topic Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing? in Selling

How to organise Shipping and Packing?

lord_of_darkness666 — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:22:07 GMT

Hi, so I want to open an ebay business,
Could you please explain how to organize shipping so I dont have to go to post office every time someone orders $2 toy?
Maybe local post-offices have a stock and will send as soon as I recieve the payment? Something like that?
Thank you

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

*tippy*toes* — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:33:17 GMT

Your post isn't making a lot of sense. Are you wanting to sell items from a post office? As in, buyer buys the item, you go to the post office and buy said item and post it?

If you were wondering how to calculate postage, you need to know how you are going to post the items you want to sell. If they are small items under 500g they will cost the same to post anywhere in Australia if the box is under a certain size. If they are over 500g then the postage is different for each state. If they are non breakbale items, like a soft toy, you can send them in a satchel, there are 3 sizes, which are flat rate to anywhere in Australia.

Your best bet would be to look at the postage calculater on the Aust Post website when creating your listings to get an idea.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

transport-posters — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 03:11:54 GMT

You need to keep your stock at your place and pack them when someone orders one. If you anticipate lots of one-item sales then you can spend your time pre-packing them while watching TV at night, so you save time when someone buys one. Just slap on the address label and go to the post office.

You can even get a statement form from the post office to apply your own tracking stickers and state how many you're sending within different weight ranges, and it's all done within a single transaction. Very quick.

You don't have to go to the post office every time you make a sale. You go two or three times a week and send them in batches. Adjust your "handling time" to match (I have mine set at 5 days to account for postal delays also) but always go within 2 business days with most sales. I time my post office visits with when I go grocery shopping during my lunch break, so I am maximising my time efficiency.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

lyndal1838 — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 03:25:06 GMT

Your local post office will not keep your stock and pack it for you.

If you don't want to do your own packing and shipping you need to find a supplier who will drop ship for you.

It is a system that is filled with problems and you will probably find your selling career is very short lived, especially if you sell low value items that buyers can get from China at an even lower cost.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

davidc4430 — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 05:13:26 GMT

so you want to start a business where people buy your 'items' but you dont do any work.

they see your item, buy it, pay you.

but some imaginary packing person at the post office has all your items ready to be packed and posted, just waiting for you to let them know where to send the item.

if you ever get this idea to the point of working in the real world come back and tell us all, we all want a business just like it.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

digital*ghost — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 05:23:37 GMT

What you're talking about is called warehouse distribution. The costs involved are unlikely to be viable for $2 items, especially for a start up, but if you google the term you'll find some companies who do that sort of thing.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

phorum_junkie* — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 11:34:27 GMT

If youu use click & send and pay extra Aus Post will pick up your parcels from your home or business address. As it is not the cheapest way to post anyway by the time you added the extra you ould probably be paying ebay mre thann you were making. I go to the PO once a day which has always been good enough for my buyers.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

springyzone — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 23:49:35 GMT

---------------------------------------

Been a while since we sold as a small type of business so someone may need to correct me here if I have it wrong. My understanding is that nowadays a fair few things can be accessed & printed at home. Postage stickers and so on.

But most likely you are still going to need to visit the PO to do the actual posting. Not a separate visit for every purchase, but if I were you, I would be factoring in maybe 3 visits a week. Of course, if you don't have a lot of sales, there may well be times when you are calling into a PO to post one small item.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

247newdeals — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 01:16:32 GMT

@2015auismay wrote:
Hi, so I want to open an ebay business,
Could you please explain how to organize shipping so I dont have to go to post office every time someone orders $2 toy?
Maybe local post-offices have a stock and will send as soon as I recieve the payment? Something like that?
Thank you

If it is a $2 toy (doubt you could make any profit on that) you would not be sending it with tracking which coasts $2.95 so you just pack, label and stick it in a PO box there is no need at all to go to the Post Office. If the items are more expensive and require tracking you can either:

a) queue at the Post Office every day

b) pay $5 an item for AusPost to pick them up from you

c) Use a courier service which is a lot cheaper, faster and picks up from your home for free (yes this will cause the grumpy 4 to say how terrible couriers are and sellers who use them do not get sales but that is just not true)

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

*tippy*toes* — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 06:49:42 GMT

Why wouldn't a $2 toy get tracking? Only time it might not is if it's sent as a large letter under 20mm. Anything over that is parcel rate, regardless of what the item cost, and if you're going to stick the right amount of stamps on, you may as well just go inside and get a tracking number for it. You're only setting yourself up for disaster if you don't.

