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So Now You're Packing and Shipping Vintage Costume Jewelry Like A Pro . . .

That's great!  In Part 1 & Part 2 we covered necessary shipping supplies and great packing procedures. However, there are a few more things I've learned that are important if you want to ensure positive feedback from your Buyers.

My Thoughts on Bubble Mailers for Vintage Costume Jewelry

While many sellers use padded envelopes and bubble wrap to ship vintage jewelry, I choose not to.  Think of it this way - A delicate brooch is wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a padded envelope.  Seems secure enough, right?  What if you stood on that envelope?  Would the brooch still be protected?  Our mail system handles massive quantities of mail every day.  It is likely your brooch will be at the bottom of a cart with 100s of pounds of mail pushing down on it.  It will also be run through high speed machinery.  A sturdy box ensures the safe passage of your jewelry through our mail system.  So, my opinion of bubble mailers is - Don't use them if you want to ensure positive feedback from your Buyers.

Priority Mail vs. First Class Mail

I prefer shipping Priority Mail vs. First Class Mail for a few reasons.

1. My actual cost to ship via Priority Mail is only $.10 vs. $.49 for First Class Mail.
2. The free Priority Mail boxes help to ensure safe packing.
3. I can print shipping labels for Priority Mail packages quickly and easily through Paypal.

Printing Priority Mail Postage Through Paypal

Printing your Priority Mail shipping labels through Paypal is quick, easy and looks professional.  I love it for several reasons.

1. The Buyer and Seller receive free Delivery Confirmation.
2. The Buyer is automatically notified when the label is printed.
3. It helps with cash flow to have my shipping expenses consolidated in one easy to access place (no more scrounging for change at the Post Office).
4. It saves time!  No more writing out labels – no more standing in line at the Post Office!

To learn more about how to print Priority Mail postage through Paypal, you can visit ebay's USPS Shipping Zone.

USPS Priority Mail Package Pick Up vs. Drop Box

If I have my Priority Mail packages ready to go with printed mailing labels and postage, I can just place them in my curbside residential mailbox.  The mailman will pick them up during his route, and scan then into the system.  I don’t even have to change out of my pajamas to ship Priority Mail packages!  LOL  But, what if I sleep in and miss the mailman?  No problem!  I can drop my Priority Mail packages in any USPS mail drop box without even leaving the car (and I can still stay in my pajamas)!

Shipping Scales

If you sell jewelry, chances are you already have a good digital scale for weighing gold and silver.  Any accurate scale that weighs in ounces will work just fine for weighing small packages.  I use a regular digital kitchen scale that weighs in grams and ounces (measures grams of sterling, ounces of packages, and pounds of butter – all in one dandy tool).  I purchased it at a local department store, but you can also find a digital kitchen scale on ebay.  Once you know the weight of the item plus packing materials, you can determine postage by going to the usps.gov website or by visiting ebay's USPS Shipping Zone.  There are options for calculating domestic postage and international postage.

Now You're Ready To Take On The World!

Join me for Part 4 of Shipping Vintage Jewelry For Positive Feedback, where we'll cover:

Cost Effective International Shipping

International Shipping Restrictions on Jewelry

Customs Forms Made Easy

View all of my guides here.

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