Shipping and eBay questions answered here

[Tyler]

There has been a ton of threads about shipping and eBay lately, so I thought I'd share my knowledge. Maybe the new guys can benefit from this. If other people have useful tips, I'll update the OP with them. If you have any questions that weren't answered here, I'll do my best to answer them.

Tips on Canadian shipping

Originally Posted by iluvfish2

International Price Calculator

Typically cheaper than the US but you wont get DC without increasing the shipping to priority.

For DC and paypal ship Im pretty sure at this point you still need to use priority or higher. I know they were working on 1st class international, but not sure its functional yet.

Just send him a new invoice (or for future listings you can set your handling rate and set the item so that it charges your handling plus extact shipping so you dont have to worry about it.

eBay has a new fee calculator, which comes in handy when trying to determine profitability.

Ryan Olbe's fee calculator

Delivery Confirmation is now FREE when you print your label through eBay.

I use Paypal online shipping. The prices are cheaper than physically going to the post office. Some people use pre-cut self-adhesive labels, sold here. Or, just use regular old paper and tape it on.

http://paypal.com/shipnow <--- You can print Priority and Express international postage from here also!

1oz - 3oz First Class Mail - $1.64 w/DC - about 4 cards in toploaders

This weight was figured using a #000 Kraft bubble mailer. If in doubt, round up. Better yet, get a scale.

Remember that first class mail can only go up to 13 ounces.

When shipping a lot of cards, it can be cheaper to ship via Priority Mail. The new Flat Rate Bubble Mailers only cost $5.30 to ship, including DC. I can safely fit one 400ct box, or 2 300ct boxes sideways in the envelope. I have had no problems shipping these across the country.

USPS also introduced some new Regional Rate Priority Mail boxes which can save you a lot on shipping if you're shipping in your own zone, or a zone close to you.

Order the envelopes for free here (they are sent Parcel Post, so it will take a week or more to get them)

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Some tips:

Print out and seal up one package at a time. Those of you who have screwed the pooch on this one know what a hassle it is to fix.

If the contents are worth more than $250, purchase insurance and signature confirmation. $500.00 in insurance costs $6.70, Signature Confirmation is $1.95. This is peanuts compared to losing a $500.00 card. Personally, I insure and use signature confirmation on everything over $200.

If you print postage online, the old adage that your envelope has to be 3/4" thick for DC goes out the window. I have received regular old PWE's with checks or money orders in them with a DC#. A bubble mailer with a toploader in it qualifies for DC, so don't send me a squished packing peanut along with my card, thanks.

Never use a PWE.

Never use a PWE.

Ok, ok, I've sent a 75 cent card in a PWE, but the buyer agreed to it before purchasing it. I sandwiched the card between 2 pieces of cardboard and it arrived safely.

If you're shipping a somewhat valuable graded card, use a Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box. It's $5.20 to ship, and your cards have a small chance of getting squished. The graded card slabs are very rigid and crack easily in the sorting machines.

When packing your cards, it should go something like this:

Card -> penny sleeve -> appropriately sized top loader -> team bag or tape -> sandwiched between 2 pieces of cardboard -> short note to act as a receipt or showing the trade -> bubble mailer

You can reuse bubble mailers that are in good shape, otherwise buy them in bulk, here.

In my experience, kraft bubble mailers hold up so much better than the Tyvek ones. The recycled fiber ones don't do too much in the way of protecting the cards, so try to avoid them. They're usually more expensive anyway.

A little reference on bubble mailer sizes:

000........4” X 8”
00..........5” X 10”
0............6” X 10”
1............7-1/4” X 12”
2............8-1/2” X 12”
3............8-1/2” X 14-1/2”
4............9-1/2” X 14-1/2”
5............10-1/2” X 16”
6............12-1/2” X 19”
7............14-1/4” X 20”

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eBay info:

How to Add eBay bidders to blocked list

Block bidders from certain countries, with a certain feedback level, etc. Very detailed.

eBay allows you to print First-class International postage to MOST countries.

My shipping setup consists of:

Dymo 330 Turbo Label Printer (cheap and fully compatible with eBay/Paypal/UPS)

99019 adhesive-backed Label Refills

Kitchen Scale

and that's it! Very simple and low cost. The Dymo printer spits out a label in about 5 seconds, if that. I'm down to using ONE piece of tape across the back flap of an envelope. It's so convenient, especially when I host group breaks.

