from there. Get off the bench and into the game.
ahhh... another great video! Thank you so much...before you list, do you actually package the item to get the accurate measurements and weight to add in eBay? Just wondering.. thank you!! Anita
With experience, I don't really have to anymore. I have a pretty good idea how things will ship. If I get something I'm not sure of, I'll pop in in a box just to see, though.
Hey Scott, nice to see you brother. Can’t wait to jump in the excellent tips you always have for us. To get that other label machine I forget it begin with an M… so you get credit for it. Do you have a link or website for that and is it really cheaper? The luxury of the label as opposed to the tape and the printer and ink method. Lol
Please do an update on shipping policies. Your older video does not have the present screens that eBay has now. You're my "go to guy" to learn from and I'm having trouble finding "days for shipping handling policy"
For the last 5 years I've been using a kitchen scale I got for $10 from Walmart. It's fine. Also, I've noticed that 36 inches seems to be a magic number for your Height X Length X Width when shipping USPS. If it gets larger it's time to consider UPS. I think it's a good idea to consider free shipping if the item will fit in a USPS small flat rate box (don't use the box, though), and weighs less than about half a pound.
Greetings from Toronto ChaChingKing! I have been a longtime fan of watching your thrilling videos. I have a question about ebay calculated shipping. Do you do the weight and parcel dimensions as you list each item to determine the shipping price on each item? I see most resellers do the weight and measurement after they get a sale and are ready to ship the item and this always made me wonder why that is done after the buyer already paid for shipping. Thank you.
When you are first getting started, I'd recommend weighing and measuring every item as you list it. But, you'll learn some of the weights and dimensions very quickly. For example, I've sold tons of t-shirts. I know that the vast majority of them are going to fit just fine in a 10"X13"X3" poly mailer and weigh about 15 ounces. I don't need to weigh and measure each one any longer. A lot of sellers do it after the sale because they used a flat rate for shipping. So, if it's a little more or a little less, the seller takes care of that out of their proceeds. They can do it later because it doesn't impact the buyer.
Thanks for the no nonsense answers. For those of us that are still taping labels on boxes, can the tape go over the barcodes? I've been avoiding doing that for fear of USPS being unable to scan.
It's not supposed to for that very reason. BUT, I've done it without any issues. The glare can interfere is the only reason. If you're using an inkjet printer, you're probably in more danger from the ink getting wet and not working than you are the glare interfering.
Hi Scott. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! I have a question, if the item does not fill out a poly mailer like clothing does, do you still use the dimensions of the poly mailer?
Love your videos, they are very helpful! I would love a video on the Ebay fee breakdown. I feel like Ebay is taking a lot and at the same time, I don't understand what all they are taking. Could you maybe do a video like that? OR do you already have a video out there? Thank you!
It actually fits in really well with a video I'm already working on. It should be out in a couple of weeks. The title will probably have something to do with an experiment that I've tried.
Shipping anywhere in the US, under 1 lb, in a polymailer, costs me about 6 bucks. Does that sound right? I wish it could be cheaper. It does eat into my profit quite a bit. I use USPS Ground Advantage because it has accurate tracking so its easier to see it get to my customer. USPS also has free pickup for me.
I got a digital kitchen scale for less than $10. Before that, I used one I got at a yard sale for two bucks. When I create my listings, I include the dimensions/weight. But, in buying my postage label, can I change it if needed? Still new at this and the one time I wanted to, I either couldn't or I couldn't figure out how to navigate to do that. And there's often been times when I've wanted to revisit my listing only to see what I selected for shipping/all those details, but either I can't or I can't figure out how to navigate to do that.
@@TheChaChingKing Yes, it was calculated shipping / Ground Advantage. A few days after, eBay automatically sent me an extra payment to compensate for my overpayment to the post office. I was surprised to learn that the post office did that.
30" historic pennant _flat?!_ lol I can't find much on flat because people said Ground Advantage has to be less than 22" now. I wanted to use the poly board insulation-sandwich method rather than any cardboard. Wondering if I still can, rather than 2 Priority Mail boxes taped together.
After some coffee and trial and error I think I figured it out, for anyone else reading: Using 2 Priority Mail, 1 inside the other to length, extra flat carboard for middle-section rigidity, sealed using their adhesive strips and tape where necessary. Charge USPS Priority Mail flat rate for shipping. Boom.
@@TheChaChingKing I have a couple PM from different USPS box eras. It's the Mailing Box, current iteration is 11 5/8" x 2 1/2" x 13 7/14". I read their statute on reconfiguring boxes and they mention enlarging them, so I took that as taping 2 together.
