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10 Ways To Save Time And Money With Packing And Shipping On Ebay
One problem with eBay is that unless you are careful you can endup spending far too much time on routine tasks such as packingand shipping. Not only is there the time spent wrapping theitems, but also when you take them to your local post office tohave them weighed, stamped and posted. As someone who neverseems to have enough time I have adopted some time savingmeasures which frees up my time to do other things.
1.Buy Stamps in advance. Many of the items that I sell aresimilar, CDs , audio tapes and books. Therefore I know exactlywhat the postage is for these items and I buy in advance aquantity of stamps for the various denominations that I use. Ican then pack, stamp them and just drop them into the post boxwithout the need to wait at the post office counter.
2.Get a set of scales Of course one really helpful piece ofequipment is a set of postal scales. Not only does this save youtime by allowing you to pre stamp packages but it is also veryuseful when you are listing an item. You can quickly andaccurately calculate the exact cost of postage for each item.This can save you making those errors of under estimating thetrue cost of posting an item or having to make a special journeyto the post office just to find out what it will cost to post.
3. Buy packaging materials online A thriving industry has grownon eBay offering packaging materials. It really is a case ofselling spades to miners, but as a result the competition inthis field is very fierce. This means that you can makeconsiderable savings if you go to the Business, Office andIndustrial Category and look in Packing and Postal supplies.Also many of the major stationers such as Staples and Vikingoffer a good 24 hour service and often have some attractivespecial offers or gifts to make an even better deal. Most offerfree postage for orders over a certain quite low amount.
4. Whenever possible use padded bags. If it is suitable for yourproducts one of the great time savers is the use of paddedenvelopes. They come in a big range of sizes and thickness andare suitable for a wide range of products. It is much easier andquicker just to pop something into an envelope and seal it thanputting something in a box, put in padding and using tape toseal it. Also these days padded envelopes can work out cheaperthan other forms of packaging.
5. Hold a stock of Post Office Forms These days forms controlour lives and it is no different with the postal authorities.Normally if you are a regular postal user your local post officewill be happy to supply you with a stock of the forms that youmight need. The ones I keep handy are
customs declarations,recorded International and national forms and supplies ofairmail and fragile stickers. Completing these and applying themto your packages before you go up to the post office can saveconsiderable time.
6. Use Rubber stamps I also have a selection of rubber stampswith First Class Mail, Do Not Bend, Small Packet Rate, Thissaves the time rather than writing these phrases over and overagain.
7. Pre print return labels I would never send out a packetwithout a return address on it. Over the years that I have usedeBay I have had about 5 parcels come back to me because theywere undeliverable for one reason or another. If I had not had areturn address label on them they and the contents would havebeen gone forever. You can of course order a pack of name andaddress labels from the local printer but I have found the mostcost effective is to use the sheets of plain labels such asAvery, the 65 labels to a sheet are ideal and print them off asrequired a sheet at a time. I then just stick one of these on toevery packet I send out. And of course it also makes you look alittle more professional with your packaging.
8. Pick the time that you go to the post office There are alwayssome times in the day or days in the week when your local postoffice is liable to be more busy than others. If you ask thecounter staff I am sure they would be happy to tell you whenthese times are likely to be. Also they would also be able totell you the times they would expect to be less busy. If you usethis information you can cut down the time you spend waiting inline at the post office.
9. Copy addresses from Paypal notification. Whenever you getpayment notification from Paypal it will contain the name andaddress of the buyer. I always highlight and copy this and usingmy labelling software I paste this into the label template thissaves having to write or type the information in. I always printmy labels on the AveryL7160, 21 labels to a sheet paper.
10. Compare prices There is plenty of competition to ship largeritems and it is worth comparing prices for the various shippersand couriers to get the best deals. In my experience withsmaller items it is difficult to beat the Post Office but foritems that need to be shipped fast or weigh over 2 Kgs (4 1/2lb)it is worth looking for the best deal.
About the author:
Dave Bromley is a Internet marketer and writer runs aninformation site for users of eBay and publishes a monthlynewsletter UK auctionline for users of online auctions. To vistthe web site and register for the newsletter go tohttp://www.ukauctionline.co.uk
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