How can I provide a shipping quote on my auction if I don't know where my parcel will end up?

[pretty*poppets]

Hi Ebayers,

How do you deal with the shipping quote portion of an auction? Ebay won't let you list without you specifying how much shipping will cost. But Shipping costs vary widely according to where you need to ship to. If I am shipping in my own state, it's different from shipping to a different city which would be different to shipping to a country town or to somwhere else in the world.

So how do I provide a shipping cost so that I can get my auction listed, but at the same time won't be unfair to either me or the buyer?

Please advise me!

[*bellee*]

That's alright. Glad I was able to help.

[lyndal1838]

If you have a feather item that weighs 6kg it must be rather large.

Are you sure it will be within the Australia Post guidelines...weight is not the only limiting criteria?

It might be a good idea the check before listing.

[thecatspjs]

For the OP and others that may read this thread, there is alway the option for large and bulky items that won't fit in satchels you can choose FREIGHT as the post service -

If you select FREIGHT as an option you do not have to put prices or parcel dimensions as you have to for other options.

You will then need to put some information in your listing regarding the post costs.

Some sellers seem to use a rounded up flat post quote on a state by state basis - others only put prices to capital cities and ask buyers to contact them for post quote if they live outside of metro areas.

Having freight as the post option also means you can list with some confidence that you won't be caught out by the sometimes unquoted prices that  eBay calculator provides and you can include $$ handling costs in your pricing.    

However some buyers may also not take the time to review the listing for this information, nor want to delay getting a final price if they need to contact you for quote prior to sale.

If you are going to auction this item, this listing format gives buyers and yourself some time to communicate re post costs before any sale is final.

[*tippy*toes*]

If your items are under 20mm thick icluding a padded bag and under 500g, then you can post as a large letter and depending on the weight would be how much postage you'd put in the listing. e.g under 20mm and under 125g would be $2.

If it's over 20mm, it would have to be sent as a parcel. If it's under 500g, then it would cost the same to post anywhere in Australia, $7.60. Include a bit extra to cover fees. You can insert that cost into the listing.

If the parcel is over 500g, then the rate varies from state to state. In that case you'd use the calulated postage option. The amount will be put into eBay and the buyer will see what the cost is to their state. If it's something that you could fit into a satchel, even if you need to put it into a box first, then that will be a flat rate to anywhere in Australia.

To work out what the postage will be, package up the item and put it on some digital kitchen scales, then go to the Aust Post website and insert the weight and dimensions into the postage calculator.

If it works out to be something outside of Aust Post's limits, list using freight and as mentioned by others, the buyer will need to contact you for a quote.