I wish you would have addressed shipping prices at EBay. One special issue I have is shipping auction wins that price can start at 1 dollars and I give buyer standard envelope rate but auction sold price goes over 20 dollars and eBay lets buyer choose standard envelope rate but makes me buy ground advantage 😡?
That's a great point I hadn't even considered. An auction that runs over $20 no longer qualifies for the standard envelope...but was specified in the listing. I wonder why eBay even allows that as a choice. Glad you shared that. It never occurred to me.
I heard from a CC that shipping with the free post office supplies can cost more. So to only use them depending on the item. I don't really understand what they meant by that.
If you ship with the free supplies, you can only ship with Priority mail. Priority can be significantly more expensive than using Ground Advantage. Does that clear it up at all?
@@TheChaChingKing Yes and no. I get using them cost more, cause of priority mail. What I didn't understand was what they meant by only using priority depending on the item sold. It'll prob take experience to understand. And/or maybe it can apply to really expensive items? I think you get free insurance with priority.
I don’t offer free shipping so i used calculated shipping. Buyers still leave bad reviews because of shipping fee… why when they can see the price for shipping before buying? My business is too small to offer free shipping.
I rarely offer free shipping either. As a result, I will get less that 5 stars on my shipping fees. I don't concern myself much with the reviews over shipping prices. If I were getting written reviews about them, I'd look to make sure I'm at a reasonable price. I would fight a negative review for that reason, though.
I keep trying it, but I haven't found the prices to be any cheaper than ebay. It works great. And I've used it when there's an issue with eBay shipping. I do try it from time to time. So many people find the prices cheaper that it has me half way convinced that I'm doing something wrong.
EBay has never allowed dropshipping items that are not specific to the seller. So, dropshipping items that have my own merch on them is perfectly ok with eBay. But, they don't allow dropshipping from other platforms like Wal-Mart and Amazon.
EBay doesn't set the shipping rates. They have an agreement to get us the cheaper commercial rates with the post office. But the post office sets the rates....and it definitely feels expensive. 😞
I'm a retired USPS Rural Carrier. I'm adding to your excellent video to carefully place the label so the barcodes are flat on a box. If you put the label so the barcodes are across the break in the box flaps it can sometimes move or even break the label which makes it harder to scan. Thank you for your helpful videos!
Thank you for this info!
Now that is a useful tip! Mind if I pin this to the top?
Perfect timing for this video, I inherited my late father's storage unit and I recently got switched to part time at work. So I have to face my shipping fears and start selling to help with bills.
Some encouraging words to other fearful eBay sellers, that I told myself. Better to try and make a mistake, get experience vs not trying at all because of fear: win/lose vs lose/lose.
I'm genuinely sorry to hear about your loss. Truly.
@@TheChaChingKing Thank you, much appreciated.
Hey Scot: Another great video...20+ years selling on eBay I have shipped thousands of items everything from a rare postage stamp to a lawnmower, it just takes a little practice. I always charge shipping, no matter what you are selling you got to cover the shipping cost. Like you I send out offers to watchers, I accept many offers from buyers knowing the shipping is covered, I then only worried about the cost of the item...all my items in my store are paid for so every dollar is profit....Cha...Ching...love that sound.....
I do the same. Sales are good.
What do you mean all your items are paid for? That seems like a given, imo. Unless you're selling stuff you don't want at home, or ppl donate their stuff, you have to buy the inventory (from thrift stores, garage sales, etc...) you're reselling.
@andrewwashere82 i personally mean that I charge shipping so any best offer consideration can be reduced to profit. What did I pay? How much money will I make at that offer price? It simplifies the math. That's all. I offer free shipping on some items to compete with other sellers. I often find myself saying NO to offers on those items because I am already eating the cost of shipping. It's a head game for me although it is really just math. Will I make a profit either way.
100%!
@@andrewwashere82 What I mean is, while I have purchased all items in my store, (mostly from Estate Sales) I did so with profits that I have made over the years. I have no overhead cost like storage, no employees and all supplies are bought and paid for with profits. I will only purchase additional inventory if there is money in my eBay bank account.
Thank you for all your generous free educational time !!😊
I finally listed my first 6 items, with the help of all your excellent guidance, tutorials and encouragement. Yes, I am using USPS calculated shipping on all my items so far. Setting up my shipping policies on eBay was daunting, but your videos helped me with that too! Thanks so much! 💕🙏🏻 (And I did get that Rollo printer!)
You are as ready as you will ever be! You've got this.
Just started selling on eBay & shipped my first item yesterday. I just wanted to say thank you sir for giving me the confidence I needed to start this new business adventure. Your videos have been a tremendous help!
I'm so happy to hear that! I wish you nothing but success!
@TheChaChingKing Thank you for your kind words. You have a full time subscriber here 👍
Good video @TheChaChingKing I’ve been selling on EBay for a couple of years now and I remember shipping was the one thing that scared me the most when starting. And it really wasn’t hard to learn. Keep the good videos coming.
