7 Steps to Easier EBay Shipping

If you're like me, you probably hate packing and shipping the things you sell on eBay.

Don't get me wrong, I love selling on eBay. I just don't like the shipping part. I find it monotonous to hunt for boxes, wrap the items, drive back and forth from the post office, and all the other steps involved in shipping.

Then there's the waiting for the buyer to receive the item. Has it arrived yet? Did it get damaged in shipping?

It took me a lot of trial and error to figure them out, but the following 7 steps will help make your job easier when it comes to shipping, as well as get rid of the stress of waiting for the item to be delivered to the buyer.

1. Professional Wrapping

When you wrap your item(s), wrap it professionally in nice, clean tissue paper. If breakable, be sure the item is wrapped with bubble wrap as well. Include a business card with your website information, name, address, or a printed statement showing the item(s) name, item(s) number, price paid, and a small hand-written note thanking the buyer for their purchase.

2. Insurance

Insurance is usually a good idea but in general, it should be an optional feature, with the decision left to the buyer. Remember two important things about insurance. First, insurance is VERY inexpensive. Therefore, in your description, you should state how much insurance would cost and recommend it. Second, you should also state in the description that if insurance is not purchased, you are not responsible for lost or damaged items.

3. Weighing

In order to provide accurate details and help in determining shipping costs, you need to know exact weights. The best option, which will save you many unnecessary trips to the post office, is to purchase a inexpensive quality scale for weighing your packages.

4. Postage

Instead of always running out of stamps or having to run to the post office to ship a smaller item, fill out the information located at stamps.com where you can print stamps directly from your home computer.

5. Post Office Freebies

If you use the Priority Mail option through your post office, they will provide all your supplies for free. This includes boxes, labels, and tape. Best of all, they deliver all these supplies directly to your door. Get them at your local post office or go to USPS.com request mailing supplies.

6. Ship-To Locations

Be sure to consider where you will ship to carefully. You will have buyers from around the world but you can limit where you will ship. Some people prefer to ship to the US, Canada, and European countries while others ship anywhere. The option is completely yours but keep in mind that there are some differences in how you wrap the package, the currency exchanges, and communication barriers between you and the buyer.

7. Delivery Confirmation

Unfortunately, some buyers will try to say they paid for an item but never received the auction item(s). When shipping, you should consider using delivery confirmation. This service is generally inexpensive and can end up saving you a ton, especially if the item(s) is higher priced.

Do yourself a favor and put these tips into action - you'll save yourself both time and hassles. Use the time you save to get more listings up, and watch your eBay income grow.

John Lenaghan offers success tips for making money on eBay, dropshippers and many other topics on the Online Auction Advisor website. Visit http://www.online-auction-advisor.com for more ways to improve your buying and selling on eBay.

More Resources

Seven Steps to eBay Selling Success
More and more people try their luck at selling on eBay everyday. With all of that growing competition it is important that you do everything possible to make sure that you stand out from the crowd.
eBay Consignments: The Giant Opportunity Hiding on eBay (Part I)
More and more, people are becoming aware that they have potential cash sitting in their closets, attics, and basements. But not everyone has the time or the know-how to tap into it, so these items remain where they are or are given away.
Garage Sales, Flea Markets, and Special Events... Oh My!
The activity chart is an ingenious way to find, in order, events happening in your community throughout the day. Plug in 'www.
6 Reasons Why an eBay Business is the Easiest and Safest Home Business to Start
Calling internet auctions an "Entrepreneur's Dream" isn't poetic license or part of the get-rich-quick rhetoric. Net auctions are the simplest, easiest way on this planet for the little guy to make money.
The Webs Best Online Auction Sites
The best online auction links for buyers and sellers are - not surprisingly - eBay, eBay and eBay. eBay began the entire wacky world of online auctions back on the Labor Day weekend of 1995.
How to Locate Drop Shippers for Your Success
Like the human heart, drop shippers can keep the blood pumping in an internet business. Often, they can be the key to success for online retail businesses who do not wish to stock actual inventory.
Real Estate Auction Action - Buying A Home At Auction
Due in part to the popularity of the U. S.
eBays Hot Selling Books, Find Out Which Books Sell & How To Find Them
Selling books on eBay can be a very lucrative business! There are eBayers who sell only books and make a nice little income doing it. Where do they get these books to sell? At thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets, book fairs, yard sales, library sales, grandmas attic, etc.
How To Make Money Online : Sell On eBay
Selling on eBay can be very profitable, and is a great way to make some extra cash, or even turn it into a full-time business.If you're retired, or a stay at home Mom or Dad, or are in the market for a part time job you simply have to consider becoming a seller on eBay.
The Number 1 Biggest Secret to Selling on Ebay
Ebay.com is a Tool.
Join the Home-Based Business Revolution
Greetings, Friend. So you've decided to go into business.
Turn Your eBay Experience Into Even More Profit
Everyone's talking about eBay these days. With the frequency of the TV advertising campaigns increasing, and no sign of any sizable competitors the eBay empire is only going to get bigger.
How Professional Ebay Auction Templates Can Boost Your Ebay Sales
Do you like to sell on eBay ? It's easy and fun, isn't it ? In fact, it's one of the easiest online business you can start almost overnight, without any major investments. That's the best thing about it.
Selling on eBay? Heres a Success Tip for Your Online Auctions
Are you planning to sell on eBay? Or have you tried in the past but not had much success with your online auctions? If so, here's a strategy that has worked very well for me.In my experience, the auction lots where I created a useful collection of related items got more bids and closed at higher prices than auction lots that were all one thing.
Dropship Your Way to Success
Many people know they would like to start an Internet business, but they don't have a product to sell. The solution is often drop shipping.
How to Generate Extra Cash in an Instant
With so many out of work, laid off or staying in dead end jobs to make the ends meet, we need creative ways of generating extra income. Here are a few simple, innovative ideas to get the cash you need quickly.
Finding Antiques And Collectibles To Sell On eBay
Many people who decide to make a living selling collectibles on eBay soon fail. I meet them in the line at the post office.
Taxing eBay Part Deux
When my column on paying income tax on eBay profits ran it brought a wave of emails on whether you were required to report income earned from eBay sales to the IRS sparked a number of additional questions and comments from eBay sellers who were hoping that I could somehow validate that their eBay activities were mere hobbies instead of actual businesses and therefore not susceptible to IRS taxation.Several folks argued that just because their little eBay hobby generated a little cash, that didn't make it a full blown business.
Smart Ways Your Business Can Benefit From Online Auctions
It seems as if everyone is talking about online auctions. And why not.
How To Save Franchise Fees and Set Up Your Own Ebay Drop Off Store
There has been a flood of publicity generated regarding the "Small Business Opportunity" being offered to would be internet entrepreneurs.The plan is for you to purchase a franchise operation to sell products on consignment via eBay.

