Deciding on your carrier can be the most important decision in your eBay business. You need to decide which one is more convenient for you (located close to your home base, provides pick up service, gives better customer service) and which is the most economical. Settling on one main shipper to meet most of your needs is important because all your records will be on one statement or in one area. However, you might also need a secondary shipper for special types of packages.
Shipping can make or break your customer service. Whoever delivers the package to the buyer is an extension of your company. Professional labels, clean boxes, nifty packing peanuts — those are the things you control. Safe and timely delivery falls into the hands of complete strangers, but the buyer will blame you for the tardiness or sloppiness of the shipping. Your bottom line isn’t the shipper’s, and no matter how many refunds they offer when they don’t meet their promised schedules, it won’t help when you have irate customers. Simple equation: Irate customers = lousy feedback.
Meeting your front line
Try building a relationship with your shipping front line. These are the people who pick up and drop off your UPS, FedEx, or USPS packages. When you personalize a business relationship (such as addressing them by name), you become more than a street address. When you’re no longer a number, you become a fellow human being with needs and wants. Believe it or not, people want to make other people happy.
Location, location, location
What happens if you have to drop off your packages for shipment? It’s important to consider the closest local drop-off point for your carrier. Each of the major carriers has a search feature on its Web site to find the nearest drop-off location. You input your address or zip code, and the feature tells you the locations closest to you.
To get the location lowdown quickly, go to the FedEx, USPS, or UPS site.
Comparing prices
The consensus is that a particular method of shipping is cheaper for large items and another is cheaper for small packages. Each method has its own peculiarities.
Take a look at the following table and compare the pricing for certain types of packages. There are extras for some services, so become familiar with the variations and hidden costs. For example, FedEx and UPS include tracking numbers for delivery confirmation, but USPS charges extra (delivery confirmation is $.45 for Priority Mail and $.55 for Media Mail, First Class, and Parcel Post).
| Weight (lbs) | USPS Priority*: 2–3 Days | UPS Select: 3 Days | FedEx Ground: 4–5 Days | UPS Ground: 5–6 Days | USPS Parcel Post: 7–9 Days | USPS Media Mail: 7–10 Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4.80 | $20.78 | $6.95 | $10.32 | $4.55 | $2.23 |
| 2 | $8.25 | $23.81 | $7.99 | $11.55 | $6.67 | $2.58 |
| 3 | $11.50 | $26.83 | $8.89 | $12.60 | $8.12 | $2.93 |
| 4 | $14.25 | $29.52 | $9.46 | $13.27 | $9.38 | $3.28 |
| 5 | $16.80 | $32.15 | $10.03 | $13.96 | $10.58 | $3.63 |
| 6 | $17.65 | $35.17 | $10.37 | $14.35 | $11.72 | $3.98 |
| 7 | $20.15 | $38.27 | $10.87 | $14.94 | $12.81 | $4.33 |
| 8 | $22.60 | $41.49 | $11.55 | $15.74 | $13.85 | $4.68 |
| 9 | $25.15 | $44.45 | $12.30 | $16.63 | $14.86 | $5.03 |
| 10 | $27.55 | $47.55 | $13.14 | $17.61 | $15.83 | $5.38 |
* USPS Priority Mail also has flat-rate envelopes for $4.80 and two sizes of flat-rate boxes that can be stuffed and shipped for $9.80 and $12.95.
dummies
Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/choosing-the-best-shipping-company-for-your-ebay-i.html
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