very basic question: best/ cheapest shipping method

Hello everyone so as the title says this is a very basic question.

I am starting a new eBay business and I am getting my very first shipment ever in a couple of days (YAY!)

So the challenge I faced before was shipping charges, it almost cost me a couple of $100 investment I made in my first eBay selling project. I could only use the flat rate boxes to ship but they are just too damn expensive, I cannot make a profit paying $4 or $5 per item just on shipping.

So the items I am going to sell are cell phone cases and accessories.

What do you think will be the cheapest way to ship them?

Also for a small person like myself just starting is there a service that can come pick packages up at my home so I won't have to be going to the post office every single day?

Thank you all so much in advance for your help!

There is an envelope flat fee for like $0.99, but get a digital scale and pay only for the postage necessary.

Ok do you know which envelopes are $1 from Usps? They have so many and they aren't open on the weekend to call in and ask

I am googling and getting so many different answers do you think you could just post a link? I'm sorry if I sound like an idiot I am just very very new LOL

Why don't you visit USPS and ask them about their cheapest offering? May the person their will be nice and help you out.

Hey there,

I pretty much started the same way. I used the FR boxes but they became too expensive. I'd be shelling out hundreds for shipping in a month. Instead, I got a paid subscription ($15.99) to stamps.com, but now they offer a free service, just ask them about it. I bought a few hundred sticky labels with cheap plastic bags and bubble wrap. It costs me around ~$0.65 per package and it's much cheaper than paying all that for FR boxes.

PS. The awesome thing about prepaid labeling that you can print at home is you don't need to wait in line at the post office. Time is money and the less time you waste standing in line the more time you have to make money! Feel free to ask me any questions you may have!

So does the stamps provide the envelopes as well? Also I have never printed out a label at home, do I need a special type of printing paper or can I use any type of paper ? Would I just tape over the label completely with shipping tape I'd I were to use regular printing paper? Also can you tell me a good place to get inexpensive shipping envelopes and padding materials? I need to be as low budget as I can right now but I still want to retain a sense of quality

I am getting frustrated, I cannot find any information on the shipping charges anywhere. It's as if they make this process so annoying so you actually end up paying the wrong prices.

From what I can see I will be paying $5.60 or around $5-4 per envelope to ship in the US.

How am I supposed to make any money on eBay this way??

were you saying you were paying $0.65 for the supplies to ship the item or to actually ship the item at all?

Are you in the US? Here is a way to save costs. Many stamp collectors are getting or of the hobby or dying. They will sell their modern stamps with no collectible value for less than face value. Bid on ebay for them, I've scored them for around 50% face value. That builds your feedback and rep and provides postage. 50% cuts small flat rate box to around $2.5. Stick the stamps on, take them to the PO, and tell the clerk you want to mail them. He will print a label, your done.

And I don't understand what $1 envelopes you are talking about, you can get them for free from the USPS for priority mail and you can buy envelopes on share and aliexpress for 10 cents for a padded envelope and 5 cents for a non padded one, if you buy at least 100. free shipping as well

I suggest you ship through ebay. They allow you to print labels and pay for them with the funds from the initial sale.

The cheapest rate you can get with tracking is $1.93 for 3 oz or less which I suspect a cell phone case would be. The higher the weight the higher the price up to 13 oz after which you get into priority mail weights. Over 13 oz would be better served with flat rate boxes/envelopes and such.

You have to provide your own shipping envelopes or boxes or whatever... For cell phone cases a bubble mailer should work fine. Either kraft or poly should work and will cost 10 to 15 cents a piece or more unless you buy in bulk. Otherwise plain poly mailers and wrap your product in newspaper for protection. They sell them on ebay.

As for printing the label... plain paper works fine, just use clear shipping tape to secure it to your package. Its a pain in the ass but it works. Later you can buy printable labels if you want.

If you get mail delivery at home... you get pick up too. I just cram my outgoing stuff in the mailbox and raise the flag to ship my stuff. My brother bought a huge mailbox for this purpose. Otherwise you can schedule a pick up... its free for priority mail but I'm not sure about first class.

Don't forget that paypal and ebay fees add up to 15% of total sale price as well... including shipping. So price your shit accordingly.

Good luck.

Anybody know anything about the cheapest shipping from China/Asia? I'm looking at buying a couple moving head lights (their pretty heavy) and the shipping cost is almost as much as the lights! Input would be much appreciated, thanks!

padded envolopes and stamps