Hey guys, I'm starting back on selling/buying cards and since it's been over 2 years since I last did this, I want to find some guidelines to the cheapest/secure/efficient option to ship.
In the past, I usually ship with Bubble Wrap + DC + Toploaders for ~$2.50-$3.00
I know I had spent a ton of money on Bubble Wrap by not getting them at the right source (I used USPS Bubble Wraps and I assume you can get them cheaper near Walmart). Anyway here are my questions:
1) Where can I find the cheapest Bubble Wraps in bulk? (Walmart?)
2) I hear about this online USPS to print shipping labels/postage:
- Do I need to buy a weighing scale? (They mention if the weight exceeds the listed weight, you simply just pay the difference)
- How much cheaper/efficient is using the online USPS service? (they mention 10% cheaper when compared against going to the post office)
3) This one is most important for me: USPS mentions they can pick up your delivery when you schedule for one. Is this for real? How timely and consistent are they with this? (I don't want to end up waiting at a location for 20min waiting for USPS).
4) Do you guys usually use Priority Mail (3 day shipping domestic)?
It seems that USPS looks a lot more organized than it did 2 years back, is this still the best option to ship domestically? Or are there other more cost-efficient methods/sources to ship domestically?
Thanks for all your help! My goal is to save-costs on shipping so that I can drop my shipping costs here to make selling more attractive.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I like designing decks and I am primarily a control player. Using Drain to fight Workshops is like using Exclude to fight Dark Confidant.
By bubble wrap do you mean bubble mailers or literally the wrap? Because for single cards or playsets, bubble mailers are perfectly fine. You can get them cheap on eBay if you know what size you're needing.
I use First class mail (not priority) for all but bulk purchases (I have groups of 250 up and use priority flat rate for that). It'll get to anywhere in the US in about 2-3 days (sometimes 24 hours) for far cheaper than priority.
If people are paying you by PayPal, by far the easiest method of shipment is through the PayPal system. Mailing price discounts and automatic delivery confirmation for just 19 cents (which you can't even get on standard letters anywhere else).
Bubble envelopes, sleeves, toploaders, and a normal small white envelope, and mailing labels through paypal are the supplies I use for mailing my cards.
There are stores online you can buy from to get all of the supplies quite cheap if you are willing to buy in reasonable bulk (Hundreds of each at a time). In the end I ship via first class parcel mail with delivery conformation (costs $1.41 using paypal shipping for a 1oz package), with an additional about 20 cents in costs from the rest of it. I charge my customers $1.50 for the first playset and .25 for each additional playset they purchase. Its true that I lose a little money on the single-playset orders, but the multiple playset orders help to average it out, and I do provide partial refunds for LARGE purchases where I can ship for much less than what the combined rate would be.
In the end, it keeps the customers happy and coming back :).
If people are paying you by PayPal, by far the easiest method of shipment is through the PayPal system. Mailing price discounts and automatic delivery confirmation for just 19 cents (which you can't even get on standard letters anywhere else).
You still can't get it on standard letters. You have to pay package rates.
USPS has several ways to ship. Click and Ship gives the same prices as paypal (and is free to use), and they have several services that are good for printing bulk labels. They cost $15 a month so you need to either really enjoy the service or be shipping about $150 in packages for the 10% to make up for it, but they are great for any kind of volume mailing.
The last time I bought bubble mailers I got them online in a bulk box for $0.04 each. (Box of 500).
I would advise you to get 2 things that will really save you money and time.
1) A Label printer. You can get a quality new compatable label printer for about $60 on eBay. You can use this even if you just use paypal shipping.
2) A Laser printer. Average cost of toner is $80-120, but it will do 20,000 sheets of paper. An ink jet might be slightly cheeper, but most ink cartridges do between 250-500 sheets.
Obviously scale this to your enterprise.
You can order all sorts of priority mail supplies at USPS.com. They take a few weeks, but my local post offices look at me funny if I run off with 30 flat rate boxes. Be sure to order things you are going to want like customs labels if you are shipping overseas. Just about everything is free.
