Frugality, Resources

Save Time and Money When Shipping

Whenever I need to make some extra money, I’ll sell items using eBay. Of course, once I’ve sold an item, I have to ship it to the buyer. I only use USPS to ship items. There are no convenient FedEx or UPS shipping locations available locally. Here are some ways that I save time and money when shipping items.

USPS Calculate Postage page. Simple to use interface. Simply enter package information, origination zip, and destination zip.

Free Priority Shipping Boxes From eBay. Simply go to this page, select the type of boxes you need, and they’ll send them to you for FREE.

Shipping clothing? I sell a lot of children’s clothing, so I go to the local post office and ask for a stack of those “cloth-paper” Priority shipping envelops. I do not use the cardboard envelops. I’m referring to the “bag-like” shipping envelopes that are made of a “cloth-paper”. You know what I’m talking about. They are light, easy to use, and work perfectly for shipping clothing b/c they reduce overall shipping costs.

Shipping books? I use MEDIA MAIL. Media mail is awesome. It is a low-cost shipping method for shipping books and other “media”. Read more here. When using media mail, it’s important to let your buyer know. Media mail is a slower shipping method.

Need boxes? Don’t go buy them! Just drive behind your local grocery store or convenience store, and there will be tons of cardboard boxes, free for the taking. Can’t find any behind the store? Go inside and talk to a manager. They’ll be glad to let you have there old packing boxes. (“Dollar Store” type places are great sources for used boxes.)

Use Paypal? Paypal offers an awesome service. You can pay for and print shipping labels right from your computer. I NEVER go to the post office for postage.

Want to stay home? The post office will come and pick up your package… for FREE. More information can be found here.

Need to know how much something weighs? You don’t need some fancy postal scale. I have a little food scale, which will weigh anything under 5 pounds. I simply use it to weigh my packages. It works like a charm. Mine is digital, but you could even use an old-school analog scale. I always add 1 or 2 ounces to the readout, just to be on the safe side.

Have some tips of your own? Leave comments below…

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