eBay® PowerSeller Business Practices FOR DUMMIES®

Chapter 29. Getting Your Item There in One Piece

The most common area where online sellers drop the time-andmoney ball is in shipping. I buy hundreds of items from sites all over the Internet, and have seen it all when it comes to packing, padding, and shipping.

I've received triple-packed unbreakable plastic items, swathed in yards of plain (heavyweight) newsprint sheets. I've seen money thrown out the window by e-tailers who use incorrect packing materials (bubble wrap on books?), which are expensive for the seller and often increase the package's shipping cost due to its final weight.

Note

The packing materials you use for your shipments can either make or break your bottom line in the shipping income/expense column of your business reports.

Many online sellers remark, "The buyer pays shipping, so what do I care what it costs? I pass on all those expenses to my buyers." Well, yes and no. Not only do buyers judge your services by giving you stars in your Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs), but prudent packing can also be a boon to your business. Hey, in the constant competition with other sellers on the site, having lower shipping costs can often make the difference between a sale and no sale. This difference becomes obvious with eBay's new Price Plus Shipping Cost search option because buyers can find out the total amount of the purchase (including shipping) when performing a search. Also, when you're one of several people who have the sameitem for sale on eBay — with a minuscule difference ...