Carrier Pickup I've never used, but I think they just come at the same time your normal mail comes. You're just telling them to come to the door to get your package. I usually mail things at night, so I don't mind running my pre-labeled priority packages to the drop box.
And lastly if you figure out a good method for packaging or shipping that would help the community here, let us know
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Regarding printing shipping labels, can a regular printer work? Why are people talking about getting $60 printers or a laser printer? O_O
Anyway I plan to sell as a hobby i.e. not a bulk seller like the Ebay/store folks so I'm thinking efficiency along those lines, or is it not worth it to go through that cost efficiency if I'm not selling huge volumes monthly?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I like designing decks and I am primarily a control player. Using Drain to fight Workshops is like using Exclude to fight Dark Confidant.
The last time I bought bubble mailers I got them online in a bulk box for $0.04 each. (Box of 500).
Was that .04 before or after shipping costs? Just curious because the place I normally use I buy in the same sort of bulk but the bubble envelopes are good ones and do have the adhesive on it (no need to lick or anything), are more, however shipping is included. Any information would be appreciated, I know I certainly wouldnt mind saving a bunch if it were possible to get them that cheaply on a normal basis.
I was going to PM you this, but I figured I'd just post here After dropping like $4 the first time I mailed cards, I asked around and found out how everybody else is shipping for $2.
1) Where can I find the cheapest Bubble Wraps in bulk? (Walmart?)
Ebay, search for #000 bubble mailer, get a bunch for like $0.05 EASY! [edit, it's 0.05, my bad at math)
This is with no skill at bidding, if you are decently good I'm sure it is $0.04 or less.
2) I hear about this online USPS to print shipping labels/postage:
- Do I need to buy a weighing scale?
No. If you want, you can physically go to USPS once and ask them to weigh your packages, you will find out that the vast majority of your packages can be sent as 3oz. You can further confirm this by googling mtg card weight online(.023 oz ea), factoring in your bubble mailer weight, and top loaders, it is pretty light.
- How much cheaper/efficient is using the online USPS service?
Yup, cheaper than post office. But you can also just use paypal's multi-order shipping, which stores everything in history, I like it better although I think it is slightly more expensive since you get charged a small amount on DC, instead of free via USPS.com.
3) This one is most important for me: USPS mentions they can pick up your delivery when you schedule for one. Is this for real? How timely and consistent are they with this? (I don't want to end up waiting at a location for 20min waiting for USPS).
No idea on this one, I think so Why not drop it off along with other mail from work?
4) Do you guys usually use Priority Mail (3 day shipping domestic)?
Just use the cheapest package option you see on paypal
Also, if you can print labels at work, just do that and you save on ink, just sayin No need for a special printer either, I just print em out then tape the label to the packages, works ok so far.
About the shipping I do have an observation. There are some members, I'll politely refrain from naming names, who charge $3.5 or $4 for shipping!! Some of these are storeowners...and somehow it allegedly costs them more to ship than an individual, hehe.
Following the instructions above, the bubble mailer costs $0.5 MAX, paypal multi-order shipping with DC# at 3oz is $1.75 exactly, and toploaders are darn cheap if you get em on ebay as well, and really many ppl just use 2 pieces of cardboard, put multiple cards in pennysleeves in between the pieces and tape the whole shebang so no toploaders even. Anyway...it shouldn't 'cost' anybody more than $2.5~$3 to ship cards, if you're charging $4, just put a sign up saying you want to make money on shipping too
I was going to PM you this, but I figured I'd just post here After dropping like $4 the first time I mailed cards, I asked around and found out how everybody else is shipping for $2.
Was this before or after you dropped $10K+ on stock?
We don't need to read about this guy's personal financial gaffes. Troll warning.
1) Where can I find the cheapest Bubble Wraps in bulk? (Walmart?)
Ebay, search for #000 bubble mailer, get a bunch for like $0.5 EASY!
This is with no skill at bidding, if you are decently good I'm sure it is $0.4 or less.
You should buy in bulk if you're going to be doing any kind of volume as it's MUCH cheaper, as was mentioned above. I get #000s for $0.07 each shipped for 500 at a time, and I'm actually curious as to where to find them for $0.04.
