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How to Make Money Selling on eBay Shipping Product
How you ship
products that you have sold is critical to the ease and success of
your eBay
√ PRE-PACK AT THE TIME YOU LIST We have found that there is a savings of time when we pre-pack merchandise as we list it for auction. This reduces some of the otherwise redundant stops that are required to weigh, store and then package merchandise.
√ PROTECT THE PRODUCT We package merchandise at the time we list it for auction. In addition to saving labor, it also helps to protect the product from damage while it is in our care, custody and control. The net result is that we retain more customers and we are able to reduce costs associated with broken items
√ CREATE A DESIGNATED SHIPPING AREA While this discovery might not seem significant to some, as an in-home operated business, it was a major discovery for us. We found that creating a designated shipping work area significantly reduced packaging and shipping time.
We actually have many horror stories about shipping materials lying throughout our house. While they are now funny to think about, at the time, it was a major problem that we did not find all that amusing. We finally decided that we needed to focus on how to make money selling on ebay. One of the steps was to create a designated shipping area to address the problems. · We identified a small area that we designated for shipping. It was only about six-feet long, but it more than paid for itself. · We place all of the required packaging and shipping items and supplies in that area. This included boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape, box cutters, labels, and more. · We organized the supplies to match the flow of the shipping work. As a package moved from left to right across the table, all of the tools and supplies required to do that specific task were there.
We also found that we were skipping on some of the critical tools and supplies to do a first-class job of packaging and shipping. We found that by having all of the materials to make shipping quick and easy, the job became quick and easy to perform. Our current shipping supply list includes:
· Packaging tape – we purchase multiple rolls in 6-packs from an online supplier. Packaging tape is very inexpensive when purchased in these quantities. · Boxes – boxes are available from many sources. When we first started our business we found used boxes. We would cover the printing and then cut them to size. As our business grew, we began buying boxes in an assortment of sizes that worked for our highest volume products. · Brown Kraft Wrap – to wrap items that already have boxes · Protective Material – Styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, newspaper, or other materials that are appropriate for your products · Box knives and scissors – we have them at two locations in our shipping area. We can trim boxes, and cut tape to size. · Labels – we ship many products via Priority Mail. We also ship Internationally. We maintain the required paperwork for these methods, as well as other labels to allow quick and easy display on the boxes, as required.
The last thing that a customer sees after the sale is the product and the packaging that the product came in. Make sure that you leave a positive and lasting impression with the quality and care that you put into shipping the customer’s product. Remember: Customer satisfaction is one of the keys regarding how to make money selling on ebay.
Being concerned about quality packaging and timely shipping has reaped great rewards for us. I can’t even guess how many times packaging has been mentioned as a part of the positive feedback that customers have posted with eBay!
Bob Hamilton is an author, writer, consultant and trainer. www.OnlineAuctionsMadeSimple.net www.MarketingSuccessCenter.com www.OpeningADollarStore.com
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