Shipping Costs - I am shocked

[Lone_Poor_Boy]

I have not paid attention to shipping costs for a long time as I have shipped out very little myself. For many years. I sold and shipped a lot via eBay over a decade ago so that's probably my last reference.

But I have a lot of gear I want to sell just to clean up; starting with smaller stuff like pedals, FX and modeler units, then a couple guitars, and then an amp or two. So I started refreshing on Reverb (I've bought 3 items there) and what I need to do to ship and, having been burnt about 7 years ago when I put 4 or 5 items up on eBay and 'guess-timated' shipping, I want to get shipping costs dialed in.

Based on what I've seen so far, shipping has really increased a lot. It's almost ridiculous what it costs us to ship a guitar pedal, or a bread box, when Amazon will drive a can of green chile to my door for the cost of an annual Prime membership. I can't help but think our personal shipping costs aren't subsidizing all the supposed free shipping we see everywhere. How? How did that not really change when gas doubled in price a few years back? Sorry, just ranting.

Anyway... I am really gun shy of starting to sell unless I get a better feel for how to best estimate; or calculate, shipping.

So please give me your tips, wisdom, experience advice, etc.

Moderators; I wasn't sure where to post this so I apologize if I was off target.

 

[Peegoo]

@Lone_Poor_Boy

Every package handling company has an online calculator. Here's USPS:

Retail Postage Price Calculator

postcalc.usps.com

 

[widefault]

If you sell on Reverb, absolutely get your labels through them. UPS and FedEx add an oversize charge of ~$25 to any package over a certain size, which will include about 90% of guitar boxes. Reverb has a deal with UPS, so that charge is waived on labels you get through them. They also get discounts on smaller sizes through most carriers. I also spring for Reverb's "insurance" which is 2% of the item sale price, but is much easier to deal with than the carriers in case of damage. Sold a cheap tele copy, package got El Kabonged and the neck pocket cracked. Buyer got in touch with me to see if I had paid for the Reverb coverage, contacted them, Reverb made him happy, and I didn't even have to get involved.

Also, Reverb does have a shipping calculator when you list your item so you can get an estimate if you have your weight and box size.

 

[Deeve]

If you sell on Reverb, absolutely get your labels through them. UPS and FedEx add an oversize charge of ~$25 to any package over a certain size, which will include about 90% of guitar boxes. Reverb has a deal with UPS, so that charge is waived on labels you get through them. They also get discounts on smaller sizes through most carriers. I also spring for Reverb's "insurance" which is 2% of the item sale price, but is much easier to deal with than the carriers in case of damage. Sold a cheap tele copy, package got El Kabonged and the neck pocket cracked. Buyer got in touch with me to see if I had paid for the Reverb coverage, contacted them, Reverb made him happy, and I didn't even have to get involved.

Also, Reverb does have a shipping calculator when you list your item so you can get an estimate if you have your weight and box size.

Ultra small-time seller myself.
The reverb seller assistance - labels, calculators, insurance - make it easier for me to be an ultra small-time seller. . .

 

[Vibroluxer]

If you sell on Reverb, absolutely get your labels through them. UPS and FedEx add an oversize charge of ~$25 to any package over a certain size, which will include about 90% of guitar boxes. Reverb has a deal with UPS, so that charge is waived on labels you get through them. They also get discounts on smaller sizes through most carriers. I also spring for Reverb's "insurance" which is 2% of the item sale price, but is much easier to deal with than the carriers in case of damage. Sold a cheap tele copy, package got El Kabonged and the neck pocket cracked. Buyer got in touch with me to see if I had paid for the Reverb coverage, contacted them, Reverb made him happy, and I didn't even have to get involved.

Also, Reverb does have a shipping calculator when you list your item so you can get an estimate if you have your weight and box size.

This.

 

[moosie]

I have not paid attention to shipping costs for a long time as I have shipped out very little myself. For many years. I sold and shipped a lot via eBay over a decade ago so that's probably my last reference.

