EBay for Dummies (52 page)

Rubber stamps/stickers:
Using custom rubber stamps or stickers can save you a bunch of time when preparing your packages. I purchased some return address self-inking rubber stamps. I use these stamps to stamp all kinds of things that require my identification. I often also use their fluorescent red SCAN NOW stickers next to my Delivery Confirmations.

Thermal label printer:
Once I thought this was a flagrant waste of money, but now I wouldn’t be without one. When you begin shipping several packages a week, you’ll find it far more convenient to use a separate label printer for addressing and delivery confirmations. Dymo offers one of the best deals; you can find them on eBay for about $100.00. If you want to get industrial, try one of the Zebra thermal printers (I use the LP2844). These printers can print labels for Fed Ex and UPS as well as USPS (you can also get deals on these on eBay).

Black permanent marker:
These are handy for writing information (“Please leave on porch behind the planter”) and the all-important “Fragile” all over the box or “Do Not Bend” on envelopes. I like the big, fat Sharpie markers.

If you plan to sell on eBay in earnest, consider adding a 10-pound weight scale (for weighing packages) to your shipping department. I’m using a super-small 13-pound maximum scale, which I bought on eBay for only $29.95.

When it comes to fragile items, dishes, pottery, porcelain, china — anything that can chip, crack, or smash into a thousand pieces —
double box.
The boxes should be about 3 inches different on each side. Make sure that you use enough padding so that the interior box is snug. Just give it a big shake. If nothing rattles, ship away!

Packing material: Where to find it

The place to start looking for packing material is the same place you should start looking for things to sell on eBay: your house. Between us, I’ve done over a thousand eBay transactions and never once paid for a carton. I buy most of my stuff from catalogs and online companies (I love e-commerce) and save all the boxes, bubble wrap, padding, and packing peanuts I get in the mail. Just empty your boxes of packing peanuts into large plastic trash bags — that way, they don’t take up much storage space. If you recently got a mail-order shipment box that was used only once — and it’s a good, sturdy box with no dents or dings — there’s nothing wrong with using it again. Just be sure to completely cover any old labels so the delivery company doesn’t get confused.

Beyond the ol’ homestead, here are a few other suggestions for places where you can rustle up some packing stuff:

Your local supermarket, department store, or drugstore:
You won’t be the first person pleading with a store manager for boxes. (Ah, fond memories of moving days past.) Stores like giving them away because it saves them the work of compacting the boxes and putting them in the trash or recycling bin.

I have found that drugstores and beauty supply stores have a better variety of smaller boxes. But make sure that you don’t take dirty boxes reeking of food smells.

The inside of your local supermarket, department store, or drugstore:
Places like Kmart, Wal-Mart, Target, and office-supply stores often have good selections of packing supplies.

Shippers such as UPS, FedEx, and the U.S. Postal Service:
These shippers offer all kinds of free supplies as long as you use these supplies to ship things with their service.

The Postal Service also ships free boxes, packing tape, labels, and shipping forms for Express Mail, Priority Mail, and Global Priority Mail to your house. In the United States, you can order by phone (800-222-1811) or online (
shop.usps.com
). Here are a few rules for USPS orders:

• Specify the service (Priority Mail, Express Mail, or Global Priority Mail) you’re using because the boxes and the labels all come with the service name printed all over them, and you can use them only for that specific service.

• Order in bulk. For example, address labels come in rolls of 500 and boxes in packs of 25.

• The boxes come flat, so you have to assemble them. Hey, don’t look a gift box in the mouth — they’re free!

eBay and online sellers:
Many terrific eBay sellers are out to offer you really good deals. (You can’t beat eBay sellers for quality goods, low prices, and great service.) I recommend the following family-run eBay stores:

•
Royal Mailers
is where I buy my padded paper envelope mailers for my eBay sales. This company also sells Tyvek envelopes, vinyl bubble mailers, zipper-lock plastic bags, air pillows, box sealing tape, and lots more. They offer
free shipping
and a discount of 5% to my readers if you use this code: COOLEBAY. Visit their Web site at
www.royalmailers.com
.

•
Bubblefast
— an eBay seller from the Chicago area — sells tons of reasonably priced bubble wrap, mailers, and more.

•
Melrose Stamp
is based in New York (but its items are tiny, so shipping isn’t a huge issue). Melrose Stamp mainly sells custom and stock message rubber stamps. They also sell rolls of package identification labels such as Fragile, Scan Me, First Class, Media Mail, and Airmail.

Notice that I mention where these vendors are located. When ordering a large shipment, the distance it has to travel from the vendor’s place to yours can tack on quite a bit of cash (and time) to your shipping costs!

Buying Postage Online

Isn’t technology great? You no longer have to schlep to the post office every time you need stamps. What’s even better, with the new print-it-yourself postage, you can give all your packages directly to your mail carrier. When you install your Internet postage software, you apply for a USPS postal license that allows you to print your own
Information Based Indicia
(IBI) for your postage. IBI is a bar code printed either on labels or directly on an envelope and has both human- and machine-readable information about where it was printed and security-related elements. IBI provides you, and the post office, with a much more secure way of getting your valuable packages through the mail.

You can print postage for First Class, Priority, Express, and Parcel Post, and additional postage for delivery confirmation and insurance. If your printer mangles a sheet of labels or an envelope, you can send the printed piece to your Internet postage provider for a refund. Several vendors of Internet-based postage exist, but Endicia Internet Postage, and Stamps.com are the most popular.

Preparing Postage with Endicia

In the early 90s, a couple of guys came up with new software to enable people to design direct-mail pieces from the desktop. Wow! What an innovation. With the inexpensive software, you could also produce your own bar coding for the Postal Service. I used that software then, like I use DAZzle now. Take a look at the DAZzle software in Figure 12-3.

DAZzle — combined with the patented Dial-A-Zip — became the basis for the software that comes free with the Endicia Internet Postage service. There isn’t a more robust mailing program on the market.

Endicia has all the basic features and more:

Prints postage for all classes of mail, including international:
From Anniston, Alabama, to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, the DAZzle software not only prints postage but also lists all your shipping options and applicable rates. For international mailing, Endicia advises you about any prohibitions (no prison-made goods can be mailed to Botswana), any restrictions, any necessary customs forms, and areas served within the country.

Provides free delivery confirmation on Priority Mail:
You can print electronic delivery confirmations for First Class, Parcel Post, and Media Mail for only $0.18 each (a substantial savings from the Postal Service counter purchase).

Enables you to design mail pieces:
The software enables you to design envelopes, postcards, and labels with color graphics, logos, and text messages. You can print your labels with postage and delivery confirmation on anything from plain paper (tape it on with clear tape) to 4-by-6 labels in a label printer.

Integrates with U-PIC private insurance:
If you’re saving time and money using a private package insurer, you can send your monthly insurance logs electronically to U-PIC at the end of the month.

Endicia offers two levels of service. All the preceding features come with the standard plan for $9.95 a month. The premium plan adds special features, customizable e-mail, enhanced online transaction reports and statistics, business reply mail, return shipping labels (prepaid so your customers won’t have to pay for the returns), and stealth indicias for $15.95 a month.

A
stealth indicia
(also known as the postage-paid indicia) is an awesome tool for the eBay seller. By using this feature, your customers can’t see the exact amount of postage that you paid for the package. This way, you can add reasonable shipping and handling costs and not inflame buyers when they see the final label.