2) I hear about this online USPS to print shipping labels/postage:
- Do I need to buy a weighing scale?
No. If you want, you can physically go to USPS once and ask them to weigh your packages, you will find out that the vast majority of your packages can be sent as 3oz. You can further confirm this by googling mtg card weight online(.023 oz ea), factoring in your bubble mailer weight, and top loaders, it is pretty light.
I'd actually suggest getting a scale. They are very cheap ($5 or less) and would save money (versus assuming everything is 3 oz) and time (doing the calculations yourself).
Following the instructions above, the bubble mailer costs $0.5 MAX, paypal multi-order shipping with DC# at 3oz is $1.75 exactly, and toploaders are darn cheap if you get em on ebay as well, and really many ppl just use 2 pieces of cardboard, put multiple cards in pennysleeves in between the pieces and tape the whole shebang so no toploaders even. Anyway...it shouldn't 'cost' anybody more than $2.5~$3 to ship cards, if you're charging $4, just put a sign up saying you want to make money on shipping too
I kind of agree with you on most of your points, couple I wasnt aware of was the free dc. That kicks out 80 cents a hit at the PO. When It ried the online shipping the only "free dc" i found was through priority mail flat rate options. What am I missing here, the USPS site is... not user ffriendly.
Also as one of those "evil dealers" I can tell you my gas isnt free, and while it may not matter to those of you who have normal jobs(that take you into town daily), I have to make special trips for the post office, and have no minimum on shipping so kind of awkward with say a 15 dollar card lot, I probably make 3 bucks off that profit, then "profit" .5-1 on shipping, turn around and drive a 12 mile round trip dropping 1.5-2 in gas to do so(18-20 mpg). In the end I make a dollar for a 15 minute round trip+standing in line+stocking the stuff etc etc etc. I know those kind of things dont factor in to "player dealers" because they can make very little and not worry about it(probably because its a hobby), but unfortunately I have real bills related to this business to pay.
Though if I can figure out the printing postage online thing with free DC out, my shipping rate will almost certainly drop. Seriously 80 cents a package for DC is horrible.
I kind of agree with you on most of your points, couple I wasnt aware of was the free dc. That kicks out 80 cents a hit at the PO. When It ried the online shipping the only "free dc" i found was through priority mail flat rate options. What am I missing here, the USPS site is... not user ffriendly.
Also as one of those "evil dealers" I can tell you my gas isnt free, and while it may not matter to those of you who have normal jobs(that take you into town daily), I have to make special trips for the post office, and have no minimum on shipping so kind of awkward with say a 15 dollar card lot, I probably make 3 bucks off that profit, then "profit" .5-1 on shipping, turn around and drive a 12 mile round trip dropping 1.5-2 in gas to do so(18-20 mpg). In the end I make a dollar for a 15 minute round trip+standing in line+stocking the stuff etc etc etc. I know those kind of things dont factor in to "player dealers" because they can make very little and not worry about it(probably because its a hobby), but unfortunately I have real bills related to this business to pay.
Though if I can figure out the printing postage online thing with free DC out, my shipping rate will almost certainly drop. Seriously 80 cents a package for DC is horrible.
Paypal is great (I dont know about usps.com on that), because you just ship it as a first class mail parcel (emphasis on parcel) and for a 1 oz package it will cost you 1.41 when you include the .19 or so DC charge. When you add in the .10 or so for a bubble envelope, and another .10-.15 for sleeve, toploader, adhesive label paper, and ink, and about .05 for the percentage that paypal takes from the shipping cost they pay, then you end up with a total cost of around $1.75 (ish) on the top end, meaning you could charge $2 reasonably easily without any issues, and just scale with the amount of cards they buy to make sure you are covered. I personally charge $1.50, because I sell enough that it all works itself out in the long run, and people can get really picky about shipping charges :p.
