First time shipping

[deli-3846]

 Hi everyone,

I have been buying from Ebay but recently decided to look into selling on eBay. I am a newbie and i want to sell 3-4 pairs of shoes and I reckon I would need the Auspost Large/extra large box for it. However, i see that the Auspost/ebay site sells the boxes in minimum quantities of 20. In this case am I better of going to the post office and just buy 1 box per shoe? Or is there a alternative/cost effective way to go about this?

Thanks, stay safe and have a good one.

[tazzieterror]

For that quantity just buying from the post office individually will probably be easiest.

You might find cheaper boxes from somewhere like Officeworks or another supplier, but savings are likely going to be in the tens of cents only, so not really worth the time spent searching.

If you have some bubble-wrap or other packaging laying around, you might also be able to send in pre-paid satchels instead of boxes, though it'll depend on the type and value of the shoes you wish to sell.

Make sure you're aware of the eBay's selling fees before you list anything. And check within your account to see if you have any selling offers available - sometimes eBay will try to entice people to sell with a small number of free listings that don't charge a listing or final value fee - it'd be worth taking advantage of if available to you.

Generally for any eBay selling offer you'll first need to accept it, and then it will apply to items listed after the acceptance.

When you post your sold items, be sure to lodge them over the counter at the post office so you can obtain a lodgement receipt. The tracking number it contains is important, especially if you encounter a buyer who disputes receiving the item, so don't lose it!

Sometimes new sellers are seen as easy targets for malicious eBay users, so if at any point something seems fishy or not right, jump back on here and seek some advice - there are plenty of experienced sellers who can help.

[deli-3846]

Hey thanks for your detail reply! Really appreciate it. Just 1 more question, if I plan to scale up my inventory to multiple items eg. Clothing/accessories/shoes, do I start off with just buying the auspost satchels in bulk? I was thinking since if there’s a variety of items across different weight and size, bulk buying satchels of different sizes won’t be that cost effective. Keen to hear any experts on their thoughts on what they did when they first started selling on eBay! Cheers

[tazzieterror]

I honestly think there are more important aspects of selling to worry about when starting out than getting your packaging as cheaply as possible.

You can bulk-buy satchels and shipping cartons themselves in a range of sizes, and then purchase the postage component later through eBay or MyPost as you make sales. That way you're only fronting the cost of the packaging itself and the cost of postage is essentially 'pay as you go'.

I use eBay satchels mostly, a lot of sellers on here use MyPost (it can work out cheaper for higher volume sellers), some also use courier-based services through the likes of Sendle, though this can present new challenges.

But until you've got 10 or 20 or 30 sales under your belt and you're comfortable with the selling process and dealing with buyers, I wouldn't worry too much about outlaying money on bulk-buying P&H handling supplies.

Just by way of example, I recently purchased a bulk pack of 100 eBay branded satchel from Aus. Post's stop right here on eBay. That cost $15 inc. delivery, so each satchel is $0.15

Depending on where I'm sending to, the postage cost will be either $8.65 or $8.95 on top of that when generating a shipping label through eBay's label system.

If I were instead to just do everything at the post office, I'd be paying $0.25 for a similar satchel (no eBay branding, just a normal AP one), and then $8.95 for the postage.

The sellers using MyPost have access to better postage rates when they reach a certain threshold, but as that's not something I use I don't know exactly how much less, and what threshold, sorry.

It's worth noting if you were to use the eBay generated labels, you're not required to use eBay branded packaging either. If you have a cardboard carton you can just measure it up and enter the dimensions and weight to get a "custom" shipping rate for that item. Sometimes I've packed items inside a used satchel that I've received a purchase in, just removing the previous address details and turning the satchel inside out before sticking the new shipping label onto the outside - that's perfectly okay to do.

[digital*ghost]

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@tazzieterror wrote:

The sellers using MyPost have access to better postage rates when they reach a certain threshold, but as that's not something I use I don't know exactly how much less, and what threshold, sorry.

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Sending 8 parcels over an 8 week period will get you slightly better rates than eBay; the next discount tier requires 40 parcels over 8 weeks (5 per week on average), and gets you much better rates than eBay. 

This links to a PDF of all the tiers and associated discounts - you also get discounts on express, international shipping if you reach tier 2, and a 33% discount on extra cover (domestic), none of which are available on eBay, so it can be a much better deal if you use those services as well: https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/mypost-business-postage-rates-guide....

[tazzieterror]

Thanks digital*ghost!

[curraone]

With the new parcel rates with Australia Post things just got a lot easier for part-time sellers.

