posted on December 9, 2004 12:48:00 PM new
I've been selling on eBay since 1998 and I have always used USPS Priority to ship most of my eBay packages that are under 5 pounds. I just go to the Post Office, stand in line (yes, I'm a box slider) and pay at the counter. I always include insurance but never delivery confirmation.
My question is to all you non-box sliders who do your labels right from your home office, what is the best process to print your postage from home, include delivery confirmation and pay via PayPal or credit card? And do you need to buy special stick-on labels or can you print on paper and tape clear tape over it? Can this be done somehow through Vendio, eBay or PayPal? Or do you have to download the software from the US Post Office?
posted on December 9, 2004 01:06:38 PM new
well, the first step in solving the box sliding problem is to admit you are a box slider, so congratulations!
There are lots of options. If you are an occasional shipper, you can go to the USPS and print postage including free delivery confirmation right from their website. You are limited to priority or express mail only, but if that is what you ship, it might be the best way to go. I have used this before, it is easy to use.
Paypal offers shipping now, I have not used them, I've heard they charge for delivery confirmation for priority mail (which should be free if you are printing your own postage) - Paypal lets you print other classes of mail, but I know they charge more. Again, if you are a casual shipper, something to consider.
I have recently switched to endicia, and I pay about $15 a month. Since I ship at least 1000 packages a month, it makes sense for me. I get stealth printing so the actual postage amount is hidden - I like this a lot. I get remote access to delivery confirmation, and it has really sped up my processing time a LOT which is very helpful (time is money) - I can ship international packages with endicia, and I do ship around 25-50 of these a month.
Lots of options, endicia will let you try for a month for free (service cost, not postage) - It all really depends on how much you are packaging and shipping really.
posted on December 9, 2004 02:17:31 PM new
Ralphie & I have been ENDICIA freaks for 3 years, and...
"I might as well face it, I'm addicted to ENDICIA-LOVE..."
There are so many features that truly make our simple & humble lives so much easier -- leaves more time for life's important tasks like chewing chewies or belly-rubs!
DAZZLE, the software program behind ENDICIA is a powerful proggie, designed for the professional shipper & just about all printers.
This level of sophisication can cause some adaptation pains in the beginning, but you should NEVER lose any moola due to mis-prints -- ya just have to make large use of the TEST-PRINT feature here:
PLUS, Endicia's live CS is always ready & waiting witrh baited breath to help you set-up yer printer -- once ya DO get going, you'll wonder how ya ever faced the cold, cruel world without the JOY-OF-ENDIICIA by yer side...
Of course, most folks here have an overwhelming desire to help RALPHIE and his powerful desire to become either a ROCKET SCIENTIST or a jolly BRAIN SURGEON...
If you also feel this COMPULSION to contribute to me liddle boyo's lower-education fund, then please feel free to join ENDICIA here:
Not only will you get a warm & fuzzy GLOW in yer rather substantial (HEY...) tummy. you'll enjoy the dubious satisfaction that only comes from helping deserving-doggies!
(I donna know, Ralphie, might be laying it on a bit THICK ??)
posted on December 9, 2004 02:33:48 PM new
I use a mix of USPS's site (for the new Fixed Price Priority box) and Pay Pal. USPS will only do Priority and Express. Pay Pal will let you do any USPS label except the new Fixed Priority. The DC for Priority is free and it is 13¢ for all of the other forms of shipping. Pay Pal also charges a fee for everything that is not Priority. (Don't remember how much off the top of my head but not much, combined the dc and fee are still less than a dc purchased at the counter.) You can also do insurance on Both sites. This has saved me tons of time! I did have to download a Java Console for USPS but it wasn't painful and hasn't caused any trouble.
Hope this helps.
Kevin
edited to make it more clear than it was before I made it more clear.
[ edited by Kevinatgrannys on Dec 9, 2004 02:36 PM ]
posted on December 9, 2004 02:47:54 PM new
I use paypal only and really love it. It's really really great now that they have insurance. It uses USPS & Pitney Bowes, but you never leave paypal.
All the information is already there if they pay with paypal - which about 90% of my customers do. They do charge for 1st class - 20 cents for the label and 13 cents for the DC, but charge nothing for priority. (postage cost, of course) The amount of postage doesn't have to show if you don't want it to either.
I got some peel & stick labels and it's so much better than taping them on - which you can do but it's time consuming. I'll try to find the label person and post it for you. Ordered them right off ebay and they were here in 2 days. Someone, Cheryl I think, posted it for me.
If you list directly from ebay - you don't even have to put in the weight but I think you can adjust it if needed.
Tom
With ENDICIA do you have to enter all the information for each label??
What kind of labels does Ralphie use? I use the 3 1/2 X 5 for first class, but they are too small for Priority or Expess. I can do the Priority on them and add a sticker but not Express.
Be kind. Everyone is fighting their own secret battles.
