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Shipping Options on eBay.
eBay is wonderful in that it allows the seller to specify what kind of shipping they offer. It also has shipping calculators built in to help you decide how much to charge for shipping. I use these tools quite often, however, I also research other listings to see what the going rate is for the shipment of the item, and the choices the sellers are offering their buyers.
Around the holidays I always offer priority shipping. It costs more, but the customer is probably Christmas shopping and would appreciate getting their package in plenty of time to gift it before December 26th. 
The rest of the time I decide which options to offer according to the item and what others are offering. I figure if someone is buying a used shirt off eBay they probably aren’t in a huge hurry for it and would appreciate cheap shipping; parcel post, ups ground, etc. If I’m selling a NEW item I try to offer something fast in addition to regular mail. That way if the person is looking for a gift they are assured they will receive the item in time.
Personally I don’t ship outside the continental US. While the customers in Alaska and Hawaii are just as friendly and willing to spend money on my item as anyone else, I don’t sell enough to offset shipping to those states and I don’t like having to charge them extra. Besides, if the post office says they can ship Media Mail in 2-9 days, and I ship to and island just off Hawaii it’s not guaranteed to be there within 5 days. Believe me, I’ve tried it and the customer was not very happy that his package took so long (2 months!!!) to arrive!
When calculating shipping costs add a little extra for “handling.” This will help to cover you eBay fees. Note that this is completely acceptable and even expected. If you charge $7 to ship an item and your package arrives at the buyer’s door with a $5 postage label they aren’t going to throw a fit. (unless they are just a jerk and are looking for something to complain about!!) Remember, they saw the amount you were charging for shipping before they bid on your item. Evidently they accepted that and felt it was worth the price, so why should they fuss about it later?
When buying on eBay, shipping is always a bit of a problem since the shipping costs are related with the distance between the buyer and the seller.
But it's nice to know that eBay does it again and offers everything the seller might need and especially shipping calculators.
eBay is slowly changing the way people are doing their selling and their shopping. It's a breath of fresh air if you ask me.
Free shipping is a great option if you remember to factor that into your item price. You can also use the USPS Priority Mail Flat Rates and ship whatever will fit in the box or envelope for one price. That has been a nice option for me over the Christmas rush. Plus, 2-3 day shipping is great for customer up to a week before Christmas.
Justin
Yea, those flat rate boxes are AWESOME! The low or free shipping items will often make your item stand out, even when you've factored in the price. There is something about seeing the shipping price on there and wondering if you're being ripped off. When you remove that doubt and say Free Shipping (then factor in) it puts the buyer at ease!
Thanks for the comment/tips! It's been a long while since I revisited this series… don't think there eas such a thing as 'flat rate priority' when I wrote it. haha
Free shipping is a great option if you remember to factor that into your item price. You can also use the USPS Priority Mail Flat Rates and ship whatever will fit in the box or envelope for one price. That has been a nice option for me over the Christmas rush. Plus, 2-3 day shipping is great for customer up to a week before Christmas.
Justin
Yea, those flat rate boxes are AWESOME! The low or free shipping items will often make your item stand out, even when you've factored in the price. There is something about seeing the shipping price on there and wondering if you're being ripped off. When you remove that doubt and say Free Shipping (then factor in) it puts the buyer at ease!
Thanks for the comment/tips! It's been a long while since I revisited this series… don't think there eas such a thing as 'flat rate priority' when I wrote it. haha
Erica have you sold on eBay lately? Have you tried selling on any other sites like Pricegrabber or some of the new ones? I’m just curious.
No, I have a bunch of stuff I need to list on Ebay, but I haven’t had
time lately to get all the photos and do the listings.
And no, I haven’t tried other sites. I’m really happy with Ebay.