The new rate is for 5 kg limit, no matter what the size of your satchel.

So, if your shoes are still in their box, yes you will probably need a large satchel or even an extra large.

If they are not in a box, you can wrap them well in bubblewrap say, and probably still fit them in a small satchel.

To buy at the Post Office, cost of individual satchel including postage:

Small satchel    Medium satchel     Large satchel    Extra Large satchel

355 x 225mm    390 x 270mm        405 x 315mm     510 x 440mm

$9.20                 $12.45                  $15.70                $18.95

You can also buy a box at the Post Office which has the standard postage rates for 5kg plus the cost of the box.

Once you have been the Post Office (and if you are lucky enough to have helpful staff there) it all becomes very clear.

On the other hand, if your shoes weigh under 500g including your own packaging, using the Australia Post site and printing out your own label for $8.95 is a breeze.

[deli-3846]

thanks guys for the replies. If I dont have the box/satchel with me, can i print the ebay label and then bring the items and the label to AP for them to package and send? Got a bit confuse because there is an option to enter the weight of the parcel before listing the item, so if I dont have the packaging for it, the weight might be inaccurate. Also I would need to input the weight of the items/parcel when the item is sold. Do you guys always have the satchel/box ready before listing?  Apologies for the multiple questions!! just new to shipping in general. Cheers everyone

[*tippy*toes*]

You can take the label and items to the post shop, but you'll have to package them yourself. Them packing items is not a service they provide. If you do decide to print labels on eBay, make sure when you hand the package over that you ask for a lodgment scan. That way it's entered into the system and you have proof that you've actually posted it. 

Unless you are using calculated postage, which adjusts according to where the buyer lives, anything under 5kg isn't an issue if you are sending in a satchel or AP box. Over 500g matters if you are using your own packaging. Have a look around at what other sellers of the same items are doing as far as postage costs go. Don't take any notice of the Chinese sellers, you can't compete with them, so ignore them.

I have a selection of boxes and satchels at home. Most of the boxes fit into the satchels so I can use the flat rate postage. I am lucky in that I can get boxes and packing material from work, that would ordinarily end up in the bin.

It's great that you're asking lots of questions. Even seasoned sellers like most of us here, made lots of mistakes in the early day, so hopefully by asking lots of questions, you can avoid some of those mistakes!!!

I can't remember if you said, are you going to sell via auction or buy it now?

[digital*ghost]

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@deli-3846 wrote:

thanks guys for the replies. If I dont have the box/satchel with me, can i print the ebay label and then bring the items and the label to AP for them to package and send? Got a bit confuse because there is an option to enter the weight of the parcel before listing the item, so if I dont have the packaging for it, the weight might be inaccurate. Also I would need to input the weight of the items/parcel when the item is sold. Do you guys always have the satchel/box ready before listing?  Apologies for the multiple questions!! just new to shipping in general. Cheers everyone

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With the flat rate satchels and boxes, it's now more about size than weight - each satchel size can weigh up to 5kg as mentioned above, so for a lot of sellers it's more about how much can fit in a satchel (or box), than how much the items actually weigh. You can buy both satchels and boxes in singles at the post office, though, so it should be easy enough to take an item with a label and purchase the corresponding size when you're there (it'd be best to have the item in any bubble wrap etc before going, though, so you can just put the item in the satchel and slip the label in the pocket while you're there. 

It is much easier to have all the packaging on hand though - the satchels are a lot cheaper to purchase than the boxes, so if your items will suit those, you can purchase a few sizes in packs of ten, this is the link to Aus Post's eBay store, you buy the red and white ones if you're going to use My Post, or the blue and white ones if you're using eBay postage (in real terms it doesn't matter too much, the boxes don't have this distinction either, it's just the "official" way it's meant to be done with the satchels for some reason, but for about $13.50 you can get a pack of ten of each of the 4 sizes of satchels, and then you just pay for the postage as needed - they also have a lot of information available either in the listings, or linked in the listings, about how it all works). https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/australiapoststore/m.html?item=174306055910&epid=22026659898&hash=item28...

When listing, entering the weight is optional, and not necessary if you are using flat rate satchels / boxes - if you have the packaging on hand, you can simply assess which size you'll need for an item, and quote a rate that will cover the postage charge as a flat (Australia-wide) rate - since there will be some variation to cost depending on destination, you may want to take that into account when deciding on the total charge you'll have for P&H, eg you may not want to put in the cheapest available price (unless the discrepancies have been accounted for in your item price), as then if someone in a rural area purchases it, you will have undercharged them.