One of the biggest costs that can hit an eBayer seller is Postage and Packing. This hidden costs can surprise not only the new seller but also the seasoned seller who has been selling online for many years. When I first started out selling on eBay there was only really the Royal Mail I could use to send my items out. But now there is a whole host of carriers and suppliers that you can use. You can either go direct to companies such as DHL, FedEx etc or go via a broker such as Parcel2go – More on this later.
The other hidden costs in Postage and Packing are things like envelopes, boxes, bubble wrap and parcel tape. Yes you can buy these items at places like the Post Office (here in the UK the postal service do not give them free to us, some carriers if you go direct will give you supplies). You can buy items from places like Viking Direct and even your Local Pound Shop sell items………but you get what you pay and also if you are sending out items on a regular basis you will pay loads more than you should.
So how and where do you buy your packing items for your eBay business ?…………….eBay of course. A quick example is Bubble Wrap
if you buy from from your local shop you pay around £6.00 for a small roll. At present I pay £18.00 for a massive roll. If I bought the same size from my local shop the cost would be £120.00…….so a massive saving.
Again boxes, source these on eBay and you will save yourself a large amount of money, and the same goes for packing tape, void fill etc. Watch those pennies and will always make a profit.
In another article we covered how important it is to know the weight of the items you are selling and need to work out the postage costs before you list your item. If you get the postage cost wrong you could loose a large amount of money and it comes out of your pocket and not your customers pocket. You have been warned.
It is a good idea to have your own postage and packing area where you have all the items ready to pack your items so that you are not looking around for scissors and tape, as this soon adds up and you will be wasting time as you keep looking for missing items. If you are not able to have your own area always set up, get yourself a plastic box and have all your items in there ready to go.
As I mentioned at the start of the article back in the days when I started to sell online there was just the Royal Mail, but today there is a whole list of places where you can get your items taken all around the world. One of the best suppliers I have found is Parcel2go.com. This a broker company and they use companies such as DHL, UPS, FedEx, City Link, Parcel Force. Everything is the same as if you used the carriers direct, but you will make massive savings as the broker works on your behalf.
There are plenty of these brokers around you just need to use one that you feel happy with and they offer the best service for you, and of course deliver to the areas and countries where your customers are.
In closing postage and packing is a must for any mail order business, buy at the right price, keep those costs low, but do not buy too cheap as you want the item to arrive in one piece. And know those costs before you start to list your items.
Happy Selling.