If you are shipping out a lot of packages at once, use Paypal Multi-order Shipping. You can print a ton of labels and hand the postal worker a SCAN form (printed using PP Multi-Order Shipping) with a single barcode to enter all of your DC numbers into the system. I was told that I'm the only person in my town to use this, and they love me at the PO. The more your postal workers love you, the better chance your buyers will receive their cards
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How to ship a high dollar card (courtesy of our resident smartass Houdini)


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Setting the Dymo paper size (applies to the Dymo 300, 330 and 400 series printers in Windows XP, Vista and 7)

• Go to Devices and Printers in the Start menu.
• Right click on the Dymo 400 Turbo
• Go to Properties | Printing Preferences | Advanced.
• Using the drop down menu, change the paper size to the appropriate size (99019 should be correct)
• Click OK > Apply > OK (if the Apply button is grayed out, don't worry about it)
• After that is complete, complete the following:
• Right click on the Dymo 400 Turbo
• Go to Properties | Printer Properties | Device Settings Tab (far right)
• Change the label size to the SAME label size set in the Printing Preferences menu earlier
• Click Apply > OK (if the Apply button is grayed out, don't worry about it)

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Originally Posted by calculusdork

There were some questions about this in another thread, so I'm creating this here to link back to it (instead of burying in the other thread). These steps probably work for other Brother printers, but I've only tested the QL-700.

Materials Needed
- Brother QL-700 Thermal Printer. Currently on Amazon for $52 dlvd, which ain't bad. There's at least one on eBay for just a few bucks less.
- Brother-compatible (generic) DK-2205 label rolls (2.4" x 100'). I bought 4 rolls from eBay user deltadiscount7 for just over $5 each, which is about 30% of what the Brother brand rolls cost on Amazon. Each roll will print 150 labels (each 8" long).
- Brother-compatible reusable cartridge for DK-2205. This is the spool that the label rolls goes on. I bought mine from eBay seller saitronix for around $5.

Setup and Printing
- Insert installation disk and follow instructions. Do not hook printer up to computer until instructed.
- Printer comes with a "sample" roll/spool, about 20' long I think. To insert replacement spool and roll, just put the replacement cartridge together and slide the roll onto the spool. It will look identical to the sample roll/spool. Insert the spool, power up the printer, manually feed the end of the label roll into the printer, close the lid, and push the "Feed" button for good measure.
- Once installation is complete and printer is hooked up and ready, go to PayPal and go through your typical "Print shipping label" process.

- Enter package information and click "Continue". At the bottom of the "Confirm and Purchase" page, click "Edit printer settings". Click the "Label Printer" option, and select Brother QL-550 - 2.4"xContinuous. There is no option for the QL-700, but the QL-550 interface works.

- Before clicking "Save", click on the "Download J2SE JRE" link, and go through the steps to download and install the Java 2 Runtime Environment. There will be options to download 32-bit and 64-bit environments; if you're not sure what type of machine/browser you have, it doesn't hurt to download and install both. Your computer will use whatever it needs.

- Back on the "Printer Options" page, click "Save". Continue on, click "Pay and Continue". After clicking "Print Postage Label", your browser will attempt to open a Java window to render and print the label. You may have to disable pop-ups and tell your browser a few times that you're sure you want to do all this ... just go through the motions. When it's all said and done, click "Print Label" and your adhesive label will come flying out of the QL-700.

- Fair warning, you may have to go through the setup process for both PayPal shipping (e.g. BO sales) and eBay PayPal shipping (shiptrack.ebay.com) separately.

I have only tried this for USPS shipping, and have not yet used the "Multi-Order Shipping" option. If you have experience there, feel free to share.

Another tip ... when using these labels for #000 bubble mailers, make sure you don't "over-fold" the seal on the mailer, making it shorter than 8". Will cause your adhesive label to slightly extend onto the back of the mailer, and the bar code and QR code are at each end of the label.

There you have it ... for about $65 or a little less, you can print shipping labels like it's nobody's business.

[Y2Hood]

I discovered yesterday that, at least to Japan, you can do your customs forms from home now. I'm not sure how long it's been this way, but it seems like not THAT long ago I had an international buyer and I *HAD* to go to the P.O. to ship it.

