topic Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes? in Selling

Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

hsvcc64 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 07:21:59 GMT

Hi,

Ive been selling quite a bit here on ebay & ive noticed the postage fees are ridiculous & high! Not to mention the ebay fees when you sell an item. For a thin bit of material to be posted, it costs $8.25? Are there any types of postage envelopes people can recommend that will still make sure the buyer receives their item in perfect condition & that doesn't cost a fortune?

I dont like to raise my postage prices anymore because i know i dont know like to pay heaps of postage for an item, at the same time i dont want to raise the prices of my items because they wont sell.

Kind of at a loss end with both sides! Any recommendations on how to cheaply send something or what type of envelope is the best. (Generally i sell things like clothes,etc)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thank you! 🙂

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

shoptilludroptara — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 07:30:10 GMT

the only problem is if buyers are paying through paypal sellers need to send with tracking and

lodge over the counter you need proof it was posted

some send in envelopes but if it doesnt arrive they need to resend another or refund

it can be costly

i mainly use trackable satchels or wrapped parcels and always put over the counter and have them scanned

not had a problem with any of these

but i once sent an item in an envelope it didnt arrive the buyer waited extra time,i had to resend at my own expense

in a trackable satchel which i had scanned over the counter and yes this arrived ok

never saw the envelope one again lol

so its up to each individual seller

my buyers dont seem to be put off by my postage costs

tara

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

boris1gary — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 07:34:40 GMT

I have only sold a few things but if you supply your own packaging, recycled boxes etc, and your clothes when parcelled up weigh 500g or less then it should only cost $6.95 to anywhere in Oz. The red satchels if you buy in a 10 pack cost about $7.30 to anywhere in Oz. I think the price of the red satchels go down again if you buy in even more bulk. I wrapped mine in tissue paper first which cost $1 for 8 sheets. Saying this I haven't recieved any feedback yet so I don't know if the buyers are happy with my packing.

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

hsvcc64 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 07:36:59 GMT

@shoptilludroptara wrote:
the only problem is if buyers are paying through paypal sellers need to send with tracking and

lodge over the counter you need proof it was posted

some send in envelopes but if it doesnt arrive they need to resend another or refund

it can be costly

i mainly use trackable satchels or wrapped parcels and always put over the counter and have them scanned

not had a problem with any of these

but i once sent an item in an envelope it didnt arrive the buyer waited extra time,i had to resend at my own expense

in a trackable satchel which i had scanned over the counter and yes this arrived ok

never saw the envelope one again lol

so its up to each individual seller

my buyers dont seem to be put off by my postage costs

tara

Hi Tara,
Thanks for your reply. I always post my items in those hard brown tough bags or white padded bags from the post office. They scan them after they put a sticker on, but im assuming thats to get the cost up on the computer?
So is it best to still post in these envelopes (also ask for tracking on it) or ask the post employees for a special envelope/bag satchel over the counter with a tracking on it>?

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

mr-vanilla — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 07:35:32 GMT

A bit more info about what your selling would help. 'A thin bit fabric' does not help. How big and heavy. If its under 500g use a click and send satchel ...$6.95 WITH tracking.

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

hsvcc64 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 07:39:12 GMT

@mr-vanilla wrote:
A bit more info about what your selling would help. 'A thin bit fabric' does not help. How big and heavy. If its under 500g use a click and send satchel ...$6.95 WITH tracking.

Mr vanilla,

On my items i dont write "thin bit of fabric

!" haha. I just wrote that as a quick description on this post so people would get the point of what i meant.

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

hsvcc64 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 07:40:13 GMT

@boris1gary wrote:
I have only sold a few things but if you supply your own packaging, recycled boxes etc, and your clothes when parcelled up weigh 500g or less then it should only cost $6.95 to anywhere in Oz. The red satchels if you buy in a 10 pack cost about $7.30 to anywhere in Oz. I think the price of the red satchels go down again if you buy in even more bulk. I wrapped mine in tissue paper first which cost $1 for 8 sheets. Saying this I haven't recieved any feedback yet so I don't know if the buyers are happy with my packing.

