Ebay is now encouraging its sellers to reduce shipping costs to their customers. That’s not very easy to do and come out ahead. I have been selling on Ebay for quite some time now and I love it! Selling on Ebay is a great way to earn extra money from the comfort of your home. I sell alot of different things on Ebay. I sell used or new clothing, shoes, purses, handmade crafts, etc.
When determining how much shipping will be for a certain item, you have to look at the size and weight. I have been using USPS Priority Mail for most of my shipping. Its fast, usually getting to its destination in about 2 days, and its relatively low cost. I charge a flat rate of $6.00 which is usually what it comes out to if I ship from New Jersey to California. Its a very convenient way to ship since you can order different size boxes online at usps.com and they are free. I print shipping labels right from Paypal or Ebay using my computer and printer. I then package up the sold item and put it out with my mail the next day for pick up.
Another way to reduce shipping costs is to offer “free shipping” which will attract more customers. In order for you to come out ahead in this case is to add the shipping cost to the price of the item. For example, if I am selling a shirt for $2.00 with $6.00 for shipping, I would change it to $8.00 for the shirt and free shipping. I know as an Ebay shopper as well as a seller, that “free shipping” is very attractive. It’s less to think about when you are looking for an item to purchase. Even though it comes out to be the same, to the consumer, it seems cheaper with the “no shipping charge.”
You can even take it a step further and find a less expensive way to ship. That way you don’t have to add $6.00 to the price of your item, but maybe $3.00 for First Class Shipping if your item is 13 ounces or less. So now I can sell my shirt for $5.00 with free shipping. Now that looks like a better deal. The buyer won’t get the item as quick as with Priority shipping but First Class is pretty fast too.
There are alot of options to explore when selling on Ebay. Don’t be afraid to test out new things on your listings. See what works and draws customers to your store or auctions. Ebay is very competitive with the pricing of items. The cheaper you can get something to sell the better off you are as far as earning a good profit. Of course if you already own things that you’ve had for awhile and no longer need, its all profit minus the Ebay fees and shipping costs. My best advice is to keep your costs as low as possible and you will make a profit. It may not be a huge profit since things are pretty tough all around but you will make some extra money from home.
