Expert: Marvinator - 11/26/2004

Question
hi- I buy alot from ebay and now want to sell some stuff. How do you estimate shipping costs? Do i have to buy a postal scale or what is the best way? thanks

Answer
Welcome to the wide world of Ebay Sales.  I hope you have a long and fruitful relationship with ebay and look forward to answering more questions as time goes on.

Shipping is easy once you get the hang of it.  And, as you've already guessed there are a few ways to get this information.  

First, I know many sellers who do only a few sales a week and will do the following:  Once a sale is made, they will pack the item up, go down to the post office and use the Internet Click & Ship machine in the lobby to weigh the package.  BAck home, they can go to www.usps.gov and use the Domestic Calculator and get EXACT shipping prices for any zip code.  Some sellers will take ALL their items in at once and weigh them so that they can put this weight into the auction description.  

At any rate, you MUST get an accurate weight of the item.  The only ways to do this is to take it to a scale (no, not a bathroom scale as they are not rated for shipping) or get a scale at home.  If you plan to do a lot of shipping, there are inexpensive scales available from local office supplies stores like OfficeMax and Office Depot. (If you plan to claim all the money you make, remember that this is a business expense and comes off the top when figuring taxes!) In some areas, when an office closes, the equipment is sold at bargain prices.  Seek out these deals and you may just find a nifty postal scale to use at home, and pay pennies on the dollar!