I think we're wasting our breath anyway. As usual, someone pops in wanting answers and then never comes back.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

247newdeals — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 00:24:26 GMT

@*tippy*toes* wrote:
Why wouldn't a $2 toy get tracking? Only time it might not is if it's sent as a large letter under 20mm. Anything over that is parcel rate, regardless of what the item cost, and if you're going to stick the right amount of stamps on, you may as well just go inside and get a tracking number for it. You're only setting yourself up for disaster if you don't.

I think we're wasting our breath anyway. As usual, someone pops in wanting answers and then never comes back.

Yes you could add tracking to a $2 toy but I doubt many buyers are going to pay about $6.50 for postage on a $2 item. Saying that imho selling a $2 item on ebay (unless your in china) would not be relaistic and most sellers would not be adding tracking to low cost items, they would be sent as a large letter so there would be no need to go to the post office.

I do not think answering this is a waste of time it is not just about the OP (who may of got the answer they wanted but does not see fit to say thank you) it is also about other people who may read it. I get most of the answer to questions I have from this forum on post written by others I often flick through posts and even get answer to question I never thought of asking 😉

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

lyndal1838 — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 01:05:52 GMT

A $2 item will not necessarily be sent as a large letter. If it is a toy as the OP mentioned then the chances of it being within large letter dimensions are slim to zero.

It is more likely to be of a size that has to be sent as a parcel.

And as a new seller the OP is unlikely to have a turnover that would be high enough for him to obtain good courier rates....for the most part he would be paying maximum rates.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

*tippy*toes* — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 05:27:29 GMT

Good luck sending something like a stuffed animal or fake action figure by large letter. Even plastic farm animals would exceed 20mm.

I agree selling $2 toys would be unrealistic if you want to make any sort of profit. Even if the OP decided to go the courier route, most things are still going to be more than 20mm, therefore would have to be sent as a parcel.

It's been a long time since I played with toys but I can't think of many that would come in under 20mm with packaging included.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

247newdeals — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 00:56:08 GMT

@lyndal1838 wrote:
A $2 item will not necessarily be sent as a large letter. If it is a toy as the OP mentioned then the chances of it being within large letter dimensions are slim to zero.
It is more likely to be of a size that has to be sent as a parcel.

And as a new seller the OP is unlikely to have a turnover that would be high enough for him to obtain good courier rates....for the most part he would be paying maximum rates.

Here's that buyer who like to tell sellers how things are giving wrong infomation once again. You can send 1 item via a courier using sendle (which I have use with great results) pack and send or officeworks mailman (have not used but can not be as bad as AusPost)

There are many options to send cheaper, faster and more reliable than AusPost and you want have to go to the Post Office please stop giving incorrect infomation everytime I post on this forum

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

247newdeals — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 01:04:23 GMT

@*tippy*toes* wrote:
Good luck sending something like a stuffed animal or fake action figure by large letter. Even plastic farm animals would exceed 20mm.

I agree selling $2 toys would be unrealistic if you want to make any sort of profit. Even if the OP decided to go the courier route, most things are still going to be more than 20mm, therefore would have to be sent as a parcel.

It's been a long time since I played with toys but I can't think of many that would come in under 20mm with packaging included.

I will say again an Australian seller would not be selling a $2 teddy bear and posting it, We can talk hypothetical all day. Yes there may be the occasional inexperienced seller who try to sell a $2 and send by parcel but then the advice, they should be getting, is to look at making combinations of toys so the postage is split between them. A seller charging/paying for tracking on a $2 item will not be selling much if anything.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

lyndal1838 — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 03:48:08 GMT

@247newdeals wrote:
@lyndal1838 wrote:
A $2 item will not necessarily be sent as a large letter. If it is a toy as the OP mentioned then the chances of it being within large letter dimensions are slim to zero.
It is more likely to be of a size that has to be sent as a parcel.

