Shipping for Newbies!

BEFORE you start selling anything, you need to consider this: HOW WILL I GET MY ITEM TO MY BUYER?

For starters, you need the following:

A scale of some sort - either digital or mechanical. These can be purchased online (I got my digital from Ebay), in Walmart (in the stationary dept), Staples, OfficeMax, or anywhere else that sells shipping supplies. A scale is crucial to shipping well!

Appropriate packing supplies - depending on your product, this may mean bubble mailers, boxes, bubble wrap, packing peanuts or any number of other things. It must be both DURABLE and SECURE. If you are going to ship via USPS Priority Mail, you can order FREE boxes online for this!

A measuring tape - you’ll need this when you’re figuring out your postage


HOW to ship - it’s not all tape and pretty ribbons!

I strongly recommend learning to use an online shipping service to print labels from home - this saves you TIME and MONEY. You can ship through Paypal, the USPS website (Click & Ship), Endicia, Stamps.com, or any number of other places. It is very very simple to use now that you have your shipping scale! Your postage prints from your printer, tape it to the box and you’re done! You can even have your mail carrier pick up the packages from your door - go to USPS.com and use Schedule A Pickup for this service - it’s FREE!

An important thing to consider when shipping is PROOF OF DELIVERY - so that your buyer can’t claim they didn’t receive something to get a false refund. This is called DELIVERY CONFIRMATION and it is only $0.18 when you purchase your postage online, and it is FREE when you ship Priority Mail. Use it, EVERY TIME, to cover your butt!

Shipping services - what to use, and what NOT to use!

For domestic (US) shipping, you have a few options:

USPS First Class Mail - if your item is under 13 ounces, use this option - it is the cheapest AND the fastest
USPS Priority Mail - for anything of any weight - can be expensive if your package is large, but fast
USPS Parcel Post - for anything over 13 ounces that doesn’t need to arrive too fast - can take 2-3 weeks to arrive

Of course you also have UPS, FedEx, and others, but for most things these options are too pricy to really consider.

For International shipping:

USPS First Class International - anything up to 4 lbs - cheapest to use. You need the GREEN customs form for this and you MUST pay for the postage AT the post office
USPS Priority Mail International - anything at any weight - can be VERY expensive - can print postage online

Please, do NOT use UPS, FedEx, or other carriers internationally! Your buyers will have to pay BIG brokerage fees on these and will NOT be happy!

How much do I charge for shipping?

Get your postal scale. Take your lightest item, and heaviest item. Package them like you would to ship - box and all, and weigh them. Go to USPS.com and use “calculate shipping” from your zip code to the furthest state from where you live. This is your minimum BASE shipping charge. Now, add to that the cost of your mailing supplies (usually around $1 or so) and if you want, a small handling fee. That is your PRIMARY SHIPPING COST.

You can choose to offer a discounted rate for buyers that buy more than one thing, or not - it’s up to you. Most people charge a certain percentage of the first rate as the additional item charge. This is your ADDITIONAL SHIPPING COST.

How do I need to pack my stuff?

Your item needs to be packed to withstand a 6 story drop and 70 lbs of weight on it. It will go through many conveyer belts, machines, planes, mailbags and more and will hardly be handled by humans that read, rather than machines. You really do NOT need to write “fragile” on your items - but you MUST pack them well!