John's Arcade Forum - Classic Arcade and Pinball Collecting and Restoring Discussion Forum - RETRO MAME - Nintendo Vs Forum

As I've continued in this hobby I have accumulated a bunch of stuff I'd like to put up on eBay. I haven't shipped a whole lot in the past, so I'm curious what you guys use. Stamps.com? UPS? What works for you guys.

Also, what do you do concerning packaging?  It seems like costs could add up. Do you have any recommendations?

Moogrum -

I take my stuff to a 3rd party mailer.  They can check prices from almost all carriers like UPS/FEDEX/USPS and different types of shipping methods.

Recently, UPS/FEDEX I believe have changed their dimensions and now basically its like $5 per inch of extra space vertically or something weird like that once you go beyond their threshold.  It just changed late last year...like 4-months ago.

The guy at my 3rd party mailing business showed me how to cut the sides of boxes down to save space/money.  My shipping costs went from $63 to $43...saved me $20 by redoing my box.  Sweet!!!

Prices do vary a lot...so it might be a learning process at the start for ya.
MK

What kind of stuff are you shipping?  It sounds like large items. I would mostly be sending boards, video cards, a few chips etc.

I shop close to home,, if its something I can pick up with a car (within a 2 hour drive) I go get it.
If its farther and multiple machines,, I pay the seller extra and he brings those here.

I almost always use usps. Most stuff I am shipping doesn't weigh too much and for larger boxes usps seems to be cheaper. I can mail out pacman boards for $7.

I sell a lot of fragile stuff on klov.
Normally I go with USPS .  I overpack most of the stuff I sell so it shows up safe and sound.
if the buyer is paying for shipping, I present him with the option of using a bigger safer box at alittle more shipping cost.