But I have a lot of gear I want to sell just to clean up; starting with smaller stuff like pedals, FX and modeler units, then a couple guitars, and then an amp or two. So I started refreshing on Reverb (I've bought 3 items there) and what I need to do to ship and, having been burnt about 7 years ago when I put 4 or 5 items up on eBay and 'guess-timated' shipping, I want to get shipping costs dialed in.

Based on what I've seen so far, shipping has really increased a lot. It's almost ridiculous what it costs us to ship a guitar pedal, or a bread box, when Amazon will drive a can of green chile to my door for the cost of an annual Prime membership. I can't help but think our personal shipping costs aren't subsidizing all the supposed free shipping we see everywhere. How? How did that not really change when gas doubled in price a few years back? Sorry, just ranting.

Anyway... I am really gun shy of starting to sell unless I get a better feel for how to best estimate; or calculate, shipping.

So please give me your tips, wisdom, experience advice, etc.

Moderators; I wasn't sure where to post this so I apologize if I was off target.

ShipStation
If you're planning to ship a fair bit over the next few months, to clear out some stuff, consider signing up for ShipStation. One month free trial, and then the basic plan is $10/month for up to 50 shipments.

What this gets you is access to their fantastic UPS rates. Also good USPS rates, though I rarely use anything except UPS. Their shipping rates are so much better than what you can get via Reverb, eBay, Paypal, etc, that you'll cover the monthly cost almost immediately.

In addition, their software makes shipping so much easier. SS is geared to business, especially pro marketplace sellers (Etsy, ebay, Amazon, etfc). But it's easy to create what they call "Manual Orders". I don't know if they tie in with Reverb, but if so, that's another win.

I run an Etsy business, and started using SS a year ago. The cost savings has been huge, as has the savings in time.


USPS Pickups
If you ship USPS Priority (and you're in the US I guess), request a pickup from usps.com, or the app. As long as you schedule it for when they're normally delivering mail, it's free. Even if you don't have any mail inbound that day, they'll still swing by for the pickup.

Remember, you're already printing your labels yourself, purchased either from Shipstation, or any number of higher-priced places: Reverb, Paypal, or usps.com (usps is the most expensive online source, but still better than walking up to the counter.)



Even with great rates, you still need the buyer to pay for the shipping. Buyers like "free shipping". I'm in Connecticut, so I use a zip code of a faraway place like Bellingham, WA to calculate the maximum I'll pay to ship in the lower 48. I multiply that by the platform overhead. (Etsy takes about 9.5% including credit card processing, so if the label to Bellingham costs $15, I add 15 x 1.095 to the selling price). If the buyer is on my side of the Mississippi, I may offer to refund the difference in shipping, but maybe not, depending.

If negotiation is tight, I may ask for the buyer's zip code, to see how much wiggle room I have.

 

[tery]

If the shipping charge is added on to the purchase price and you pay by charge card, you also pay interest on the shipping - cool.

 

[teletail]

If you sell on Reverb, get ready to bend over. Pay attention to their charges. I sold my last guitar on there a few weeks ago. The guitar sold for $2,800, fees were $250. Shipping, which they estimated at $60 was $120. I know it’s my own fault for not paying attention, but prices have gone way up since last time I sold something. I won’t ever sell anything there again.

 

[Lone_Poor_Boy]

If you sell on Reverb, get ready to bend over. Pay attention to their charges. I sold my last guitar on there a few weeks ago. The guitar sold for $2,800, fees were $250. Shipping, which they estimated at $60 was $120. I know it’s my own fault for not paying attention, but prices have gone way up since last time I sold something. I won’t ever sell anything there again.

Exactly what I'm trying to avoid. It certainly used to be simpler, and a lot cheaper.

Thanks to all with the helpful comments.

 

[schmee]

I have not paid attention to shipping costs for a long time as I have shipped out very little myself. For many years. I sold and shipped a lot via eBay over a decade ago so that's probably my last reference.

