Shipping Freebies

I have found out the greatest "money saving" shipping freebies.  The great red,white and blue shipping boxes that USPS produce are FREE. I was surprised to discover that USPS will pick up my packages at my door and it saves gas money and a drive to the post office.  

It was great to realize that you get free delivery receipts when you print your own label for your packages, yippee.  And by printing your own labels, you save 5% on the cost which you can pass on to your buyers. Imagine!

Ship Global & Sell More - And It's Easy!

Shipping global - now slow down, that would be over my head.  I am going to share in this guide what I found out and how it made my life easier and less costly.  You will put more money ini your pocket by the savings.

Imagine, eliminate trips to the post office by printing the USPS shipping labels with postage from your desktop. It is free and no fees, no subscription. You simply pay for the postage with your Paypal account and print your labels to your printer, in a matter of seconds.   I love this!!    The "tracking receipt" you pay for at the post office is free when you print your label through ebay. Once the label is on the package, you can arrange to have USPS pick it up at your address.

Did you know there are free co-brand USPS boxes with ebay and USPS priority on the sides of the box or you can order them FREE shipped to your door at the USPS internet site. This is a nice touch because it lets the buyer know when the see the box - yippee its the item I bought on ebay!! They ship the free boxes to my front door by USPS.  The greatest thing is you are saving time, effort and money with all the tools within ebay.  In fact everything you need to accomplish the essential aspects of shipping are right there in ebay and paypal.  There are no extra fees and no special printers or equipment you need to print the labels.   You will need a weight scale.  You can buy them on ebay rather inexpensive.  You can purchase shipping labels on ebay for a low price or use regular paper. When you list your item, you put down the weight, approx size of the box and add that information to the listing.  Then you check the countries you will ship to and the ebay automatic calculator does the rest. Which allows the buyer to click the shipping box and see what the cost will be from your zip code to their zip code. You can offer shipping discounts for multiple item purchases to drive repeat business.

The benefit of printing your own shipping labels through ebay and paypal is you save on shipping cost and you can pass this onto your customers. When you print shipping labels through ebay you recieve an automatic discount of 5% on USPS priority mail International and 8% on USPS Express amil International.  The USPS labels on ebay also offer "free delivery confirmation" for priority mail. This is a savings to you.

GLOBAL SHIPPING

If you decide to go "global" you can print the international shipping labels on your computer and custom forms from your paypal account and ship across the border. This increases your sales. The ebay/paypal calculator will automatically calculate the rates for you, worldwide.  Isn't that amazing?  This feature was a 10+ for me, like the first man on the moon! I had to try it, and it worked.  I was so excited, I called my friends to tell them I am shipping "world-wide". The unknown had kept me from shipping to other countries.  I took my first "global" package to the post office with the forms that I printed on my computer and they showed me where to sign, and how to put the forms in a special free plastic holder (PS form 2976-E) that is used for all forms for customs, documents,etc.  While I was there, I asked about the mail carrier picking up packages at my front door.  In my neighborhood, we have a mail carrier that drives a little mini-truck around and he picks up the packages from my front door - imagine that?  The post office told me that they have a free service to pick up packages if you need it.   The free shipping boxes from ebay and USPS are mailed to your address including the International USPS priority and USPS International Express boxes. Is that easy or what?

 At this time Ebay doesn't offer insurance for International shipping.   They have it for domestic shipping within USA, but not global.  Ebay has informed me that they are working on that feature.   Most of all shipping International should have insurance, so you can go to USPS internet website and set up an account with a credit card.  You can print your label the same as you would through ebay and paypal.  They allow up to $500 insurance to be added to any International USPS priority package. 

Ebay has a video in their shipping department online that allows you to watch a video on your computer on how to ship global and also how to make your own labels.   Having the information at your fingertips is rewarding and may save you time and money. 

Why ship USPS Priority when parcel post will do?

The shipping cost is paid by the buyer and many buyers don't know how small the cost difference and I find they have no problem paying for priority shipping. The shipping difference is day and night.  The buyer should be given a choice, but by far the Priority USPS package will be better all way around for delivery time and condition it arrives in.  There seems to be no care taken for parcel post mail. It is the bottom of the pile when it comes to mailing.  The quick delivery time of priority is about 2-3 days and it arrives in the attractive box with care. With parcel post delivery, the condition of the package arriving isn't very appealing.  I have received crushed boxes, bent boxes, open and missing items in the box with parcel post.    When you ship with the USPS priority "red, white & blue" packaging the item looks like a party when it arrives.  And the customer is delighted with the quick delivery time.  Are we looking at a big difference in cost to the customer, no.  You can ship a normal size USPS box within USA up to about 1 pound for $4.60 (as of May 15, 2008) and it arrives in 2-3 days depending on its destination.  If the same item is shipped parcel cost, you have to ship in plain brown paper boxes and it takes 8-10 days to arrive.  I have seen sellers turn the USPS priority box inside out but this is discouraged.

The best feature about shipping USPS priority and charging the buyer "actual shipping cost" your positive feedback stars will grow.  Your customers will be happy for fast delivery time and they will show their appreciation in "positive feedback".  Remember the stars rate shipping time and shipping cost which gives any prospect buyer a chance to see what the buyers think of you as a seller.  

If this guide was helpful, please vote yes below. Thank you for letting me share.