Shipping Tips for eBay, Part II

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This post is part 2 of some tips I've learned about shipping for eBay along the way.  For part 1, please click here.  This process uses a printer to print your postage yourself, which is going to be more efficient than purchasing postage at the post office.

Assuming you've already packed and weighed your items and properly set up shipping costs, actual shipping should be a breeze.  Needless to say, don't ship items until they have been paid for.  If the buyer pays with a check, I usually wait until it clears before shipping.  Of course, it's up to you whether or not you decide to take checks.

The first thing I do is print a packing slip for each paid order.  You may skip this step, but I'll share it just in case you decide to do it.  If you are trying to build a business on eBay, it can push your professionalism up a notch.  After trying a few different methods, I've found that I prefer to go to My eBay (upper right)/Awaiting Shipment (list on left).  There, you can select all the items that are awaiting shipment by checking the box in the first column, then clicking Shipping Action/Print shipping labels or invoices.  Next, under Invoice and Address Labels, select Invoice/Packing Slip.  Finally, eBay will open a print preview window where you can then print using your browser's menu.

Next, I use my packing slips to pick the items that have been paid for, match the packing slips with the packages, and bring the packages over to my computer area.

Thoughts on software used to print postage:  right now, if I only have one item, I'll usually do it through PayPal.  PayPal has a multiple order processor, but I find it cumbersome to use in comparison to the Stamps.com software.  So if I have multiple orders to send, I'll use my Stamps.com desktop software.

You should already have the weights on your items, but make sure you do any final taping or rubber banding of the inside packaging if applicable.  From there, you'll use the software of your choice to print your labels.  I usually double check the weight (and package size, if applicable) with the software before printing the labels.  You can choose to print your labels on a 2-per-page label or on regular paper.  Obviously, you'll tape the label on if you use paper.  Labels can be a good time-saving investment.  If you use labels and are printing from PayPal, it prints a confirmation on the 2nd part of the sheet.  To avoid wasting a label, you can probably just fold the paper in half so that it only prints on one of the labels.  You'll lose your confirmation this way.  I find the confirmation unnecessary since the information is electronically in so many different places.

Hopefully that will help you refine your shipping process.  Any suggestions for improving mine are more than welcome!

Lessons Learned - The Value of Good Photos on Ebay

A Decent Photo, In my opinion

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I got lazy for a minute.  Okay, this isn't the first time.  And the story I'm about to tell you doesn't really prove anything, but I thought it was interesting and could warrant further research if it wasn't such a "duh" revelation.

On Thursday, I took pics of the earrings and necklace you see here and wasn't completely happy with them, but was tired by the end of the day.  I posted what I had and let go.  My two scheduled auctions came up Sunday evening and I admit I cringed when I looked at the original photo.

Mostly, if I've picked good items (and you can't really miss with fine jewelry, as long is it's not too fancy), I should see bids on the item by the end of the day Monday.  With fine jewelry, it's usually sooner.  I got a few bids on the sterling bracelet lot I listed, but none on this gold and pearl lot.

I said in my head, "that picture cannot be helping my cause".  So, although I really didn't want to do it, I thought for a minute about how I could improve the picture and decided to re-take the photos.  The original pictures were on white, which I felt actually in the closeups brought out the luminescence, depth, and color of the pearls.  However, when pulled back, it was just white on white, and way too small.

I wanted to keep some of the white background pictures but I thought the overall picture would pop more if I did new pictures on darker background, so I chose this relatively subdued blue.  I also decided that any picture including the entire necklace would just not look good.  Spread the whole thing out, and it's so thin and delicate that it just gets lost.  Bunch it up and it looks like a mess.  I settled by including the feature of the necklace (the three seed pearls), then showing the clasp and remaining chain in later pictures.

I still wasn't extremely happy with the way the larger pearls weren't very sharp, but there comes a point of diminishing returns when you obsess too much about perfect photography with Ebay.  There are also some really nice shots of the pearls on the white background as well.  So I was satisfied and posted the new pictures.  No kidding, I got a bid on this item about 15 minutes later.  As they say, "Correlation doesn't equal causation.", but I'd rather play it safe here.

I guess one thing I can get out of this experience, besides the obvious (have a good picture!), is that it's more important to have a picture that grabs the attention of the buyer than to show the entire item.

By the way, here's the original picture: 


Please don't tell anyone.  Although I think it's stuck on my Auctiva scroll :)