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 Replies: 20 / Views: 3,924 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1326 Posts |
The seller messaged me to say he got the coins. He was pleased that I was polite and responsive to his original message and left me nice feedback.
I'm a new, lower-end seller with a lot of silver coins. My original plan was to sell mixed lots with tracked shipping. But I found that I move coins better if I sell smaller, cheaper lots. I will still use tracked shipping in some cases, but for coins of lesser value I try to keep shipping down.
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Moderator
 United States
54283 Posts |
Ship with tracking, tracking shows delivered, you win. Ship with tracking, tracking does not show delivered, you lose. Ship without tracking, you lose. Never ship, you lose. The last two, you can't prove the difference to ebay (or a buyer), even with a receipt that you sent something on that day. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1326 Posts |
Without straying too much off the OP, I can't emphasize enough how many listings I see on e-bay with $3.50 shipping on items that aren't even worth that much, or little more than the $3.50. I hate to take the risk of untracked shipping, but it is more economic in some cases.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
It's only more economic until you run into people that decide to open a case and get the item for free. Tracking protects the seller not the buyer. As long as you understand the risk of shipping untracked it's certainly up to you how you want to do it
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2843 Posts |
I started off shipping without tracking. I never had a issue. But when the value of the items I was shipping began to increase I started to ship everything with tracking.
It is also required in order to be top rated, which results in lower fees.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5683 Posts |
The difference between shipping with tracking and USPS first class without tracking is nearly $2 for a one ounce letter (including a non-machinable fee). If you're sending items less than $20 and losing fewer than 10% of them, you come out ahead without paying for tracking. In reality, closer to 1 or 2% may go missing and have to get refunded. It's like being self-insured. And for me it's not worth it to get the minimal break in ebay fees to stay top-rated. Higher value items, I agree it's best with tracking. |
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
For low cost coins (under $20), tracking isn't worth the cost. At an additional $2 or so per shipment for tracking, you are better off saving on the shipping costs and just paying for the refund. Plus, its not even worth the time to file all the paperwork. It has only happened to me only a few times. I sell things on ebay besides just coins, and if they are low priced, they go without tracking if it is lower cost. The few times someone said they didn't get anything, I just refunded them the money right away as long as there was sufficient time to account for slow mail delivery. Remember that "Media Mail" (which I use for other purchases) can take up to 2 weeks across country! Just a potential "cost of doing business" by mail. For higher priced items, definitely only ship with tracking.. And insurance! Like was pointed out, if it costs you an extra $2 to ship a $20 item, it is much more economical to just "self insure" as long as your "loss rate" is very low (which it should be). Plus, a lot less hassle and makes your customer happier. Michael |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
900 Posts |
I just sold my first items this week on ebay, mostly mint sets going for under $10. The heaviest item was about 8 ounces, and all items were enclosed in bubble mailer envelopes. I used the ebay shipping options for USPS First Class, and the rates were $2.66 - $2.92 depending on weight, and it seamlessly provides a tracking number. Mailers cost me 15-30 cents each depending on size. If I wanted to ship with the media mailer, would I be able to use the shipping options via ebay? I haven't seen that as an option. The USPS site lists media mail as starting at $2.66. I'm confused. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
Media mail is only available for books, CDs, DVDs, printed music or other manuscripts that represent physical media. Coins do not qualify for media mail.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
900 Posts |
Let me be more specific. What option do you have to send a low value coin inside a bubble mailer via USPS without a tracking number? Send it as a letter? Can you print a shipping label for this via ebay? What is the rate? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5683 Posts |
First class postage for a bubble mailer includes tracking and will cost $2.66 via ebay for up to 4 oz. But if you sell single coins and send them in a first class letter with some cardboard protection, it will cost 71 cents (50 cents for 1 oz, plus 21 cents for a non-machinable surcharge). The letter has to be less than 1/4" thick and should be clearly marked "non-machinable". You can't buy this postage via ebay, and there is no tracking. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36880 Posts |
Always ship with a tracking number or it's your word against his.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
900 Posts |
@Zurie Thanks, that's what I was looking for.
@IndianGoldEagle At this point, I will keep using a tracking number, because I have a zero seller rating and I just don't want the headache of negative feedback. If I had a much higher volume of sales with a good seller rating, I would consider sending the low value stuff without tracking. Of course, once you establish a good rating, then do you want to risk it? There's the dilemma.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1326 Posts |
Jadey, for lower-cost packages I typically use 6-1/2 inch evelopes. I try to package the coins in a way that they don't shift much in transit, and I use clear tape to strengthen the envelope and to prevent tampering. I've successfully sent multiple-coin lots this way. If the package is close to an ounce, I put an extra 21-cent stamp on (Zurie gives good advice on this). My understanding is that the 21-c stamps each allow an extra ounce, though I would think about using a different envelope when you have a heavy package.
Remember to manually mark the package as "sent" when you do so. I agree that for higher-value items one should use tracking with bubble envelope.
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Posted 10/19/2018 09:12 am
