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June 12, 2003
ebaY continued
My first ebaY auction closed on Sunday. The "winner" sent a polite email with his ship-to address and a request to specify the shipping cost, for which he was responsible under the terms of the sale. I knew that the item weighed about ten pounds, which was enough to get a reasonable estimate from the U.S. Postal Service and United Parcel Service sites. I had no idea how much it would cost to stuff the item in a box with packing peanuts. I estimated five dollars.
On Wednesday I received a cashier's check in the mail from the buyer.
Today I shipped the package from a "UPS Store" that until very recently was a Mailboxes ETC. The boxing cost turned out to be ten dollars instead of five. Not a huge deal. The guy at the desk said that, had I called, he would have told me the cost over the phone. This was the only way to get the boxing cost, it didn't appear anywhere on the UPS web site. Ah, yes. The phone, how quaint.
So...so far, so good with selling on ebaY. I emailed the buyer the UPS tracking number this afternoon. Hopefully he will enjoy his purchase. I guess I'll move on to the collection of DSL and cable modems that is now collecting dust in my garage as a result of switching Internet providers several times over the last few years.
Posted by Andrew Grumet at June 12, 2003 10:58 PM
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Coincidentally, I completed my first ebay sale this week as well! I'll share a few tips I picked up from my experience, as well as from my mother-in-law who sells antique maps (http://mapsofantiquity.com):
- sign up for an account at http://ups.com. this allows you to not only estimate costs, but print out pretty labels with bar codes that allow ups to directly bill your credit card when they ship them. it's fast & easy, plus gives you a handy log of all your shipments.
- box your items before you list them on ebay. take photos, wrap them up and then weigh them (bathroom scales are generally acurate enough for this). you have to pack them anyway, so do it early. this allows you to respond quickly to any queries about shipping (using ups.com), as well as ship without delays after receiving payment.
- for $3, ups will come to your house and pick up the item. see ups.com.
- predetermine the price. using ups.com, compute the cost to both coasts, add the $3 for pickup, allow for a little buffer, then post your item with "$xx for shipping anywhere within continenal us." this lowers the barrier for buyers, and you'll usually get the check/paypal sooner.
-dave
Posted by: dave at June 13, 2003 08:37 AMExcellent. Thanks for the tips, Dave!
Posted by: Andrew Grumet at June 13, 2003 08:42 AM