One of the best kept secrets on the internet is the use of Ebay stores to save big money on shipping costs! It may require a little patience, but the savings can be substantial. Using a store can save you money by combining your purchases into one (usually) box and mailing by the most economical method.

How it works is simple: you pay for only one box, label, packaging, etc. Next, the post office charges on a scale- and it is usually cheaper per item as the weight of the package goes up. Let me elaborate a little more on a seller's costs when mailing a package. The boxes that I purchase cost me between .75- 2.80 each (after shipping fees are paid to get them here). Sometimes we can recycle boxes, and sometimes we can use priority mail boxes which are free. Next we buy packing material to protect the contents- that can cost between .50-2.00 a box. Then we label and tape it up- another .30-.60 cents a box. This does not include the fees that we pay to print postage, or the cost of the printers, etc.

The costs of the above items must be absorbed into each sale somehow or a seller can't stay in business very long. If more than one item is purchased, these costs are shared bringing the cost to ship each item down to a more reasonable level.

Now for the secret: Plan ahead and order as much as you plan on using from one store. Try to find a store with reasonable prices all around- everyone will have slightly higher and slightly lower prices if you only look at one item at a time. Next, either email ahead with your list and ask what the combined shipping fees will be, or if you trust the seller, purchase the items. Don't pay the invoice until the seller has the opportunity to correct the invoice! You will recieve emails from Ebay that are automatically generated- don't pay them. They can be shockingly high- there is no way to combine shipping fees without actually packing and weighing the box.

Also- look at a seller's feedback before you do business with them- it is a real indicator of how your experience will be. Don't expect it to be perfect. Sometimes no matter what a seller does a buyer is going to be unhappy. But more than a couple of negative complaints from separate buyers in one year should be viewed with caution!

With just a little effort you can be enjoying the best values available on the internet!