I really appreciate that. Thank you.
Great video Scott. Shipping was the thing that scared me the most when I first started.
You and me both!
Was struggling wanting to list today.. video was simple but motivating..
you are so good at explaining things to those of us thinking ( but very nervous as well ) to start this reselling journey ! I am not ready quite yet to list my first item, but i am getting close lol ! Thank you 💗
Try listing something from your junk drawer. Old pliers, camera battery charger , new watch battery, etc. Think small, lightweight, unbreakable and under $10 in value. Do one listing on your phone and get a feel for the process. Use your phone camera. The lesson will either cost you $15 or make you $15. Sell what you know and already own. Build from there. Get off the bench and into the game.
@@theresakralik1820 thank you !!!!
You've got this!
Great advice!
❤@@TheChaChingKing
I am still a new by but yes, calculating ahead is best. It takes me time before listing but then I know I am covered!
And, it's a tremendous learning exercise, too. You'll soon know what it will cost to ship... giving you more options.
Thank you Scot for another great video!
And another very educational video! Great Scott! You've done it again!
Thank you so much
ahhh... another great video! Thank you so much...before you list, do you actually package the item to get the accurate measurements and weight to add in eBay? Just wondering.. thank you!! Anita
With experience, I don't really have to anymore. I have a pretty good idea how things will ship. If I get something I'm not sure of, I'll pop in in a box just to see, though.
Hey Scott, nice to see you brother. Can’t wait to jump in the excellent tips you always have for us. To get that other label machine I forget it begin with an M… so you get credit for it. Do you have a link or website for that and is it really cheaper? The luxury of the label as opposed to the tape and the printer and ink method. Lol
I think the link for the Munbyn is in my description. I'll check when I get home. If not, I'll add it this evening.
@ thank you sir. You’re the best.
Please do an update on shipping policies. Your older video does not have the present screens that eBay has now. You're my "go to guy" to learn from and I'm having trouble finding "days for shipping handling policy"
LOL..I totally agree. I need to do some updates. I swear, eBay waits for me to do my updated videos and THEN they change the platform again. hahaha
@@TheChaChingKing Looking forward to it!
For the last 5 years I've been using a kitchen scale I got for $10 from Walmart. It's fine. Also, I've noticed that 36 inches seems to be a magic number for your Height X Length X Width when shipping USPS. If it gets larger it's time to consider UPS. I think it's a good idea to consider free shipping if the item will fit in a USPS small flat rate box (don't use the box, though), and weighs less than about half a pound.
Great tips
watching your videos makes me feel like i'm taking an ebay masterclass :D
That is so unbelievably kind. Thank you.
Thank You!
You're welcome!
Greetings from Toronto ChaChingKing! I have been a longtime fan of watching your thrilling videos. I have a question about ebay calculated shipping. Do you do the weight and parcel dimensions as you list each item to determine the shipping price on each item? I see most resellers do the weight and measurement after they get a sale and are ready to ship the item and this always made me wonder why that is done after the buyer already paid for shipping. Thank you.
When you are first getting started, I'd recommend weighing and measuring every item as you list it. But, you'll learn some of the weights and dimensions very quickly. For example, I've sold tons of t-shirts. I know that the vast majority of them are going to fit just fine in a 10"X13"X3" poly mailer and weigh about 15 ounces. I don't need to weigh and measure each one any longer. A lot of sellers do it after the sale because they used a flat rate for shipping. So, if it's a little more or a little less, the seller takes care of that out of their proceeds. They can do it later because it doesn't impact the buyer.
Thanks for the no nonsense answers. For those of us that are still taping labels on boxes, can the tape go over the barcodes? I've been avoiding doing that for fear of USPS being unable to scan.
It's not supposed to for that very reason. BUT, I've done it without any issues. The glare can interfere is the only reason. If you're using an inkjet printer, you're probably in more danger from the ink getting wet and not working than you are the glare interfering.
Hi Scott. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! I have a question, if the item does not fill out a poly mailer like clothing does, do you still use the dimensions of the poly mailer?
I do. It's never added anything substantial to the cost.
Love your videos, they are very helpful! I would love a video on the Ebay fee breakdown. I feel like Ebay is taking a lot and at the same time, I don't understand what all they are taking. Could you maybe do a video like that? OR do you already have a video out there? Thank you!
It actually fits in really well with a video I'm already working on. It should be out in a couple of weeks. The title will probably have something to do with an experiment that I've tried.
@TheChaChingKing Wonderful!! Thank you!!! 🙏🙏
Agreed, my sister tried listing 1 item on eBay and never made a sell, but still got charged a fee from eBay. Like wt-frack?
