# How do you determine E-BAY shipping? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197 "2003-05-05T15:30:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/1 "2003-05-05T15:30:33Z")
I have a lot of items I’d like to place on e-bay.But, I’m not sure how to determine shipping ahead of time.After I photograph the item do I box it up and take it to be weighed, or do I just pull an estimate out of what I think it might cost (I’d probably be wrong). Ideally it would be great to charge the exact cost of shipping,but I really hate the idea of having to go to the post office twice. Once to weigh the item, and once to ship it. What do most people do? ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/2 "2003-05-05T15:45:30Z")
If you know how much the item weighs or even a good estimate you can use the postal rate calculators on [www.usps.com](http://www.usps.com) or [www.ups.com](http://www.ups.com) Another thing to consider…calculate your time and effort to do the posting/shipping work @ minimum wage or whatever you feel is reasonable and add that to the shipping. If you have several auctions closing it will take less time on a per package basis and you can add less per package. If you make a habit out of e-bay selling this will be a nice boost to your income. Your time has value don’t let anyone tell you this is unexpected or inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/3 "2003-05-05T20:13:05Z")
**drachillix** is correct in that it is justifiable to charge a “shipping and handling” of whatever you want, although you should disclose it if asked prior to a sale (some sellers post it up front in the auction, some you have to ask). I have seen a couple of outrageous shipping charges. When bidding, I always figure in shipping to see what I’m actually going to end up paying. How heavy are the items you are selling? You can buy a postage scale at Staples for anywhere from a few bucks, depending on the capacity you need. I think I paid around $20 for a 10-pound scale. The first pound is in ounce increments so I use it in the kitchen, too! I think most buyers do what I do and figure in shipping to their bid. So I had very good luck with an opposite tack. I posted an item with shipping and handling included in final purchase price. This bit of marketing may have given me a psychological competetive edge against similar items, and it sold for more than my reserve. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/4 "2003-05-05T21:19:52Z")
You have to weigh it already packed in the box first. My shipping is pretty consistent: UPS = $1lb USPS Priority=$2lb (except what fits in a Priority mail envelope which has no weight limit). ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/5 "2003-05-06T11:02:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*(except what fits in a Priority mail envelope which has no weight limit). \*\* Really… I think it’d be a great joke to try to mail a teaspoon or so of, say, something really dense. A black hole wouldn’t fill a teaspoon and would destroy the Earth, but maybe some other type of collapsed star? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/6 "2003-05-06T13:48:00Z")
One of my first purchases of Ebay was a postal scale. It weighs up to 5 pounds and I have always been able to give the exact amount of shipping charges for my auctions. It only cost $30 (plus $7.50 shipping and handling) and has been a very good investment. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/7 "2003-05-06T14:23:46Z")
I usually tell people in my auction that the S&H is a certain fee, which I figured out as the above posts suggest. For some rather large items (I’ve sold a photo-enlarger and some large electronics) I mentioned in the ad that there would be a range of shipping costs depending on location and to e-mail me for a firm quote based on their zip code. I also sent a lens to Japan for a collector, charged him a (very small) fee for handling and the actual shipping charges. He wanted it ASAP and he wired me the money. When I’m bidding, I like to see a quote for S&H. On large items or items with no quote in the auction, I e-mail them and ask before considering bidding. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/8 "2003-05-06T16:24:27Z")
If you’re crafty you can make a link on your auction to a USPS or UPS rate calculator by zip code & state buyer pays actual shipping. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@jacobsta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/9 "2003-05-06T19:10:57Z")
When we sold off our old TV station equipment (some of it quite heavy) we boxed it all, weighed it on a bathroom scale and rounded up to the nearest full pound. We then went to the UPS rate calculator and got the shipping rate to a residential address in California (we were in NY), and said that “Buyer Pays Actual Shipping, which in the Contiguous US should be around $XX.XX or less”. We then got an actual rate quote to their zip code from the UPS site with our slightly rounded up weight and had them pay that amount. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-determine-e-bay-shipping/173197/10 "2003-05-06T21:27:06Z")
I just sold some camera lens & the buyer who said that shipping I asked for wasn’t enough so they sent me $6. Then when they got it, they noticed it was another $7, so they sent that to me too. I think thats funny cause in my ad I stated $4 shipping 🙂