Paypal is great (I dont know about usps.com on that), because you just ship it as a first class mail parcel (emphasis on parcel) and for a 1 oz package it will cost you 1.41 when you include the .19 or so DC charge. When you add in the .10 or so for a bubble envelope, and another .10-.15 for sleeve, toploader, adhesive label paper, and ink, and about .05 for the percentage that paypal takes from the shipping cost they pay, then you end up with a total cost of around $1.75 (ish) on the top end, meaning you could charge $2 reasonably easily without any issues, and just scale with the amount of cards they buy to make sure you are covered. I personally charge $1.50, because I sell enough that it all works itself out in the long run, and people can get really picky about shipping charges :p.
K most of my sales are through forums so need to figure out the USPS version. Thanks for the run down though jeff. Anyone want to pm me or chat on MTGO/messenger at some point and walk a noob through? Pairing down my shipping costs over dc would be amazing.
You can use Paypal's Multi-Order Shipping for just the shipping, regardless of how you got the money (concealed cash, bank transfer, etc. doesn't matter!) All my sales are through forums as well, I use it for all my transactions purely for shipping purposes.
It's easier than USPS, and like jeffbcrandall says, it will save a lot in the long run There's several helpfiles on this online somewhere online as well. If you use either USPS.com/Paypal multi-order shipping to print your own postage, then you don't need to make a trip to the post office at all (at least for domestic shipping)! Just wait for the mailman, or just drop them off in a mailbox, thus you won't have to pay gas costs, stand in line, or anything like that. As a player doing this to trade cards, I'd say I'd probably value that time going to USPS more than a dealer since I don't expect to do it every other day...it's just that when you're shipping domestically, there's absolutely no reason to physically drive to USPS nor stand in line
K most of my sales are through forums so need to figure out the USPS version. Thanks for the run down though jeff. Anyone want to pm me or chat on MTGO/messenger at some point and walk a noob through? Pairing down my shipping costs over dc would be amazing.
You can use Paypal's Multi-Order Shipping for just the shipping, regardless of how you got the money (concealed cash, bank transfer, etc. doesn't matter!) All my sales are through forums as well, I use it for all my transactions purely for shipping purposes.
This is the part i was completely unaware of. Good to know, will have to check into it.
And yes if I could print off all my stuff/not have to go to the PO it def. changes shipping costs.
For those of you wondering about my $0.04 number, it was a couple years ago. I haven't priced them recently. Office supplies are on a tear right now, so lets just say "before" shipping.
Not to get off on the international tangent, but one of the reasons I do charge extra fees for INTL is because of having to stand in line, even with pre-printed customs forms.
Jeff - How many people on Ebay complain about $1.50 (by complain I mean leave you bad DSR's). When I was doing $2, I started getting bad DSR's so I had to switch to cheeper shipping to avoid it.
For those of you who aren't using a label printer, don't you feel that the volume of taping those labels on is a pain? I wouldn't want to do more than 5-10 packages a week on a regular printer.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
For those of you wondering about my $0.04 number, it was a couple years ago. I haven't priced them recently. Office supplies are on a tear right now, so lets just say "before" shipping.
Not to get off on the international tangent, but one of the reasons I do charge extra fees for INTL is because of having to stand in line, even with pre-printed customs forms.
Jeff - How many people on Ebay complain about $1.50 (by complain I mean leave you bad DSR's). When I was doing $2, I started getting bad DSR's so I had to switch to cheeper shipping to avoid it.
For those of you who aren't using a label printer, don't you feel that the volume of taping those labels on is a pain? I wouldn't want to do more than 5-10 packages a week on a regular printer.
At the $1.50 plus .25 for each additional playset price (I only sell with playsets of standard rares at the moment), Its VERY rare that I run into an issue with bad DSRs for shipping. You still get the occasional person who thinks all first class mail should cost .44, or think that since some ebay sellers use free shipping, everyone should, or get annoyed at not being able to get a deal when they ask for it ( get the cards for cheaper) that they retalitate somehow like that. But thats rare. I think Ive only had 2 low shipping/handling costs DSRs from the last 1,000 items Ive sold on ebay (both from the same person from the looks of it.
I know in the next batch of listings Im adding an additional paragraph to my listing explaining in detail why the shipping costs are the way they are, including the exact breakdown of cost, in hopes that they will get the picture that $1.50 for how Im shipping stuff is actually cheaper then my cost :p. Its also a good idea to make sure the actual shipping cost is listed on the package, that way they can see that you arent overcharging them.
