toben88
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posted on March 14, 2004 09:04:43 PM new
Sorry - I had to make a new thread for this one the information is HOT
I just now found a way to print postage without a monthly fee and hide the shipping rates. From my-ebay click on Print shipping label or from paypal click on the Ship button. It looks like UPS is also an option, but I have not used this.
This is a big breakthrough for me. Try it today. It charged the shipping to my paypal account and did not show the actual shipping amount on the label. There is the option to show it if you want however.
I am ecstatic about this as I never signed up for those monthly services for a fee. This is the best thing paypal has brought me.
Another good thing is that you can print postage for first class, media mail and parcel post as well as priority and express mail. Clearly this is superior to click n ship. There is a 33 cent charge if you do not ship via priority or express however. For me the 33 cents is worth the effort an includes tracking/delivery confirmation.
Now does anyone know how to get usps to come and pick up a pile of packages from our house? I thought I read a while back there was a way to get them to come pick it up?
[ edited by toben88 on Mar 14, 2004 09:07 PM ]
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sanmar
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posted on March 14, 2004 09:08:13 PM new
This is just what I have been looking for. I will give it a try. Thanks.
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toben88
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posted on March 14, 2004 09:22:53 PM new
This must have just started in the last few days - I have been trying to do this for a while. Stamps.com and endicia did it for a monthly fee. I bet this hurts their business.
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auctionACE
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posted on March 14, 2004 09:26:51 PM new
Here's the ebay link
http://pages.ebay.com/usps/print_postage.html
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
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toben88
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posted on March 14, 2004 09:32:45 PM new
Yes and that link above has the button to get usps to drive to your house and pickup items without us being there. You know what this means!!!
WE NEVER HAVE TO GO TO THE POST OFFICE AGAIN!!!!!!! EVER!!!!!!!!!
I hate the post office lines - ebay rules - now we can become complete recluses!
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Libra63
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posted on March 14, 2004 10:35:03 PM new
I have a few questions...
How do you know how much postage to put on? What if you weigh your package and put on the wrong postage? Can you put insuance on the packages. Thanks in advance.....
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toben88
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posted on March 14, 2004 11:42:07 PM new
no idea if its the wrong weight - I have a scale from ikea to weigh things on - im sure you ca buy one on ebay.
Yes you can buy insurance.
Also it doesn't really need to be ebay related as you can click on any auction from ebay and click ship - if it has not been paid for by paypal then you just enter the shipping address and details.
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gousainc-07
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posted on March 15, 2004 12:17:13 AM new
It might be noted that if you are buying USPS insurance, the package must go to the customer counter at the Post Office.
If anyone knows any exceptions, possibly rural loopholes, please chime in.
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gousainc-07
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posted on March 15, 2004 12:36:05 AM new
It looks like if you ship Over 80 packages per month that are first-class, media-mail, or parcel-post, (non-priority or express), you are better off, service fee wise, to pay the Endicia service fee of $15.95 a month.
This is based on the $.20 per package label processing fee.
The other $.13 for delivery confirmation is charged by both companies for tracking where applicable.
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neroter12
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posted on March 15, 2004 05:08:09 AM new
I just tried this. Pretty good. This is a great new development for sellers. Is going to hurt the stamps affliciates,probably, unless you do volume shipping. The only thing it didnt instantly populate the fields like it said it would? Thanks for posting this here, Toben.
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stopwhining
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posted on March 15, 2004 05:27:08 AM new
if you need insurance,you have to take it to the post office and have the form stamped.
in rural area where the postman picks up mail,they will bring you the stamped insurance forms the next day.
but if they dont bring the forms and you need the form to file claims,how do you explain to the post office ??
i have a situation now,an item shipped to my customer arrived broken and i dont have the form ,the package does say insured and has the insurance serial number but the postman lost the form.
we have 3 different postmen ,all are contract workers with their own vans/cars.
i explained the situation to one of the postmen and she did not even know we need the form to file insurance claims,she thought the serial number is good enough.
so if you have expensive items,it is better off to make a trip to the post office and come home with that form stamped.