And as a new seller the OP is unlikely to have a turnover that would be high enough for him to obtain good courier rates....for the most part he would be paying maximum rates.
Here's that buyer who like to tell sellers how things are giving wrong infomation once again. You can send 1 item via a courier using sendle (which I have use with great results) pack and send or officeworks mailman (have not used but can not be as bad as AusPost)

There are many options to send cheaper, faster and more reliable than AusPost and you want have to go to the Post Office please stop giving incorrect infomation everytime I post on this forum

Get over yourself....I have not given wrong information.

Not everyone has access to Sendle and they are essentially a courier broker. Small time sellers do not have access to the major couriers unless they go through a broker/agent such as Sendle or Temando. Your advice to "use a courier" is far more misleading than anything I have ever said.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

thecatspjs — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 04:31:27 GMT

edit

lol posted in the wrong thread

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

padi*0409 — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 04:40:57 GMT

@247newdeals wrote:

a) queue at the Post Office every day
b) pay $5 an item for AusPost to pick them up from you
c) Use a courier service which is a lot cheaper, faster and picks up from your home for free (yes this will cause the grumpy 4 to say how terrible couriers are and sellers who use them do not get sales but that is just not true)

newdeals, I get that you believe couriers are the best thing since sliced bread, but for buyers like myself that live in a rural area and have a PO box it's nigh impossible to buy from sellers that use couriers or want to use the Officeworks facility / Woolworths Click and Collect.

So I will nearly always need to use a seller that doesn't use couriers or is prepared to use AP for me.

That said, in answer to your last statement, then yes of course you could be losing customers like myself but you're never going to know about it, since I've probably used a different seller of the same item that doesn't insist on using couriers.

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

247newdeals — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 04:44:09 GMT

@lyndal1838 wrote:
@247newdeals wrote:
@lyndal1838 wrote:
A $2 item will not necessarily be sent as a large letter. If it is a toy as the OP mentioned then the chances of it being within large letter dimensions are slim to zero.
It is more likely to be of a size that has to be sent as a parcel.

And as a new seller the OP is unlikely to have a turnover that would be high enough for him to obtain good courier rates....for the most part he would be paying maximum rates.
Here's that buyer who like to tell sellers how things are giving wrong infomation once again. You can send 1 item via a courier using sendle (which I have use with great results) pack and send or officeworks mailman (have not used but can not be as bad as AusPost)

There are many options to send cheaper, faster and more reliable than AusPost and you want have to go to the Post Office please stop giving incorrect infomation everytime I post on this forum
Get over yourself....I have not given wrong information.

Not everyone has access to Sendle and they are essentially a courier broker. Small time sellers do not have access to the major couriers unless they go through a broker/agent such as Sendle or Temando. Your advice to "use a courier" is far more misleading than anything I have ever said.

How about you get over yourself once again more wrong information if you have Internet access (which if your selling on eBay you will have) and 1 parcel to send you can use sendle or one of the many other services available. How about letting people who actually use services give info rather than you just posting what you 'think' is right

Re: How to organise Shipping and Packing?

247newdeals — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 04:48:47 GMT

@padi*0409 wrote:
@247newdeals wrote:

a) queue at the Post Office every day
b) pay $5 an item for AusPost to pick them up from you
c) Use a courier service which is a lot cheaper, faster and picks up from your home for free (yes this will cause the grumpy 4 to say how terrible couriers are and sellers who use them do not get sales but that is just not true)
newdeals, I get that you believe couriers are the best thing since sliced bread, but for buyers like myself that live in a rural area and have a PO box it's nigh impossible to buy from sellers that use couriers or want to use the Officeworks facility / Woolworths Click and Collect.

So I will nearly always need to use a seller that doesn't use couriers or is prepared to use AP for me.

That said, in answer to your last statement, then yes of course you could be losing customers like myself but you're never going to know about it, since I've probably used a different seller of the same item that doesn't insist on using couriers.

I offer both couriers for free or they can opt for AusPost for an extra $6 and maybe 1 in 100 uses that for most of Australia couriers work extremely well and are a lot cheaper (which is important to a lot of eBay buyers), faster and I have less problems with them. if you want to use a seller who sends by AusPsot fine but the question was hope the OP could stop having to go and queue at the post office and an easy way to do that is use couriers (which work just fine for the majority of buyers)