Time to update this guide, I'm sure everyone is super tired of seeing the good 'ole '$2 S&H?' on the left hand side of ALL their DVD searches....hehe Sorry, I had no idea when I wrote that guide that it would become so popular or unpopular, depending on who you ask....lol I absolutely can not believe that my guide has been viewed over 40,000 times! That's a medium sized town! YIKES! I guess I better watch what I say here, that might be hard for me. I'd make a BAD politician, because I'm pretty straight forward. I also don't want to change the core of my original guide. That or I'm just lazy...hehe The root of my point is for sellers to remember to be FAIR to themselves FIRST concerning their S&H pricing and for buyers to realize everything that is involved with shipping AND handling of an item. I was just getting a little frustrated with seeing people selling items (DVDs to be specific) for 1 CENT, free shipping  with NO bids. If they want to DONATE their DVDs to someone, they need to send those bad boys to me!....lol

M'kay, back to the point before us. Let me break this down for new DVD buyers and sellers. It costs $1.64 (more for 2 disc sets) to ship a DVD with a standard case via USPS first class mail. Add .75¢ for delivery confirmation (recommended by eBay) and we're at $2.39. (TIP: Save money by printing and paying for your labels through PayPal via Click 'N Ship. You'll only pay .18 cents for Delivery Confirmation. PLUS the labels are a lot more attractive, especially if you have nasty writting like moi.) Additionally, you can have your mail carrier pick up you packages from your home for FREE! After you have sold something on eBay, go to My eBay, click 'Sold' and then click 'Print Shipping Label' and you're on your way!

Now, let's talk about the ever forgotten 'handling'. What is meant by 'handling'? According to Webster's Dictionary it reads... 'Handling - of or pertaining to the process of moving, transporting, delivering, working with etc.' And sellers can not 'deliver' or 'work with' the item that you bought without the items/actions below.

HANDLING INCLUDES:

-SHIPPING SUPPLIES (ie. bubble mailers, labels, sharpies or printer ink and printer paper) TIP: Recycle your bubble wrap, save and use bubble wrap that was sent to you. Buy a paper shredder and use shredded paper instead of pricey bubbles. Yikes, now I'm gonna get hate mail from all the bubble wrap sellers!....lol) 

-MY TIME, the #1 area neglected when sellers determine their fees. And how do we determine what our time is worth? Everyone thinks of their time as "worth" something different than the next person. Shall our time be a "rate"? An hourly rate? Minimum wage?... lately yes... lol  Any seller will tell you that it takes a lot of 'time' to 'handle' our items. From the time we receive it from our wholesaler until the time we hand it to the postal worker we have 'handled' your item at least 6 times. And that's PER ITEM. At the time that this guide was written I had over 1,000 items in my eBay store, with an average of 20 items sold per day. Multiply 20 items per day by 6 and you have me 'handling' an item about 120 times per day or 15 per hour.  I  can not wait until I finish up my pilot schooling and become an airline pilot so that I can stop working....lol

-FUEL, don't get me started on these rising fuel prices, as the oil companies continue to report RECORD PROFITS. Here in L.A. we're paying at least $3.30 per gallon and most serious eBay sellers are driving to the Post Office 2-3 times a week. TIP: Have the USPS pick up your packages, IT'S FREE STUPID!...lol And can be scheduled on USPS.com or through 'My eBay'. NOTE: Sometimes the USPS will need at least ONE of the packages to be a Priority package (I guess that's how they justify it being free). It's at their discretion, but they're usually cool about it! God Bless America! We have the absolute best mail carrier system in the world. I just wish our health care system was as good.

To wrap this up, I would like to say that I am a buyer as well as a seller on eBay and I know that a "good deal" is defined by a price equal to or less than what the item is worth to the buyer. And most buyers will not pay more than what the item is worth to them, including the shipping AND handling fee.

*Thank you for taking the time to read my new and improved guide! If it was helpful please vote yes and I will give you a 20% discount on anything in our store! Shop Victoriously!