[bboi30]

Interesting calculator. See the Shipping cost strictly on shipping singled out. Nice job ebay. Two fingers in the back door now. Won't be long before you get the whole hand. Massage anyone?

[Tyler]

I've seen some newbie eBay questions lately, so I figured I'd bump this once.

[Care4Card]

never seen this, thanks for the Bubble Mailer link, much cheaper than what I use (about ,15$ a mailer)

[BostonNut]

Can you please post how to ship 300+ card sets?

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by BostonNut

Can you please post how to ship 300+ card sets?

It's in there bud. Paragraph #8

[BostonNut]

Let me save some face by saying it was a late night last night...

I can read! LMAO...sorry....

Originally Posted by Tyler

It's in there bud. Paragraph #8

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by BostonNut

Let me save some face by saying it was a late night last night...

I can read! LMAO...sorry....

You're a Red Sox fan, I understand.

[Cashis11]

What if you were shipping to Canada or vice versa? What are the cheapest ways to do so?

[Care4Card]

Originally Posted by Cashis11

What if you were shipping to Canada or vice versa? What are the cheapest ways to do so?

From Canada to US, a Kraft 000 mailer with 1-6 cards is 2,12$ (regular)

If you choose small parcail, it's between 3 and 4,50$, up to 15 cards approx.

[Cashis11]

Ok, what is the cheapest way of sending a package to the states from Canada with tracking or some way of making sure it gets there safe?

It usually costs my $18 for tracking,is there anything cheaper?

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by Cashis11

Ok, what is the cheapest way of sending a package to the states from Canada with tracking or some way of making sure it gets there safe?

It usually costs my $18 for tracking,is there anything cheaper?

What size package? How much does it weigh?

[Cashis11]

a Kraft 000 mailer with 1-3 cards in it

[edhou1]

Cheapest method I used was USPS 1st class Registered Mail which before the latest price increases was cost of 1st class (~$1.75 with DC) + $11.50 registered mail fee. Never had one of these lost, but it can take a while to get through customs, etc.

If it was a free shipping auction, and I trusted the buyer, if the cards < $50-60 USD I normally just took a chance and not paid for the extra services. Unofficially you can trace progress sometimes through the customs #.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by Cashis11

a Kraft 000 mailer with 1-3 cards in it

Maybe I'm missing something. Visit Canada Post - Mailing, Shipping, Marketing, Shopping, Sharing

I did a sample package, .25 pounds from zip code N0G 1M0 (somewhere in Ontario) to 95228 (Copperopolis, CA)

I selected Small Packet USA Air

Dimensions were 7" - Length, 4" - Width, .5" height

Again, only .25 pounds

It came to $7.46

[dthimesch]

Can you help melic with this?

http://www.blowoutcards.com/forums/e...g-manager.html

[johnlaf13]

also a good tip if you are using tape to seal top loader is to use blue painters tape, it does not leave gunk on the toploaders and is easy to peel off.

[hhmag70]

Originally Posted by Cashis11

Ok, what is the cheapest way of sending a package to the states from Canada with tracking or some way of making sure it gets there safe?

It usually costs my $18 for tracking,is there anything cheaper?

In order to be protected in the event of an INR claim the tracking must be viewable online, and there is no cheap way to get around this.

[Prospect Rush]

Originally Posted by Care4Card

From Canada to US, a Kraft 000 mailer with 1-6 cards is 2,12$ (regular)

If you choose small parcail, it's between 3 and 4,50$, up to 15 cards approx.

Of course these have no tracking....Don't people complain? Or cry it's so slow??

I just don't get why Canada post doesn't offer DC for a reasonable price.

[Tyler]

Added a nice new link at the bottom to control bidder settings (feedback percentage, international bidders, etc.)

[Tyler]

Up for new people

[Tyler]

To the top

[harryhudini]

Instead of taping the top loader (which I think has more chance to damage the card) use a priority envelope (the one with the clear front) and put the item in that so it doesnt move around in shipment.

[monkeymcgee]

I'm a pretty experience shipper, but I have a question for you.

I didn't use to do the packing peanut thing, then I heard some POs were getting strict about the 3/4" when the new rates went into effect last year so I started doing it to avoid any buyers having problems.

I see you say this doesn't apply to online postage--can you give me a reference for that because I'd love to stop using the peanuts?