@andrewwashere82 hmmmm I heard you get fees unless you have a "store". FYI, stores are like $7 a month.
Maybe ChaChingKing can answer that
@andrewwashere82 You should have had some free listings. Unless you used some of the extra features like bold or something.
Shipping anywhere in the US, under 1 lb, in a polymailer, costs me about 6 bucks. Does that sound right? I wish it could be cheaper. It does eat into my profit quite a bit. I use USPS Ground Advantage because it has accurate tracking so its easier to see it get to my customer. USPS also has free pickup for me.
That sounds about right to me. I wish it was cheaper, too.
@@TheChaChingKing Thanks!
Can you take shipping supplies cost of cost for tax purposes?
I'm not a tax professional, but your business supplies are generally deductible. Make sure you check with a tax professional.
Hello Sir, how much did you buy those colored 4x6 label printers?
They are around $120, I think. I do have a link in the description.
I got a digital kitchen scale for less than $10. Before that, I used one I got at a yard sale for two bucks. When I create my listings, I include the dimensions/weight. But, in buying my postage label, can I change it if needed? Still new at this and the one time I wanted to, I either couldn't or I couldn't figure out how to navigate to do that. And there's often been times when I've wanted to revisit my listing only to see what I selected for shipping/all those details, but either I can't or I can't figure out how to navigate to do that.
You can change it if you need to at the time you ship. I'm not sure what happens if you had calculated shipping though. I haven't tried it with that.
@@TheChaChingKing Yes, it was calculated shipping / Ground Advantage. A few days after, eBay automatically sent me an extra payment to compensate for my overpayment to the post office. I was surprised to learn that the post office did that.
30" historic pennant _flat?!_ lol
I can't find much on flat because people said Ground Advantage has to be less than 22" now.
I wanted to use the poly board insulation-sandwich method rather than any cardboard.
Wondering if I still can, rather than 2 Priority Mail boxes taped together.
After some coffee and trial and error I think I figured it out, for anyone else reading:
Using 2 Priority Mail, 1 inside the other to length, extra flat carboard for middle-section rigidity, sealed using their adhesive strips and tape where necessary.
Charge USPS Priority Mail flat rate for shipping.
Boom.
Are you using the large flat rate?
@@TheChaChingKing I have a couple PM from different USPS box eras.
It's the Mailing Box, current iteration is
11 5/8" x 2 1/2" x 13 7/14".
I read their statute on reconfiguring boxes and they mention enlarging them, so I took that as taping 2 together.
I wish you would have addressed shipping prices at EBay. One special issue I have is shipping auction wins that price can start at 1 dollars and I give buyer standard envelope rate but auction sold price goes over 20 dollars and eBay lets buyer choose standard envelope rate but makes me buy ground advantage 😡?
That's a great point I hadn't even considered. An auction that runs over $20 no longer qualifies for the standard envelope...but was specified in the listing. I wonder why eBay even allows that as a choice. Glad you shared that. It never occurred to me.
I heard from a CC that shipping with the free post office supplies can cost more. So to only use them depending on the item. I don't really understand what they meant by that.
If you ship with the free supplies, you can only ship with Priority mail. Priority can be significantly more expensive than using Ground Advantage. Does that clear it up at all?
@@TheChaChingKing Yes and no. I get using them cost more, cause of priority mail. What I didn't understand was what they meant by only using priority depending on the item sold. It'll prob take experience to understand. And/or maybe it can apply to really expensive items? I think you get free insurance with priority.
I don’t offer free shipping so i used calculated shipping. Buyers still leave bad reviews because of shipping fee… why when they can see the price for shipping before buying? My business is too small to offer free shipping.
I rarely offer free shipping either. As a result, I will get less that 5 stars on my shipping fees. I don't concern myself much with the reviews over shipping prices. If I were getting written reviews about them, I'd look to make sure I'm at a reasonable price. I would fight a negative review for that reason, though.
Pirate Ship is awesome
I keep trying it, but I haven't found the prices to be any cheaper than ebay. It works great. And I've used it when there's an issue with eBay shipping. I do try it from time to time. So many people find the prices cheaper that it has me half way convinced that I'm doing something wrong.
Is eBay banning drop shipping?
EBay has never allowed dropshipping items that are not specific to the seller. So, dropshipping items that have my own merch on them is perfectly ok with eBay. But, they don't allow dropshipping from other platforms like Wal-Mart and Amazon.
Ok thank you ❤
Is it just me or is EBay shipping cost expensive. The cost of flat rate boxes need to be addressed to expensive.
EBay doesn't set the shipping rates. They have an agreement to get us the cheaper commercial rates with the post office. But the post office sets the rates....and it definitely feels expensive. 😞