Ohh thank you for this! Maybe it will be cheaper this way. Should i ask over the counter for these ... are they the red plastic satchels you are talking about ? 🙂

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

shoptilludroptara — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 07:42:03 GMT

if you pack item yourself and its under 500gm its a parcel and costs $6.95-ask them to scan over counter its trackable

or 500gm red/white satchel is $8.25-is trackable ask them to scan over the counter

or 3kg red/white satchel is $13.40-is trackable ask them to scan over the counter

dont put the satchel in the red boxes,always have scanned at the post office over the counter

tara

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

shoptilludroptara — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 07:46:25 GMT

and i put material clothes and anything soft in zip locked sealed bags

then put them in the satchel

harder items i put in small boxes or wrap in cardboard and then wrap white paper over them to address it

yes you can ask for satchels at any post office,i buy single ones(they are red and white)

but you can get a discount on bulk buying them

tara

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

hsvcc64 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 08:02:42 GMT

@shoptilludroptara wrote:
hi

if you pack item yourself and its under 500gm its a parcel and costs $6.95-ask them to scan over counter its trackable

or 500gm red/white satchel is $8.25-is trackable ask them to scan over the counter

or 3kg red/white satchel is $13.40-is trackable ask them to scan over the counter

dont put the satchel in the red boxes,always have scanned at the post office over the counter

tara

Thank you heaps Tara! You answered exactly what i was after. I have been looking at the parcel satchels and if its cheaper to buy ebay bulk satchels, the red and white satchels or 1 off when i go in to the post office. Ive dealt with quite a few rude over the counter workers, who havent been very helpful when i have asked these same questions such as "What is the most safest & cheapest way to post this item" they just automatically point to the tough bags and tell me to go choose one. Glad i have come to ebay discussion to ask this!

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

boris1gary — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 08:08:02 GMT

Yes the red ones, it says small 500g on the top left hand corner. Really big clothes probably wouldn't fit though but all mine fit nicely and I got 10 for $7.30 or around about that.

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

hsvcc64 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 08:08:21 GMT

Sorry im not why mr vanilla's name is above. But thank you tara, your advice was just what i was after! 🙂

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

hsvcc64 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 08:10:04 GMT

Thank you boris1gary. When i pop down to the post office next time to post an item i am waiting on payment for, i am definitely going to look into this & make some changes to my postage ways 🙂

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

davewil1964 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 08:22:25 GMT

Look at click and send. The satchels are 15c each if bought in 20s plus postage of $6.95. Far cheaper than the standard AP ones. And they are tracked to the door. The standard ones are only tracked to the delivery centre. If that centre is in a different postcode to the buyer, then you will not have Paypal seller protection.

As for what Tara said, I send roughly half of my items by untracked large letter (2cm max thickness). I have yet to have one not arrive.

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

digital*ghost — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 10:31:20 GMT

Also consider rigid card envelopes. You can post up to A4 sized items as a large letter (as long as under 500gm and total thickness is under 2cm) so the maximum cost would be cost of packaging plus $3.00 postage. Some fabrics would probably not be able to go this way, so if looking for a uniform postage method it might not be convenient, but for lighter weight, thinner fabrics or short lengths etc that can be folded to fit (in a zip lock bag with all the air out, so essentially vacuum sealed), it would be a cheaper alternative (but no tracking / proof of postage unless you pay for registered, or have some other method for gaining verifiable proof of post).

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

shoptilludroptara — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 10:48:17 GMT

the satchesl i buy and send that are trackable are not just tracked to a delivery centre

if you look at online tracking they go further once on board with the driver for delivery to the address on the satchel

also if not at home and carded they need to show id at the post office to pick it up which is a 50/50 chance these days

and when i checked i was told that because i used trackable satchels that were handed over the counter and scanned to track

and i kept all receipts and trackable paper work i was covered under seller protection

if you just shove it in a red box and dont get it scanned properly with receipts for it then no you are not covered

tara

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

harley_babes_hoard — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 11:05:33 GMT

If you are only sending thin bits of material why would you pay for parcel rate. I can send shirts, bandanas etc for large letter rate either 1.20 or 1.80 plus registered sticker (which bought in bulk cost 2.70 i think) + the cost of the envelope lets say 1.00 this is also cheaper if bought in bulk. still a lot cheaper than 6.95.

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

hsvcc64 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 11:19:18 GMT

Harley_babes , I didn't think you were allowed to send material items (such as baby wraps) in a paper A4 envelope? . Even If it had the correct amount of postage stamps, I was under the impression it would get posted back to me as it wasn't in a proper postal package.

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

davewil1964 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 11:20:56 GMT

I was talking about your letter stance.

Nevertheless C&S satchels are significantly cheaper than the standard ones, so my point still applies.

Re: Cheapest & Safest postage envelopes?

davewil1964 — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 11:22:43 GMT

You can send anything in an envelope as long as it's under 2cm thick. What you have to ensure is it's packed in a way that won't allow the contents to scrunch up, hence d*g's suggestion of using card.