Was this before or after you dropped $10K+ on stock?
You should buy in bulk if you're going to be doing any kind of volume as it's MUCH cheaper, as was mentioned above. I get #000s for $0.07 each shipped for 500 at a time, and I'm actually curious as to where to find them for $0.04.
I'd actually suggest getting a scale. They are very cheap ($5 or less) and would save money (versus assuming everything is 3 oz) and time (doing the calculations yourself).
In the past, I usually ship with Bubble Wrap + DC + Toploaders for ~$2.50-$3.00
I know I had spent a ton of money on Bubble Wrap by not getting them at the right source (I used USPS Bubble Wraps and I assume you can get them cheaper near Walmart). Anyway here are my questions:
1) Where can I find the cheapest Bubble Wraps in bulk? (Walmart?)
2) I hear about this online USPS to print shipping labels/postage:
- Do I need to buy a weighing scale? (They mention if the weight exceeds the listed weight, you simply just pay the difference)
- How much cheaper/efficient is using the online USPS service? (they mention 10% cheaper when compared against going to the post office)
3) This one is most important for me: USPS mentions they can pick up your delivery when you schedule for one. Is this for real? How timely and consistent are they with this? (I don't want to end up waiting at a location for 20min waiting for USPS).
4) Do you guys usually use Priority Mail (3 day shipping domestic)?
It seems that USPS looks a lot more organized than it did 2 years back, is this still the best option to ship domestically? Or are there other more cost-efficient methods/sources to ship domestically?
Thanks for all your help! My goal is to save-costs on shipping so that I can drop my shipping costs here to make selling more attractive.
Using Drain to fight Workshops is like using Exclude to fight Dark Confidant.
VERY CHEAP LEGACY SALE (priced to move before April 09!)
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=8172551#post8172551
I use First class mail (not priority) for all but bulk purchases (I have groups of 250 up and use priority flat rate for that). It'll get to anywhere in the US in about 2-3 days (sometimes 24 hours) for far cheaper than priority.
If people are paying you by PayPal, by far the easiest method of shipment is through the PayPal system. Mailing price discounts and automatic delivery confirmation for just 19 cents (which you can't even get on standard letters anywhere else).
There are stores online you can buy from to get all of the supplies quite cheap if you are willing to buy in reasonable bulk (Hundreds of each at a time). In the end I ship via first class parcel mail with delivery conformation (costs $1.41 using paypal shipping for a 1oz package), with an additional about 20 cents in costs from the rest of it. I charge my customers $1.50 for the first playset and .25 for each additional playset they purchase. Its true that I lose a little money on the single-playset orders, but the multiple playset orders help to average it out, and I do provide partial refunds for LARGE purchases where I can ship for much less than what the combined rate would be.
In the end, it keeps the customers happy and coming back :).
You still can't get it on standard letters. You have to pay package rates.
USPS has several ways to ship. Click and Ship gives the same prices as paypal (and is free to use), and they have several services that are good for printing bulk labels. They cost $15 a month so you need to either really enjoy the service or be shipping about $150 in packages for the 10% to make up for it, but they are great for any kind of volume mailing.
The last time I bought bubble mailers I got them online in a bulk box for $0.04 each. (Box of 500).
I would advise you to get 2 things that will really save you money and time.
1) A Label printer. You can get a quality new compatable label printer for about $60 on eBay. You can use this even if you just use paypal shipping.
2) A Laser printer. Average cost of toner is $80-120, but it will do 20,000 sheets of paper. An ink jet might be slightly cheeper, but most ink cartridges do between 250-500 sheets.
Obviously scale this to your enterprise.
You can order all sorts of priority mail supplies at USPS.com. They take a few weeks, but my local post offices look at me funny if I run off with 30 flat rate boxes. Be sure to order things you are going to want like customs labels if you are shipping overseas. Just about everything is free.
Carrier Pickup I've never used, but I think they just come at the same time your normal mail comes. You're just telling them to come to the door to get your package. I usually mail things at night, so I don't mind running my pre-labeled priority packages to the drop box.