More Auction Information:

Related Articles

What Ebay Can Teach Us About Success
I flew back to New York from Atlanta a few weeks ago and picked up 'Business 2.0' magazine for the flight.
Sell Your Items at Cost and Make a Fortune on eBay!
Like all ebay sellers I wanted to sell all of my items at a profit and what I found was that when I was getting to the end of line items that I was ending up selling them at cost, even though the items were finally selling at a profit price, because I was having to factor in the ebay relisting fees etc.So I took a moment and sat down and thought how I could deal with these items and still make money.
Start an Easy Home Business: Become an Ebay Trading Assistant
EBay's online auctions have created business opportunities for thousands of people. Now the Trading Assistant program is making it easier than ever to start a business from home.
Be Realistic When Selling on eBay
As some of you know, I spent many years buying and selling both on and offline and several of my products are based upon my own experience in this area. I know that the vast majority of my customers and subscribers have an interest in trading whether it be on eBay or at the local market but more and more I am seeing people with completely unrealistic expectations of what they will be able to do.
Authentic or Fake?
1. Admit It: Old business models are no longer working.
Photos on my eBay Auctions: How Do I Add Them?
On another forum I'm involved with, someone's asked a great question: I want to sell products on eBay, but I want to include photographs with my items. How do I do that? What kind of camera do I need, and what settings should I use?The first step is to buy a digital camera.
Just The Ticket - How To Make Hundreds Per Day As A Ticket Broker On eBay!
It should be simple - your favourite team/band/theatre play is just about to perform in a couple of weeks. You've waited months for this, now you're going to log on, book the tickets for yourself and your best buddy and bingo?you'll be at the event of the decade for a night to remember.
eBay and Dropshipping - A Perfect Fit!
eBay and Dropshipping go together like a hand in a glove. As you read this article, right now, thousands of eBayers are running there own auction business.
Killer Tips To Succeed With eBay Auction
For just a moment, try to comprehend the power of the Internet. Every day, there are millions of people from around the globe "surfing the web.
Attract eBay Buyers Like Crazy!
As an ebay(TM) seller it happens very often (too often) that listings close without any bids. Did this happen to you? Many sellers are frustrated and quit their eBay(TM) business.
5 Reasons Why Playing Music On Your Auctions Is A Bummer Of An Idea
There are 147 million registered users on eBay, and tens of millions of those are desperately fighting to make sales on eBay. When trying to make their auction listings as powerful as possible, many sellers use ill-advised tactics.
eBay The Mega Marketplace For Everyone
eBay is one of the world's largest market places with over 35 million visitors per day. That first sentence is worth repeating because I want you to realize that eBay gives you the ability to reach a customer base of millions and millions of people which is beneficial to you.
EBay Income Possibilities
If you've ever read an article about eBay, you will have seen the kinds of incomes people make - it isn't unusual to hear of people making thousands of dollars per month on eBay.Next time you're on eBay, take a look at how many PowerSellers there are: you'll find quite a few.
The Secret Of The Ebay Money Machine And How To Get Your Share
If you have all the money you need, then this information wont be of much use to you!If however, like most of us, there are times when you could do with a little more, read on.At times we all come across circumstances where we could do with some extra income, be it that extra special present we need to buy, that unexpected bill that needs paying or just to make ends meet.
Making Money On EBay Can Be So Simple, Just Let Somebody Else Do All The Hard Work For You
OK, so you've been bitten by the eBay bug!You've ransacked the attic, the basement and every other room in your home to find things to sell on eBay.When friends and neighbors ask you where everything has gone, you tell them that you're going for the "Minimalist Look".
Ebay Auction Selling Secrets - Using Ebay to Launch Your Very Own Highly Successful Website
Launching your very own successful website is the dream of many people worldwide because it is a new way to make money and be employed by oneself with little overhead. So, once you have your website you will need traffic to make it successful.
The Secret To Real eBay Success
Q. I hear so much about people who started selling on eBay and eventually turned it into their full time business.
Using Paypal for eBay Purchases
Paypal is the preferred payment choice for many buyers because Paypal allows buyers to pay instantly for eBay purchases. In this article, we will review using Paypal on eBay from the buyer's point of view.
Easy Money on Ebay?
Ebay was only two years old when I discovered it.A friend I worked with was also starting to sell on Ebay at about the same time, and we exchanged ideas and experiences constantly.
Selling Effectively on Ebay Motors
Remember back when selling online was a new experience? Dealers tried everything to sell their vehicles online. Today's market has expanded to include several hot online marketplaces but there is the largest online marketplace, Ebay.