...Author Unknown
posted on December 9, 2004 08:06:05 PM new
Im not sure either-but I think its someone who ships big boxes too heavy or too bulky to carry.While they wait in line at the post office,they slide the box instead of carrying it.This is the first I've heard of this term,so I could be wrong.
posted on December 9, 2004 08:25:44 PM newDefinition of a Box Slider
Obviously I watch WAY too much television, because there is an ad out right now (it may be a USPS ad but I'm not even sure). It shows a woman and all these other people in line to process their packages to be mailed with all their boxes sitting on the floor in front of them, and as soon as the line moves, they all slide their boxes on the floor with their foot to get closer to the counter - never picking them up, just sliding. And then the woman comes on and confesses "yes, I'm a box slider" and then she discovers that she can simply drop off her boxes with no lines and no waiting because she's done her own labels or something to that effect. The ad must have gotten me thinking and that's why I had to get more information about doing my own labels I guess.
posted on December 9, 2004 08:39:22 PM new
You can go ahead & pay extra for endicia, I use PayPal & DSI for insurance. Why should I pay $1.30 for the 1st $100.00 when I can get it for $40 cents? I buy 8 1/2 X 11 tacky sheets at Office Depot. They work great, one half is the postage & the other is the DC. I either hand them to the mail delivey person or put them on my mail box with a bungee cord. Haven't made a trip to the PO for a month & that was to buy stamps. Now I can buy stamps online, won't even go for them!!
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
posted on December 9, 2004 09:02:07 PM new
speaking of ads - did anybody see Meg on Good Morning America saying how easy it is to sell on Ebay? "just go in your closets"
oh and to shop of course!
"It is only with the heart one sees rightly,
what is essential is invisible to the eye."
Antoine de Saint Exupery
posted on December 10, 2004 05:32:33 AM new
I use Endicia, have for over a year now and I would never use anything else. Just as Tom posted above, there are so many options that make them so valuable.
I love that I can walk into the PO with my packages (usually about 20 - 25 a week if I'm lucky) and bypass everyone in line (who stare at me like I'm the devil), set my packages on the counter and leave. I love the stealth option to hide the actual postage amount.
I would never go back to going to the PO to do my postage. Not in a million years.
posted on December 10, 2004 09:03:03 AM new
I use the USPS Shipping Assistant to generate my labels, and hubby pays for the postage & E/DC fees at the counter.
I've wanted to try Click & Ship on the USPS website but my computer doesn't seem to like their site very much - not sure why 8(
Haven't used Paypal's option yet - I like getting the 1.5% cashback on my Debit Card at the PO itself so no incentive to use their service.
I REALLY like the APC they installed in the lobby - now we can just do the postage in the lobby, drop the package in the bin and we're off!
posted on December 11, 2004 05:30:57 AM new
Well, old dog, new tricks (sorry Ralphie).
I was a Stamps.com until about 2 weeks ago. Their customer service is terrible and they lost a $25 refund order (although I had a dc that it was delivered).
I had tried Endicia once a few years ago and it was a mess for me. I couldn't get things printed out. But, after reading this post, I dumped Stamps.com and signed up with Endicia.
I use the UPS labels or the full page depending on what I am shipping. I ususally ship about 10-15 packages a day. My postman/woman (depending on the day) picks them up at my house (one of the benefits of living in the country).
I use the USPS click n ship for insurance.
I pick up a lot of advice on this board and appreciate all of you!
Beth
www.vintageads4u.com
posted on December 11, 2004 09:18:05 PM new
I used Endicia for a couple of years, and really loved it, but finally quit, because I could NEVER get an accounting from U-PIC insurance.
I have tried the Quickly system by the postal system on line, unfortunately, half the time I find it doesn't work. I did a total refund to a man in Alaska, because the postal quickly system refused the man's address, which the man said he had lived at, for years.
Bottom line, I got sick of the whole postal system, and since we already have a daily pick up from UPS - we basically ship UPS ONLY. We've shipped via UPS for years, with very few problems.
I guess to each his own. For us the whole UPS on line tracking is easier for our customers to follow, UPS notifies the customer of the shipping and the tracking number. We REQUIRE a signature regardless, and that has saved our derrières a number of times, in contesting claims of "I never received it."
~"It does not matter what I think, it does not matter what you think. The only thing which matters is: What is the TRUTH!"~
posted on December 11, 2004 10:26:24 PM new
didnt realize I've been using endicia for over a year now until i read this thread.
and it freaks me out how much postage adds up through the years.. "Total amount of postage printed = $######" eeesh.
$99 for a year. no point for the stealth option for me since havent had any complaints yet, and shipping is hardly different.
use mostly first-class, parcel, and media.. everything but priority unless its under 2 lbs. would use paypal but after about 50 of those other service type it'll even out the cost of endicia..
and fedex for the heavier stuff.
sticky labels are cheap (they're like 5 bucks for couple thousands sheets? heh) and makes it lot easier than spending time cutting and tapping.
depending on your volume, u should definitely consider getting a system setup with either paypal shipping or endicia or whatever else ure comfortable with.
posted on December 13, 2004 11:42:58 AM new
I don't use PayPal because I ship from another zip code and they won't let you change the "shipped from" zip code on the label. If the zip code doesn't match the post office, the PO can refuse the packages.
I print on regular paper and use Elmer's Craft Mount spray on adhesive, similar to 3-M Photo Mount but about 1/4 the cost.
