The Roundup: March 30, 2004
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1. Editor's MusingsBe alert tomorrow. It's April Fools Day (in my part of the world)! It's meant to be fun, but I wonder if the virus writers will pick this day to unleash yet another malware attack on the Internet world 2. Shipping Issues for Online Auction Sellers by The Staff at the Online Auction AcademySince the changes made by the Post Office earlier this year in parcel and package postage costs, a lot of confusion has come up among sellers. It's a now-known fact that by posting shipping fees (especially reasonable fees) on your auction listing, you'll raise your number of bids dramatically. Some sellers use their shipping fees as a "fill-in" to boost profits. While this seems sly to some, many bidders consider this to be dishonest and many is the seller who finds him or herself confronted with neutral or negative feedback because of this practice. The costs of shipping are a very important part of any online business - especially selling at online auction. Many sellers who were die-hard users of the US Post Office's Priority Mail have switched to standard parcel post. After all, the USPS no longer guarantees delivery times on Priority packages and they are generally arriving in about the same time a parcel package would anyway. If you are selling books, sheafs of papers, etc. offering slower (but much cheaper) shipping via Media Mail is another great alternative. While the delivery times are slow, the costs are substantially lower. If you are using Priority Mail envelopes or boxes because they are free, you may wish to reconsider. Find a standard box of about the same size and weigh it. Now compare the weight with that of the box you received from the USPS. Chances are that government box is heavier. By using your own boxes AND shipping items at parcel instead of priority, you may save yourself money overall - the box may have cost you forty cents, but the shipping savings may be sixty or more. Definitely something to look at as that twenty cents can make a difference to either your pocket book or the price of your auction! For those of you using those Priority Boxes as parcel or other post boxes (usually by opening them and turning them inside-out) be aware that if you are caught, the Post Office does levy fines. Another thing to remember is that too much padding is a bad thing. Try to find other ways to cut down on the weight of your packages. Use bubble envelopes, smaller boxes, lighter packing materials (peanuts or air bubbles instead of newspaper, for example), etc. Many sellers visit local businesses that receive packages regularly and take their packing materials (that they were going to have to recycle or throw away) off their hands for free - gaining free shipping materials for their troubles. If you ship through other services, such as UPS and FedEx, try shopping a little. You may find that one is better than the other on some items. If you do your shipping through Office Max, Mail Boxes Etc., and similar stores, you can do this without making multiple trips to different shippers. Plus many of these stores give better rates than you may be getting by going directly to the shipping counter at UPS or FedEx - they are passing their own discounts for volume shipping to you! Shipping is an area that many sellers worry about once and then forget. It pays to be vigilant in watching your shipping costs and making sure they are continually fine-tuned to save you and your buyers money. ================================================ 3. Product Recommendation: ***StockMyStore.com
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