Shipping Of Stamps

I have been selling on ebay for 3 years.Coins,Paper Money and Stamps.In the next 2 months I will be full time selling and collecting of course.I am retiring from my day job at 55 years old. I will have a website up also. My wife has a large store too and we are combining stores to make our website. Enough about me.

What is your opinion about how do you like your small stamp orders shipped? I charge $2.25 with a padded envelope and delivery confirmation. Should I charge 50c to $1 and just mail it? I realize that a valuable stamp I will pick up the shipping with other means but I am talking say a $20 order? Is $2.25 to high?

Thanks in advance!
Jesse

i think you should go in for only registered mail, even if it is costly, the stamps would certainly reach the customer without any hassles, you would the receipt of posting it too. so no body can cheat.

warm wishes.

For individual stamps with low values of less than $20, I prefer just the basic postage cost. $2.25 is not too high for a $20 order, but it is getting steep for say a $5 order (depending on what you're selling of course, if it's individual stamps I'm thinking of.)

You can always have a shipping and handling paragraph that says for combined orders of over $X.00, shipping will be by Registered (or whatever you call it ) at a cost of $2.25, to cover when they make multiple purchases.

Balf

My minimum shipping charge is of course "free" but even for small orders I will charge at least $1.25. The issue is really around "combining" shipping. I give a reduction on a multiple sale but that's it. I remind buyers that it is shipping AND handling - and if I sell a group of five lots there is a handling factor for each lot.

You have to do what's best for you and draws in the business. I mainly sell covers, but also lots of stamps from time to time. I only charge what the post office charges by weight regardless of how many covers are shipped. A two ounce packet overseas is $2.28, domestic it's $1.39 and Canada is $1.49. Of course, the buyer gets stamps on cover when they pay for the postage. I do not charge a handling fee nor for shipping materials. Buy the shipping materials in bulk (envelopes, stiffners, etc.) and that saves a bundle over the office big box store. I only use registered mail overseas on expensive items, but always use a custom form as that stub can be used as proof of shipment.

Thanks for all the comments. I think I am doing fine right now with what I am doing with what I see from your comments. Getting known in the stamp world is really hard.REAL HARD! I think people cannot believe what I have.

I think I am going to get several stamps graded. What is the best company in your opinion??
Thanks for your help and god bless.
PS:Retired from my day job of 33 years Monday. Last day 3/31/11. I am full time now.

The term 'padded envelope' worries me. Is that a bubble envelope? If so, do not use that for stamps if you put stamps on the cover. The stamps on the cover have more chance of getting poked through and ruined somehow.

If the bubble or padded envelope is being used to provide moisture protection, then that is a good idea but would be better in a ordinary envelope with cardboard or corrugated plastic stiffener plus with a plastic bag for the stamps. Just printing 'Please Do Not Bend" on the envelope is no good. Make the envelope non-bendable as much as you can without unduly affecting weight or cost.

Some use zip-loc bags of different sizes. I like clear plastic, thin, different-sized bags that I just fold over at the end and crease from ebay seller uniquepacking. Looks nice and prevents dirty fingers touching the treasure while still allowing people to see what they have just received.

$2.25 might be a bit much. I notice a lot of US sellers charge $1 - $1.95 within the US. Some charge extra per piece but some don't.

Oh, if you are using the padded envelopes for coins and money then that is a different matter of course. Stamps should not be shipped in them though, well, maybe kiloware.

I like the idea of going by the weight of the item or items. Extra work in packaging and weighing to get the proper weight so to charge the proper postage though. Easier to just add a figure on. $0.10 - 0.50 per piece seems to be the norm, depending on which you feel covers your costs including losses of course. If one goes over 0.15 per piece that seems to discourage buyers somehow. Not all but just some.

Depends on what you are selling too.

Some sellers charge a flat rate that covers their cost on most but they loose on some orders. Evens out to be OK though.

Registered is a turn off to buyers I have noticed as everyone feels they are to be trusted and nothing will ever happen in between you and them, and if it does then well it wasn't their fault now was it? Some do not mind paying it but after a while it begins to grow tiresome for the buyer and he begins to look elsewhere I feel.

You could offer registered mail being up to the buyer to request but I am not sure on ebay's or PayPal's rules on if that slips under the rug and lets you off the hook. Probably doesn't because they are so good at leaving the whole mess up to you, their customer.

Thanks to palaniappan for the mention of always using registered. Some circumstances do demand it. Country of origin or country of destination are factors to consider. Learning to address mail correctly for different countries makes a big difference in how that mail is handled and delivered or not. Cost of registered is low in India (#3.00 USD) and other countries compared to say $13.00 CAD (or USD) in Canada or other countries (plus PayPal ++ fees if deemed necessary and bearable by the customer)

Sometimes I think a registered piece of mail attracts undue attention because there must be something valuable in it. Sometimes things fall off the truck or boat or plane before they reach their destination. A lot of that happens in the country of origin too (Canada , USA, UK, etc) rather than at the destination.

If you sell a lot if may be worth while to look into your own private insurance for your business. In Canada the Canada Post does not insure used or mint stamps or coins. It looks like you have $100 worth of insurance no matter what you stick in the envelope but read the fine print. Good for tracking and proving confirmation of delivery though.

You may be able to tell by my rant that I have quite a few gripes about things and how they are done. The best way to tell that you are doing something right is to have customers tell you, hey, that was good the way you shipped that.

The darn feedback on ebay is a pain and the only way to get automatic 5 stars on shipping is to give free shipping but unless you have people sending you money for no reason just because they like you then that is a hard thing to achieve.