eBay sellers are experiencing a unique moment in 2020. The current global conditions are causing more people to shop online than ever before. Many believe that this is the moment that crystallizes Australia’s online shopping behaviour to become a regular, wide-spread habit.
This means that retailers and small businesses have every reason to take eBay seriously. The popular online marketplace is the most used retail site in Australia, even before Coronavirus. The site garnered 194.9 million users between January and March 2019.
Shipping prices is one of the things that prevents Australians from adopting eCommerce more extensively. It’s not just Australians, either. Unexpected shipping charges are the single most common cause for shopping cart abandonment, an eye-opening 28%.
That means if you’re an eBay seller, you’ve got a good incentive to figure out how to bring down shipping costs.
We’re going to show you some ways to reduce shipping charges, maximizing your profits and passing savings along to your customers.
1. Know The Going Rates
The first step in saving money on shipping rates as an eBay seller is knowing how much shipping generally costs from your area. This will help you gauge the various shipping options to see which one is most cost-effective. Pre-paid or flat rate shipping are both examples of different types of shipping models you can use.
This also lets you compare prices against other types of shipping. You can use tools like our eBay shipping calculator to determine precisely how much shipping will be, removing the costly guesswork.
2. Weigh Items Before Listing
Many of the most effective ways to save money on shipping, boils down to being informed. Having a clear picture of your item weight, when it is completely packaged, along with accurate dimensions, is crucial to obtaining an accurate shipping quote. The last thing you want is to be surprised by overages in shipping fees from having the wrong information at the outset.
An unexpectedly heavy or bulky item can take a chunk out of your profit margins, if you underestimate its weight, as heavy items usually cost more to ship. In worst case scenarios, you could end up in the red on a sale.
To prevent this, you should fully package, weigh and measure items immediately before completing their sale listings. This will enable you to enter the shipping option details correctly upfront, saving you money on misquoted shipping and time on answering a multitude of customer shipping questions.
3. Offer Combined Shipping
This is a big one. It benefits your customers and your business at the same time. It encourages customers to make multiple purchases, to save on shipping costs.
eBay has a number of ways you can set up combined shipping. This automatically factors in discounts for combined shipping. It can also be set up manually.
To set up combined shipping manually, select ‘My eBay’ from the top right corner of the screen. This will take you to your personalized account.
Select ‘Sold’ from the left-hand menu. Check the boxes next to the items you wish to combine for shipping.
Create an invoice for these items, remembering to change the shipping cost. Then select ‘Send Invoice.’
To set up combined shipping automatically, go to ‘Combined Payments and Shipping Discounts’ page on eBay. Find the selection that reads ‘Combined Payments’ and then select ‘Create’ or ‘Edit.’
If it’s not already selected, choose the option to ‘Allow buyers to send one payment for all items purchased.’ Select the amount of time you’d like this option to be available. Select ‘Save’ and close the window.
4. Buy Extra Shipping Insurance
While it might seem counterintuitive, having extra shipping insurance can save eBay sellers a lot of money, and headaches, over time. eBay has a full money back guarantee if an item doesn’t arrive, which can leave sellers paying out of pocket if something happens.
Shipping insurance helps ensure that you’re not caught off-guard, in the instance that something goes wrong.
5. Shop Around For The Right Price
You should always shop around and see not only what rates are available, but which carrier best suits your needs. There are any number of shipping couriers available in Australia. Each one has its own pricing structure and shipping costs can vary a great deal from company to company.
This can quickly become a net negative, however. As eBay sellers, business owners, and entrepreneurs, we’ve already got too much on our plate to begin with. Researching the going rates of different couriers could be a full-time job in and of itself.
Using Transdirect takes the hassles out of finding the best courier fit for your job. You can get instant quotes from a range of shipping providers, find out how much insurance you may need, and book right from the same place. No more site hopping to find the best deal. Transdirect’s instant eBay shipping quotes helps your business to remain competitive and thriving, even during uncertain times.
Now is the perfect time to gear up your eBay selling business.
Sign up for a free Members Account with us today and explore how we can help you find the best shipping rates for you and your customers!