And lastly if you figure out a good method for packaging or shipping that would help the community here, let us know
Regarding printing shipping labels, can a regular printer work? Why are people talking about getting $60 printers or a laser printer? O_O
Anyway I plan to sell as a hobby i.e. not a bulk seller like the Ebay/store folks so I'm thinking efficiency along those lines, or is it not worth it to go through that cost efficiency if I'm not selling huge volumes monthly?
Using Drain to fight Workshops is like using Exclude to fight Dark Confidant.
VERY CHEAP LEGACY SALE (priced to move before April 09!)
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=8172551#post8172551
Was that .04 before or after shipping costs? Just curious because the place I normally use I buy in the same sort of bulk but the bubble envelopes are good ones and do have the adhesive on it (no need to lick or anything), are more, however shipping is included. Any information would be appreciated, I know I certainly wouldnt mind saving a bunch if it were possible to get them that cheaply on a normal basis.
I was going to PM you this, but I figured I'd just post here After dropping like $4 the first time I mailed cards, I asked around and found out how everybody else is shipping for $2.
1) Where can I find the cheapest Bubble Wraps in bulk? (Walmart?)
Ebay, search for #000 bubble mailer, get a bunch for like $0.05 EASY! [edit, it's 0.05, my bad at math)
This is with no skill at bidding, if you are decently good I'm sure it is $0.04 or less.
2) I hear about this online USPS to print shipping labels/postage:
- Do I need to buy a weighing scale?
No. If you want, you can physically go to USPS once and ask them to weigh your packages, you will find out that the vast majority of your packages can be sent as 3oz. You can further confirm this by googling mtg card weight online(.023 oz ea), factoring in your bubble mailer weight, and top loaders, it is pretty light.
- How much cheaper/efficient is using the online USPS service?
Yup, cheaper than post office. But you can also just use paypal's multi-order shipping, which stores everything in history, I like it better although I think it is slightly more expensive since you get charged a small amount on DC, instead of free via USPS.com.
3) This one is most important for me: USPS mentions they can pick up your delivery when you schedule for one. Is this for real? How timely and consistent are they with this? (I don't want to end up waiting at a location for 20min waiting for USPS).
No idea on this one, I think so Why not drop it off along with other mail from work?
4) Do you guys usually use Priority Mail (3 day shipping domestic)?
Just use the cheapest package option you see on paypal
Also, if you can print labels at work, just do that and you save on ink, just sayin No need for a special printer either, I just print em out then tape the label to the packages, works ok so far.
About the shipping I do have an observation. There are some members, I'll politely refrain from naming names, who charge $3.5 or $4 for shipping!! Some of these are storeowners...and somehow it allegedly costs them more to ship than an individual, hehe.
Following the instructions above, the bubble mailer costs $0.5 MAX, paypal multi-order shipping with DC# at 3oz is $1.75 exactly, and toploaders are darn cheap if you get em on ebay as well, and really many ppl just use 2 pieces of cardboard, put multiple cards in pennysleeves in between the pieces and tape the whole shebang so no toploaders even. Anyway...it shouldn't 'cost' anybody more than $2.5~$3 to ship cards, if you're charging $4, just put a sign up saying you want to make money on shipping too
Was this before or after you dropped $10K+ on stock?
We don't need to read about this guy's personal financial gaffes. Troll warning.
You should buy in bulk if you're going to be doing any kind of volume as it's MUCH cheaper, as was mentioned above. I get #000s for $0.07 each shipped for 500 at a time, and I'm actually curious as to where to find them for $0.04.
I'd actually suggest getting a scale. They are very cheap ($5 or less) and would save money (versus assuming everything is 3 oz) and time (doing the calculations yourself).
I kind of agree with you on most of your points, couple I wasnt aware of was the free dc. That kicks out 80 cents a hit at the PO. When It ried the online shipping the only "free dc" i found was through priority mail flat rate options. What am I missing here, the USPS site is... not user ffriendly.
