Let me start by saying this: shipping has always been my biggest headache. Its not just time consuming — but has become an obsession of mine to figure-out: high transaction costs block out a vast majority of cards from being sellable (at least online).
In my own eBay selling, I offered free shipping & handling. Still not sure if that has ever been a good idea. But, it meant I learnt a lot. Especially about trying to ship cheap. So here are a few pieces of advice:
Most buyers, in my experience, hate paying for shipping, even if it means begrudgingly accepting their card being sent in a Plain White Envelop (PWE). Traditionaly, this means putting the card in a top-loader, folding it between a piece of paper (the eBay invoice), dropping it into a envelop (albeit, some will say: spring for semi-rigid cardboard mailers) and then throw on a stamp. Additionally, if you are paranoid, like me, about the letter getting destroyed in USPS’s big-ass machines…. then buy the non-machinable stamp from the post office and write/stamp “non-machinable” on the letter. Now, just drop it at the post-office.
In all honesty, I lifted this method from a blogger named waxpackhero, whose got tons of helpful advice about the hobby. He also writes better than me. So, check him out online at this link… in particular, his entries on shipping are really, really, informative. Just a gem of an article. He also has tons of advice about using different platforms — from COMC.com, StarStock, eBay.com and SportsLots.com (the hobby’s unsung hero, in my estimation).
Qualifiers About Doing PWE
A important qualifier though. Be clear on eBay that you are doing PWE. Not everyone likes them, and it would be wrong to try and be tricky about it. In general, you should offer the option of buyers paying an upgrade free to receive their cards via bubble mailer with tracking — more on this later — Be conscious that your low-value-cards may be worth a lot (at least sentimentally) to someone else. (“One man’s trash…”) So, give folks an option to pay an upgrade fee.
Finally, be very careful to note: PWEs traditionally send without tracking. eBay now has a “standard rate envelop” for shipping within the USA that comes with tracking, though my experience of its reliability has been spotty at best. I often do PWEs to Canada, which means taking a risk — going without tracking. (Blimey, I hope eBay figures out something to improve shipping to Canada soon). Once in a while, the card doesn’t make it. So — if you are going to do PWE — you gotta do the risk analysis. Weigh your costs and benefits, and the risks associated with items in each category. Ask yourself, given an X% chance of the cards being lost, am I okay to cover a refund on it?
Generally, on more valuable cards, I spring for more expensive shipping options, in order to get that tracking and for the luxury of being able to use a bubble envelop. I stiffen the bubble mailer with cardboard too — for safe measure.
Note that selling between the USA and Canada, or the USA and Europe, gets expensive. This has enticed me to offer PWE even at higher values when shipping to Europe. But, again, note the risk involved. You may just have to go the tough love route, and limit what you ship to other countries — or just be really upfront about the surcharges you need to levy to justify selling to customers across the pond.
As is usual of me — I’ve been a little too theoretical… a little too bird’s eye viewed… But, all in good time. I’ll try to post more about shipping methods in the future. In the mean time, I highly recommend checking out the resources linked to above.
Best,
— SCV