General

Shade

How to ship a package cheaper?

So I just sold my first item on eBay, and the shipping for my item costs 8 dollars (I marked it as free shipping). Can I just put the item I'm selling in a box, slap the address on it and put it in a mailbox to bypass shipping costs? Sorry if the answer is really obvious this is my first time shipping something

July 4, 2014

7 Comments • Newest first

BobR

[quote=xdeltanator]A pair of A Bathing Ape shoes.[/quote]

With an item like that the cheapest shipping method is likely to be USPS (post office) Parcel Services (formerly called "parcel post" ).
The cost is determined both by the weight and distance to the recipient.
It's the slowest method for merchandise and doesn't include tracking or insurance so it can be risky unless you purchase those services separately.

Considering the cost of those particular shoes, skimping on the insurance and tracking is likely to be a bad idea. If the shoes get lost in shipping, it's your responsibility to make good on them, not the Post Office or eBay, and definitely not the buyer.

It's important to take the shipping cost into account when you price an item on eBay, to avoid spending most of your profit on shipping, no matter what you're selling.

Reply July 5, 2014 - edited
xdeltanator

[quote=Clownified]@xdeltanator: What was the item!

Im just curious.[/quote]

A pair of A Bathing Ape shoes.

Reply July 5, 2014 - edited
Quasar

You can ship it yourself.

Reply July 5, 2014 - edited
xdeltanator

[quote=Yumtoast]Wait, so you sold an item on eBay without knowing how to ship items? If you honestly think you can just put items inside an outgoing mailbox without postage (you should be embarrassed to even ask this question), you need to read the eBay seller guides and guidelines right now. Remember that only morons skip steps.

And to answer your question, you either man-up and pay the $8, or risk sending the package without tracking for cheaper. If you live in the US, USPS + eBay discount is the cheapest you'll get for tracked shipping.[/quote]

Alright, thank you!

Reply July 5, 2014 - edited
Yumtoast

Wait, so you sold an item on eBay without knowing how to ship items? If you honestly think you can just put items inside an outgoing mailbox without postage (you should be embarrassed to even ask this question), you need to read the eBay seller guides and guidelines right now. Remember that only morons skip steps.

And to answer your question, you either man-up and pay the $8, or risk sending the package without tracking for cheaper. If you live in the US, USPS + eBay discount is the cheapest you'll get for tracked shipping.

Reply July 5, 2014 - edited
xdeltanator

Nope, I'm just new to mailing stuff

Reply July 5, 2014 - edited