-sig file -------the lobster in the boiling pot of water who tries to prevent the others from climbing out.
[ edited by stopwhining on Mar 15, 2004 05:32 AM ]
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cramer
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posted on March 15, 2004 06:25:58 AM new
What about printing to a label printer? I didn't see how to make it do that. Also, what about people who don't pay with paypal? Will it let you do that? I think I'll stick with endicia until all the bugs are worked out. I've been taping my packages for years and just bought a label printer...I'm so spoiled now....
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sanmar
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posted on March 15, 2004 10:27:39 AM new
I just used it to print postage & it works great. Has nothing to do with type of payment, doesn't ask any questions about payment of goods. Just prints the postage & the DC info. Prints on 8 1/2 X 11 in paper. I use Avery #5265 sticky back paper. Don't think it will work in label machine. tobin88, YOU CANNOT BUY INSURANCE ON LINE. You have to go to PO for insurance. As for weight, you weigh the package put in the Zip Code & the postage is automatically figured for you.
[ edited by sanmar on Mar 15, 2004 10:32 AM ]
[ edited by sanmar on Mar 15, 2004 11:51 AM ]
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toben88
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posted on March 15, 2004 03:28:04 PM new
Sorry about the insurance
If you follow the online instructions the post office will come by and pick up you packages for you.
I signed up last night at 1:30 am and someone came to my door to pick them up about 9:45 am.
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Roadsmith
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posted on March 15, 2004 03:32:00 PM new
What's this about a 20 cent fee per package? Did I read that wrong? Who does that? Paypal or Endicia?
___________________________________
Have you noticed since everyone has a Camcorder these days no one talks
about seeing UFOs like they used to?
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toben88
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posted on March 15, 2004 03:33:33 PM new
the 20 cent fee does not apply if you are sending priority or express
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ihula
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posted on March 15, 2004 03:34:47 PM new
My understanding is that Ebay/Paypal charge 20 cents for anything other than priority rate. They didn't charge in the beginning when they introduced this (a few weeks ago, I think), but they do now.
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sanmar
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posted on March 16, 2004 11:32:21 AM new
No charges for Priority Mail or Express Mail. As far as I am concerned, this as good as sliced bread. I had never signed up for Endica or anyother that charge $15.00/month. Just too expensive for the few I ship by mail. A majority of my sales go by FedEx Ground because of weight.
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zoewez
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posted on March 16, 2004 03:16:52 PM new
Sounds great! Thanks for the info!
I'll give it a try-
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Roadsmith
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posted on March 16, 2004 03:26:12 PM new
Question! Do I have to print a shipping label in order to use the postage? If I want to address the package myself, can I print postage anyway? I've been to the Paypal site and it's confusing to me.
___________________________________
Have you noticed since everyone has a Camcorder these days no one talks
about seeing UFOs like they used to?
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tapatti
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posted on March 16, 2004 05:52:12 PM new
Stamps.com was rocky at first but once you start regularly doing 10-20 packages a week it's well worth the $15.99 service fee in time saved and tracking.
Major advantages:
1. 1st Class and Media costs .13 for electronic DC. The software logs every single mail piece and when one comes up missing you can go into your logs and e-mail a tracking number to the recipient. DC is free for Priority.
2. Stamps.com sells their own insurance that's less than the USPS's. You can buy it when you print your postage. It's provided by Upic and requires nothing additional on your part.
3. Tracking, tracking, tracking. You get account codes, you get end of the month cost summarys. You can buy postage on the fly from as many different credit cards as you want.
Negatives:
1. still have to go to the PO for international parcels.
2. Misprints are a pain but managageble.
3. If you print stamps you have to buy stamp labels. I don't print any. I always use the print 'shipping label' and print out on a full sheet of 2-up labels. One is the mailing label with the postage and the other is a cost summary and receipt which gets stuck onto my packing list file copy.
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cramer
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posted on March 16, 2004 06:25:56 PM new
tapatti....misprints on endicia are a click away from a refund...it's all automatic when you click refund....
