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How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Currently i'm using USPS first class and paying $1.93 but that's way to much since the items i sell don't go over $3.

If i up the price my buyers stop coming and if i don't do anything my profits pay the price (currently only making 20 - 30 cents on one of my listings).

I requested a quote from DHL (seeing that most ebay sellers use them they must be very cheap) but i have never heard back from them :(

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

How your competitors (if any) ships they items?

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

They ship with DHL.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

You might need a large business account to make shipping cheaper then...

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

What sort of $ are you spending on shipping per month

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Was selling cheap jewelry to build feedback on accounts and had the same problem…

I just stopped paying the $1.93 for First Class package… paid $.49 postage, put it in a regular envelope and shipped without tracking.

If a buyer wants to scam me and say they never got the item, they would of course get away with it, but 9/10 times that doesn't happen. And if it does, I am only losing $.50 on the item, but I am gaining $1.00 extra profit on the successful transactions, so it makes sense.

If your items are at a very cheap cost to you, consider this.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

I actually was considering this but the price of postage varies from destination. If i was shipping from FL to NY maybe $.49 would be ok but if i was shipping to CA then it could cost anywhere between $2.00 - $3.00.

@JamesNorth101

I'm spending about 193 bucks a month (since i only have a hundred limit on my account).

@rsot

I'm trying to expand into a large business but i can't do so without cheap shipping.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

I think the last person was saying that he/she used "forever stamps" inside untracked mail envelops to ship his/her small items. They are currently 49 cents anywhere within the US. I think you must-of used some kind of other shipping method to get your price of $2-3.

I have used the same method of using "stamps" to ship very small items without tracking. The cheapest shipping method with tracking will be USPS 1st class mail. It will not get cheaper than this. You can get commercial rates but you will need to ship a lot of items and the price will not be much cheaper.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

$1.93 is the commercial rate. I don't think there is anyway to ship cheaper. I will check DHL if I remember to get into the system while at work but I doubt that DHL is any cheaper.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

I thought forever stamps was the same thing as normal stamps? can i use forever stamps on my 4x8 padded envelopes? or would i need to use normal mail envelopes?

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

If you use normal mail envelopes and are using USPS first class letter service (the service you would use if you were sending a letter to a friend and dropping it in a mailbox) it should only be .49 cents to anywhere within the U.S. Look on their website for the rules and regulations regarding first class letter envelopes. I believe there are restrictions on weight and thickness of contents within the envelope to qualify for the .49 cents rate.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

It's all so damn confusing! one guy told me i would have to pay $1,00+ and the USPS price calculator says i only need to pay $0.92... there's no damn straight answer.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

USPS has a thickness gauge at their offices that you can use to check your padded envelopes. I was selling cheap key chains and using USPS regular mail $.49 anywhere in the US. Good luck.

BTW, I used to manage the shipping dept. for a medical device co. & you have to ship a whole lot of stuff to get even a small discount from any carrier.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

were you using the standard white mailing envelope? i'm thinking about using this but i don't know if it will damage my items. They are made out of stainless steel and are increably small (so you wouldn't know if they were in the envelope).

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Yes but I taped the flat flat key chain to an 8 1/2 X 11 piece of paper so it would not move around. I mailed myself a test and it worked.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

DHL is going to be MUCH MUCH MUCH more expensive than first class mail. When did DHL resume domestic shipping?

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

USPS is cheapest under 13 oz's. You could try .49 cent stamps but they have computers watching thickness sometimes....
It's cheap because the USPS is in the red each year for 18 billion dollars!

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

DHL only ships internationally. You can't ship within the US with DHL from what I heard.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Does DHL have something like FedEx Smartpost or the UPS version?

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

FedEx is a better option - business account

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Going to be very hard to get down below that amount.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Pigeons.....
http://pigeonracingpigeons.files.wor...2/commando.jpg

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

DHL has global mail and yes it does ship domestically and internationally. People who sell items for like 2.00 - 3.00 dollars use it on ebay, i know because i bougth two $1.99 items and both were shipped with DHL global mail. So the shipping has to be cheaper (i mean only in bulk of course). But ya i'm gonna try the .49 cent forever stamp because that's probably the cheapest. I just hope my buyers don't get angry because they receive a normal envelope with their items inside.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Sounds like some form of Global Smart post to me. I highly doubt actual DHL trucks are delivering items that are $1.99. USPS delivers all smart post stuff wether it is UPS or Fedex because they hit those mail boxes no matter what. UPS/FedEx is the one that drops off all the packages at the Center where it goes on the USPS Trucks/Cars for delivery.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Yes this is what DHL global mail does. You hand the package over to them they ship it to your buyers state and they hand it over to USPS.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Here is my solution for you bro! Since you selling cheap stuff and not making much!

Forget selling 1 at a time, sell 2 or 3 at a time. Therefore you pay 2 or 3 oz and still cost you $1.93 but you yet sold 2 or 3 at a time! Now profits go way up. Because you sold the same amount of weight in shipping.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Yes but you don't understand, i won't make any money. People on ebay are doing what you suggested and only have between 20 - 50 sales within 3 months!

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

I sells product that arn't big on profits but do sell a lot and profit on it. Mostly feedback.

That are low price.

Then I have my main items that earn me cash.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Honestly you have to take a look at what you are selling and making right now because 20-30 cents on an item is almost nothing. The time it takes you to package and ship each item is almost not even worth that. If you have a return or a lost item, you're probably going to have to sell 5-10 more items just to offset that loss.

The only time you should be selling for 20-30 cents profit is to build feedback or if you are selling 1000 items a day and using a dropshiper to ship the items and do all the work.

Re: How can i lower my shipping cost?
 

Single small unit shipping with DHL is too pricey - not even a feasible option.