fourcatmom Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I have a few pieces of curriculum that I would like to sell but I have been waiting until I had been around awhile so that people could "get to know me" better. I haven't really done much shipping so I wanted to get some advice about paypal, shipping and any other advice that you can share before I post my items. I want to make sure that I am being fair to everyone involved. There's been a lot of talk about paypal and I will look into that more but what about shipping? Some of these books are quite heavy. Are there certain ways to ship that are better or cheaper for the buyer? Also, what about confirmation. My understanding is that I pay for that. Hoping to post some things this week. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 bump :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Someone must have something to say about selling curriculum :confused1: Is there a whole thread or forum that I am missing that deals with how to sell on TWTM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murmer Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 So here is my thoughts as a buyer for how ever little that is worth: Price your items to include paypal fees and shipping (most people say ppd to show that the price includes all of this) You can use media mail to ship books but if there is something other than books/dvd/cds it needs to go 1st or priority, which both cost more. I think some sellers weigh their items before they list so they have an idea of how much shipping will be. Paypal puts all the onus on the seller to ensure that their items arrive, that means it is the seller's responsibility to get Delivery Confirmation and it is encouraged to get insurance. If the item is not received proven by Delivery confirmation there is a chance that the buyer can go to paypal and get their money back. I think that paypal offers delivery confirmation with their shipping labels for way less then the post office. Hope some of this helps, I have never sold but I have bought quite a bit and have even had to use the paypal protection with a scammer once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Thank you. That is helpful. I didn't realize about printing labels at home, thank for that info too. I guess that's what stops me from selling is that it seems so expensive to ship via the PO. I think you can get a flat rate box but it's about $9.00 and that's too much for shipping. I don't want to loose money either and I am afraid I will by not having enough experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelovearth Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 It's really a lot cheaper if you can ship via media mail. If you have a scale at home you can package everything up and figure out how much it weighs and then go to usps.com and figure out how much shipping will be. Paypal usually charges a couple of bucks for receiving money. I'm not sure exactly what the percentage is. When I list something, I usually do ppd (postage paid). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 It's really a lot cheaper if you can ship via media mail. If you have a scale at home you can package everything up and figure out how much it weighs and then go to usps.com and figure out how much shipping will be. Paypal usually charges a couple of bucks for receiving money. I'm not sure exactly what the percentage is. When I list something, I usually do ppd (postage paid). Is there a cheap place to buy boxes or do you just save what you have. I don't have any at the moment and a large bag might not hold the big books very well. So If I list something for $40 ppd then I am including the shipping price in that. I am paying for pay pal seller fees and confirmation. Correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 You can post this kind of thing on the main For Sale or Trade forum. You might get more responses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 You can post this kind of thing on the main For Sale or Trade forum. You might get more responses. Thanks. I didn't think they wanted discussions there but your right, more people might respond. I do think I got the information that I was looking for though. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelovearth Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Is there a cheap place to buy boxes or do you just save what you have. I don't have any at the moment and a large bag might not hold the big books very well. So If I list something for $40 ppd then I am including the shipping price in that. I am paying for pay pal seller fees and confirmation. Correct? We have a store called 3 Bears and they are a costco type store where they box things up for you instead of using bags. I just go there when I need some boxes. They always have 'em and don't mind me just taking them. You can ask for boxes at any of the grocery or hardware stores, etc. If they have them, they'll just give them to you. Yes, when you list ppd, it includes the shipping and the paypal fees. I think it's tacky to ask for pp fees later. I actually usually don't even account for those. I may miss out a little on that but I still think I'm getting a good deal. I just make sure I get the shipping right and try to make the price fair. I don't use the shipping label from pp. I honestly didn't know it was cheaper than the post office. I always thougth it'd be more expensive but I just never looked into that before. I usually just send media mail with no confirmation unless it's something expensive. Then I'll get insurance just to be sure. I've never had anything go missing. For heavy books, you really need to put them into a good box. They throw and toss things around pretty good at the post office and you wouldn't want it to break open and then get lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in LV Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Paypal charges a fee $.30 + 3% of the total amount (a little more if the money is coming from outside the country, like Canada). You can factor that into what you're charging. Like a PP mentioned, I get lots of free boxes at the grocery store. They usually do a lot of shelf-stocking in the morning. They're always more than willing to let me take whatever I want. Even in a box, I would put some type of padding around the books - bubble wrap is best, but squished up newspaper can work. If you're just sending a single smaller book or CD, you can wrap it in bubble wrap & put it in a large envelope, which keeps shipping costs down. I would stay away from the prepaid boxes. They are so expensive unless you're sending something extremely heavy. But I think media mail is still cheaper for heavy books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Like a PP mentioned, I get lots of free boxes at the grocery store. They usually do a lot of shelf-stocking in the morning. They're always more than willing to let me take whatever I want. Around here, the best place for bigger boxes is the likker store. I save up my Amazon boxes and padding and use those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelovearth Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Paypal charges a fee $.30 + 3% of the total amount That's good to know. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 That's good to know. Thanks! Thank you. All this is good information. I appreciate the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welltrainedmami Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I had the same questions and concerns. This has been very helpful. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I have bought/sold books for 10+ years online, and my standard packaging for one or maybe two similar-sized books is a paper grocery bag (as long as it will wrap around the item more than once). Very cheap and readily available. In all the years I've been shipping books this way, I've never had one book not arrive safe and sound. I wrap and tape well. There's a homeschoolers buy/sell group on Facebook, too, if you're interested (see link below). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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