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tapatti
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posted on March 16, 2004 10:48:52 PM new
cramer,
I'm extremely tempted to try endicia out and compare to stamps.com. Do they have a trial?
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meadowlark
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posted on March 18, 2004 10:10:24 AM new
In my humble opinion:
The ONLY reason Paypal/Ebay gives something away for free is so they can "hook" you into the convenience of using it, then they will start charging for it at a later date.
If it's easy to leave your current provider now and go back later, do it. Otherwise, you know that in a year or less, after thousands of sellers are depending on this service, they will introduce fees. This has been their operating basis for some time, as you well know.
Happy selling and bidding!
Patty
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CapYoda
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posted on March 18, 2004 01:39:33 PM new
I gotta say, they're making it pretty easy on shipping things.
just click print label and the address and info is in.
I dont have to copy and paste over and over to endicia anymore..
plus I can hide the postal rate..
hmm. wonder should I switch to this temporary to save on the $10 per month fee i'm paying now. I dont believe I do over 50 packages per month. maybe 30 at most.. although, this doesnt really save that much.
here's the thing though, I can use endicia on almost everything I want mailed.
Would I be able to print a mailing label with paypal/ebay, even if the item isn't an ebay transaction? I can't seem to find Print a Shipping Label anywhere besides next to the transaction item.
I suppose I can modify the shipping address etc, but does it automatically email buyers?
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tapatti
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posted on March 18, 2004 02:11:40 PM new
Non-ebay transactions. That's another advantage of using 3rd party postage providers. As much as Meg would like it to be so, my business and the entire world does NOT revolve around eBay. I ship items from other auction venues as well as off-line and web site sales. And yes I believe eBay will eventually figure a way to charge for it. That's what they do. Look at the disclaimers on the ebay auction management tools at PayPal. They all have a future-fee clause in them.
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Libra63
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posted on March 27, 2004 10:38:50 PM new
I just did this with my last packages but I had to go and get insurance on one so I didn't leave it for my postal lady. I find it faster that Shipping Assistant. I did notice a sign in the post office that you can get this service also from the USPS web site. It's call click n ship. I am going to use the one when it doesn't show the postage. Since in my TOS I say S/H but I never break it down so I do have a small handling charge to cover my costs of supplies and I don't think my buyer needs to know that, unless they ask. What does everyone else do....?
I find it very easy and it also sends a copy to the buyer so that they know you mailed their package just incase you forget to tell them and also includes the tracking no. I think this will be a way for PayPal to know we sent to the address provided by them..
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shething
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posted on March 28, 2004 05:46:51 AM new
cramer...yes, you can use PayPal to print postage for items not paid for thru PP. Just go to you PP account overview page, and click on ebay items sold (to the right of Recent Activity.) All your eBay sales will show up there.
I've been using this new feature from PP since the day it started and I'm lovin' it! My small town is part of the new USPS Carrier Pick-up feature, so I no longer have to go to the PO. I kinda miss the boys behind the counter, but I'm learnin' to live with it! I do have to drop in for insured packages, so I get to vist 'em once or twice a month...
I have no doubt PP will eventually begin charging for this feature. In fact, I think I saw a disclaimer of sorts in PP that reserved the right to do just that in the future.
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sanmar
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posted on March 28, 2004 09:04:25 PM new
After reading all of the notes on this thread & having used the P/P for a while, I will still use it until they start charging for it. I am going to self insure anything under $25.00. That way I don't have to stand in line fir insurance. libra, the only difference between click & ship & P/P is P/P doesn't show the postage. Like I said before, "best thing since sliced bread"
.
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Libra63
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posted on March 29, 2004 09:38:47 AM new
Sanmar do you tell your buyer that you self insure? What I have been doing with my auctions offer postage with insurance for a price. I think I am going to change and just offer postage on anything under $20.00 and put in the invoice insurance optional for $1.30 and if they elect insurance I will then have to make a trip to the PO. I like the idea that they get an email with the tracking number on it. Makes is really easy.
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