But I have a lot of gear I want to sell just to clean up; starting with smaller stuff like pedals, FX and modeler units, then a couple guitars, and then an amp or two. So I started refreshing on Reverb (I've bought 3 items there) and what I need to do to ship and, having been burnt about 7 years ago when I put 4 or 5 items up on eBay and 'guess-timated' shipping, I want to get shipping costs dialed in.

Based on what I've seen so far, shipping has really increased a lot. It's almost ridiculous what it costs us to ship a guitar pedal, or a bread box, when Amazon will drive a can of green chile to my door for the cost of an annual Prime membership. I can't help but think our personal shipping costs aren't subsidizing all the supposed free shipping we see everywhere. How? How did that not really change when gas doubled in price a few years back? Sorry, just ranting.

Anyway... I am really gun shy of starting to sell unless I get a better feel for how to best estimate; or calculate, shipping.

So please give me your tips, wisdom, experience advice, etc.

Moderators; I wasn't sure where to post this so I apologize if I was off target.

Yep, it's become impossible to sell a speaker or other things really due to shipping costs. A 12" speaker will cost you $25-30 to ship!
One good thing is if you sell on Ebay or Reverb , use their shipping service! (you just print a label from them). It's a HUGE discount. More savings than the fees for selling often.
I sold a guitar a couple years ago. I have a Fedex account and my cost to ship was quoted as $71! Using Reverb's shipping the cost was $38 !

 

[tery]

It may be cheaper to throw it away than to ship it.

 

[ChrisDowning]

If you use one of the postage comparison sites you won't go far wrong and you'll see what's what and the plusses and downs on each option. Here in the UK, a speaker is about £6 to send around the UK. But consider selling or PXing at a shop. Most shops want to be selling your stuff on at a 60% margin which sounds tough but they have a way better chance of getting a good price than you or me on eBay or Reverb AND we have the faff of sending it, packaging which is a pain, and postage costs, and the eBay Reverb commissions. You'll find a shop a much better experience if it's a proper shop and not a big chain - for example I wouldn't consider Andertons, as big as they are, a big chain - it's a family business.

 

[ChrisDowning]

It may be cheaper to throw it away than to ship it.

Def. Don't mess around trying to squeeze the last $10 out of a trade that's costing you hours to land.
You could be practicing or winning the next job out there. Use your time wisely.

 

[RobRiggs]

I ship UPS every day. We used to get rate updates (price increases) a couple times a year. Now it is, no exaggeration, a couple times a week. Really worth considering when you’re selling something out of your area.

 

[KC]

I have used PirateShip recently & it was cheap. Don't have to join anything though you will get a few annoying emails in fake pirate dialect.

 

[trandy9850]

If you sell it on Reverb definitely take advantage of their discounted shipping rates.

I just sold a bass and the Reverb shipping rate, with full insurance, was only $74.00….without Reverb it would have been $106.90.

 

[guitarmikey]

If the shipping charge is added on to the purchase price and you pay by charge card, you also pay interest on the shipping - cool.

Yeah, that’s a huge problem. Living in Eu, if I wanna buy a guitar part from US, also have to pay Taxes to the cost of transportation! Not only for the product. What?!

 

[mudbelly]

I'm a tuba player and you might can imagine some of the problems faced shipping this large instrument.

I saw a guy who shipped one for $50 packing and $625 shipping. He was happy with the price. Apparently you can save a few bucks by shipping to a business, the local music store where the buyer picked it up.

 

[Colo Springs E]

If you sell on Reverb, get ready to bend over. Pay attention to their charges. I sold my last guitar on there a few weeks ago. The guitar sold for $2,800, fees were $250. Shipping, which they estimated at $60 was $120. I know it’s my own fault for not paying attention, but prices have gone way up since last time I sold something. I won’t ever sell anything there again.

I sold some sunglasses on ebay for $80. The ebay fee was $11 and the shipping was $13. I should have just given them to a friend or family member. Lesson learned.

 

[Bob M]

I recently sold a handwired Champ to someone who drove 2 hours to get to my place. They were grateful to avoid taxes and shipping.

I was in the shipping business in my working life and the discounts we used to get from UPS were obscene. We used to make a lot of profit on the shipping.