Also as one of those "evil dealers" I can tell you my gas isnt free, and while it may not matter to those of you who have normal jobs(that take you into town daily), I have to make special trips for the post office, and have no minimum on shipping so kind of awkward with say a 15 dollar card lot, I probably make 3 bucks off that profit, then "profit" .5-1 on shipping, turn around and drive a 12 mile round trip dropping 1.5-2 in gas to do so(18-20 mpg). In the end I make a dollar for a 15 minute round trip+standing in line+stocking the stuff etc etc etc. I know those kind of things dont factor in to "player dealers" because they can make very little and not worry about it(probably because its a hobby), but unfortunately I have real bills related to this business to pay.
Though if I can figure out the printing postage online thing with free DC out, my shipping rate will almost certainly drop. Seriously 80 cents a package for DC is horrible.
Yes i am the same guy who trades/sells on MOTL AND Wizards of the Coast and i trade on POJO.
Paypal is great (I dont know about usps.com on that), because you just ship it as a first class mail parcel (emphasis on parcel) and for a 1 oz package it will cost you 1.41 when you include the .19 or so DC charge. When you add in the .10 or so for a bubble envelope, and another .10-.15 for sleeve, toploader, adhesive label paper, and ink, and about .05 for the percentage that paypal takes from the shipping cost they pay, then you end up with a total cost of around $1.75 (ish) on the top end, meaning you could charge $2 reasonably easily without any issues, and just scale with the amount of cards they buy to make sure you are covered. I personally charge $1.50, because I sell enough that it all works itself out in the long run, and people can get really picky about shipping charges :p.
K most of my sales are through forums so need to figure out the USPS version. Thanks for the run down though jeff. Anyone want to pm me or chat on MTGO/messenger at some point and walk a noob through? Pairing down my shipping costs over dc would be amazing.
Yes i am the same guy who trades/sells on MOTL AND Wizards of the Coast and i trade on POJO.
It's easier than USPS, and like jeffbcrandall says, it will save a lot in the long run There's several helpfiles on this online somewhere online as well. If you use either USPS.com/Paypal multi-order shipping to print your own postage, then you don't need to make a trip to the post office at all (at least for domestic shipping)! Just wait for the mailman, or just drop them off in a mailbox, thus you won't have to pay gas costs, stand in line, or anything like that. As a player doing this to trade cards, I'd say I'd probably value that time going to USPS more than a dealer since I don't expect to do it every other day...it's just that when you're shipping domestically, there's absolutely no reason to physically drive to USPS nor stand in line
This is the part i was completely unaware of. Good to know, will have to check into it.
And yes if I could print off all my stuff/not have to go to the PO it def. changes shipping costs.
Yes i am the same guy who trades/sells on MOTL AND Wizards of the Coast and i trade on POJO.
Not to get off on the international tangent, but one of the reasons I do charge extra fees for INTL is because of having to stand in line, even with pre-printed customs forms.
Jeff - How many people on Ebay complain about $1.50 (by complain I mean leave you bad DSR's). When I was doing $2, I started getting bad DSR's so I had to switch to cheeper shipping to avoid it.
For those of you who aren't using a label printer, don't you feel that the volume of taping those labels on is a pain? I wouldn't want to do more than 5-10 packages a week on a regular printer.
At the $1.50 plus .25 for each additional playset price (I only sell with playsets of standard rares at the moment), Its VERY rare that I run into an issue with bad DSRs for shipping. You still get the occasional person who thinks all first class mail should cost .44, or think that since some ebay sellers use free shipping, everyone should, or get annoyed at not being able to get a deal when they ask for it ( get the cards for cheaper) that they retalitate somehow like that. But thats rare. I think Ive only had 2 low shipping/handling costs DSRs from the last 1,000 items Ive sold on ebay (both from the same person from the looks of it.
I know in the next batch of listings Im adding an additional paragraph to my listing explaining in detail why the shipping costs are the way they are, including the exact breakdown of cost, in hopes that they will get the picture that $1.50 for how Im shipping stuff is actually cheaper then my cost :p. Its also a good idea to make sure the actual shipping cost is listed on the package, that way they can see that you arent overcharging them.
When you graduate from college you'll learn about 401k's and ira's. Until then, please refrain from replying to my posts.
Trolling other trolls. Warning issued.