posted on February 11, 2005 07:04:29 PM
Can they be shipped media mail. Ok, I know they CAN.
But do they meet Media Mail requirements?
I have some old board games and puzzles I'll be listing this week. One of them weighs 3 lbs and it looks like the other sellers must be shipping these media mail judging by their rate. But I did not think board games or jigsaw puzzles qualified for media????
posted on February 11, 2005 07:12:17 PM
That is what I was thinking MsLucy. Rattles and all. But I don't see how they are shipping a 3 lb box flate rate for $6.00 unless they are shipping it medial mail. Even parcel post from FL to CA is $6.32.
Maybe they just stick them in a tevak envelope, but I am going to box them. I can't imagine someone would want to pay much for a vintage game and receive a mashed box?
posted on February 11, 2005 07:37:16 PM
Media Mail, Nope.
And it's hard to try to get away with it even once. Those things tend to rattle. A LOT.
"Maybe they just stick them in a tevak envelope, but I am going to box them. I can't imagine someone would want to pay much for a vintage game and receive a mashed box?"
Absolutely correct. The box is half (or more) of the product in the case of board games. Any damage not in the auction description WILL come back to bite you in feedback. Condition is critical.
Box it carefully and eat the loss in parcel post shipping this time. Next time, charge more for shipping. My shipping for Monopoly-sized games is about $7.50, which covers UPS and the cost of the box very nicely, and comes pretty close in the odd cases when I need to mail them. Actually I've been thinking of bumping it up another $0.50 since the feebay price hikes.
No one seems to complain about my shipping. But then I do list all shipping prices in my auctions and do end up eating some postage once in a while (APO's and such).
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Replay Media - The best source for board games, card games and miniatures on the web! http://www.replaymedia.com
posted on February 11, 2005 08:01:05 PM
Replay charges $7.50 and has had no complaints.
I do have a thought, though. As far as I can tell, a lot of board games would fit the new Flat Rate PM shirt-size box. Maybe not Monopoly but some of the smaller ones. That would be $7.70 regardless of zone. As far as I know that would include APO/FPO, Puerto Rico, etc.
The ones shipping for $6.00 might be using FedEx or UPS or something like that and averaging the cost over all their shipments. Or they are using Media Mail, as you suspect. But, unlike you and me, not everyone is shipping to Zone 8 most of the time.
I've sent a whole lot of packages from CA to PCola and I can sympathize with you. Cheap it ain't!
posted on February 11, 2005 08:26:51 PM
The trick there is that if you use the $7.70 flat rate box, you have to pay... $7.70
I have to pay for boxes, sometimes up to a dollar. UPS for a typical Monopoly game is $5.00-$6.50 and still shows u within ONE to FOUR days anywhere in the continental USA.
At the high end, thats $6.50+$1.00=$7.50 my cost, which breaks even. MOST of the time, I do make a small profit on shipping. That beats the priority box. And also, I am using a four pound Monopoly game as an example, which as you said wouldn't fit in a Priority box that small anyway. The games that WILL fit in a box that size ship for a good bit less by UPS than $7.70.
If it's under 3 lbs, I usually prefer to go by mail (Parcel Post) as it's cheaper. If it's 3 lbs or more, I do UPS.
But it's definitely worthwile having a UPS account if you regularly sell things over 4 pounds.
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Replay Media - The best source for board games, card games and miniatures on the web! http://www.replaymedia.com
posted on February 12, 2005 01:39:11 AM
Thanks y'all. I usually ship FedEx myself, but 3 lbs has become marginal since they upped their rates in January.
I've been opting for the Flat rate box a lot more lately. FedEx rate may be cheaper, but the USPS box is free.
I quote flat rate shipping and only occasionally check to see what other seller's shipping rates are.
On something as common as games, I thought I had better check. Fortunatly the games I'll be listing are vintage combat games and there aren't many of them listed. So I'll just set my shipping at my rate $8.00.
Just a note, the USPS says the new flat rate box was the optimum size for shipping shoe boxes. That is baloney. I sold about 20 pairs of shoes NIB this month and not one of them fit in the new FR boxes!
