Save your customers $$$ on Shipping Costs

One of the best things you can do for yourself and your customers is find the cheapest way to ship your items. If you are shipping heavy items a flat rate box will be your best option. If you are shipping media you can use media mail which has a reduced rate.

I usually ship clothing items. I like to ship these items in white poly mailing bags. The bags are thin and hardly weigh anything at all. They are waterproof and puncture proof (for the most part). I also wrap my items with tissue paper or bubble wrap. You also want to include an invoice or something to remind the buyer of who you are. I like to order business cards. It has my eBay store name and my name. The best thing about it is that it weighs virtually nothing.

Why is it important to provide cheaper shipping?

1. Customers will give you better feedback.
2. Customers will remember and come back.
3. Customers are more likley to buy your item.
4. It allows you to make a little money for handling costs without the buyer feeling overcharged.

When is the best time to list new items?

Let's start with what are you selling?

It may entirely depend on what you are selling and when the buyers would be online. I sell to moms and many of them of are online during the week and weekends. If you are selling to a college age group late night auctions may do well for you. So consider your customers.

Sometimes you need to look back.

After you list for a couple of weeks if may be good to look back and see when you had the most sales. I have done this and found that Sunday nights bring me the most sales. However, it is not always possible to schedule listings. Sometimes it helps to have a few auctions ending each day. That way if someone starts watching one item when they look again they may like another item.

A few general pointers

• try to avoid late night and early morning auctions
• list a few items and look back at which days did the best
• target your selling audience

You can sell anything on eBay!

Have you thought...."No, not me...how would I ever start?"
If you have some time, finish reading this blog.....then sign up on eBay and search through a few items. If you are confident you can start a listing. The listing tools are fairly easy to use. After a few auctions you will start to get the hang of it. Just start with something you have around the house that you would sell in a yard sale. Please note that we are not selling junk but rather things we longer need or want. I figured that I couldn't save every outfit from when my daughter was little so I just saved my favorites and sold the rest. I would have to do this each time she grew out of a size. This was great because I always had something I could sell.

Some tips to try just in case you are willing to try......

Have you sold on eBay and didn't like it? Well, some people don't like it because of various reasons. My sister-in-law tried to sell some new in the package cosmetics that she did not want after ending a home business. She went ahead and listed them. After selling them she was dissatisfied with her outcome. Here are a couple of reasons her results were not what she had hoped for.

Starting your auctions too low:

One of the problems she encountered was starting the bidding too low. I have made that mistake more than once. I know that if I list an item starting at $1 and free shipping.....it will sell for $1 and free shipping. Okay maybe not always, but usually. My advice is to list your items at a price you are happy with. Remember that it must be a fair price that you would be willing to pay if you were looking for this item. So ask yourself, "Would I buy this at this price?" Chances are you bought it on sale and used it. If I had a pair of used shoes I originally paid $10 for I would not start the bidding higher than $4.99. You want to sell items. If you start the bids too high the stuff won't sell. If you are listing items that are NWT then you have to start the auction at least for what you paid. I like to increase that starting bid by 25% to cover my fees and other expenses. Sometimes I even list it at a dollar higher and then lower the price later in the week if I don't get any bids.

Unprepared:

Be prepared that your item may sell. How are you going to package it? This can be a costly mistake. For example; if you don't have the right shipping materials available then you may have to go to the store and buy 1 or 2 shipping envelopes at a higher cost to you. To fix this problem do a little research. Go on eBay...duh! Find polymailing bags. These are white shipping bags in a variety of sizes. They are the lightest shipping option available. Buy from a seller on eBay. This will also build up your feedback. We will talk about feedback later. Buy a set of polybags that has a variety of sizes. I also buy some plain white tissue paper at the dollar store (sometimes I splurge and buy the pretty ones). I like to wrap up the clothing in the tissue paper and slide it neatly into the polybag. It just looks more fresh and professional. By the way, the polybags on eBay sell for about $10 for almost 50 bags (depending on size). It is cheaper than using the shipping supplies in the store. You can also request free shipping materials from USPS.
-k

Next blog on timing auctions and reducing shipping costs!