Top Ten Internet Auction Shipping Tips
Here are some tips to help you with your Internet auction
shipments. 1. Ship Small, Lightweight Products The heavier and bulkier the product, the more it will cost
to ship. Pick light items in preference to heavier items.
Of course, downloadable e-books are the lightest product of
all. On the other hand, if your customers want your heavy
and bulky items badly enough, they should be willing to
pay for the extra shipping charges. 2. Ship Nonphysical Products Having to ship physical products means more work. You need
to pack and label your products, calculate shipping
charges, and arrange for the orders to be shipped. Again,
electronic downloads eliminate the hassles of physical
shipping. However, tangible goods seem to have a higher
perceived value. That being the case, you won't want to
eliminate physical products entirely as they can be real
profit makers for you. 3. Drop Shipping Another way to avoid some of the hassles of product
fulfillment is drop shipping. There are suppliers who will
ship one item at a time for you. You don`t have to stock
any inventory. You simply pay your dropship supplier out
of the money you receive from your auction sale. They will
ship the product directly to your customer. 4. Recycle If you receive bubble wrap, styrofoam peanuts, bubble
bags, or appropriate cardboard boxes, you may be able to
reuse them for your shipments. 5. Bulk Buying If you do a lot of auctions, buy your packaging supplies
in bulk to receive better pricing. 6. Free Shipping Supplies Your post office or courier company may supply free
shipping cartons for certain shipments. 7. Use Online Automated Tools You can determine shipping charges from PayPal, the postal
service and courier companies by visiting their websites
and using the online automated shipping calculation tools.
In many cases, you can even create prepaid shipping
labels and then arrange for pickup or dropoff of your
shipments. 8. Avoid Fragile Items Obviously, fragile items need to be packed with more
care than unbreakable items. Pick durable items in
preference to delicate items to reduce damage claims. 9. Insure Valuable Shipments If you can't afford the loss of a lost, stolen, or
damaged product, be sure to insure your shipment.
While you're at it, request a delivery confirmation,
preferably with signature required. 10. Prepare Foreign Shipments Properly Be sure to prepare the proper Customs Declaration for
international shipments. Keep in mind that there are
items you can't legally ship. Even your packing
material should be considered. As an example, items
shipped in a box labelled "liquor" or "munitions"
might be delayed at Customs.
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