Now that you’ve opened your accounts and are ready to start selling, you’ll need to plan the logistical side of things. Find out what supplies you need to sell your items on eBay and Amazon FBA and discover how you can save time with ShippyPro’s solutions to make the shipping process faster and easier.
As well as setting up your seller account on eBay and Amazon, you’ll need to stock up on packing materials to ensure your items reach your customers safe and sound. First up: packing boxes.
The type of boxes you need will depend on the kind of items you have to ship. You can find out detailed information about how to prepare your shipment on your chosen carrier’s website, as this can vary between carriers. It also depends, of course, on the type of items you’re shipping!
Regular slotted containers (RSC) are a good choice if you don’t have any specialist items to ship. These boxes have flaps that are all equal in length, with at least two of the parallel sides meeting in the middle. They’re best used for products that aren’t particularly heavy.
Another option you might want to go for is roll end lock front (RELF) boxes. These are a secure option, as they can stay closed without need for tape. They’re a good choice for more environmentally-friendly shipping since no additional packing materials are needed. Use them for shipping any small to medium-sized items, including clothes, electronic parts and subscription boxes.
Rather than shipping your products in boxes, you could opt to go for poly bags. This is something many clothing retailers do, as clothing generally requires less protection, and it can be a more cost-effective option.
The cheapest way to buy your boxes is by bulk-buying them. You could look at a shop like Staples, buy them from another supplier on Amazon, or ask friends and family who also own businesses if they have any excess boxes. Some shipping carriers will also supply their customers with packing materials, so check if this is an option before you invest in your own.
If you’re using Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) to sell your items, there are certain packaging requirements you have to meet.
Packing requirements for FBA:
There are no particular rules or requirements as to how you should pack your items for selling on eBay, but the platform does offer some guidance on how to pack your items securely:
When you’re selling on eBay or Amazon as a business, you don’t want to spend time handwriting labels to your customers. That would be far too time-consuming. But what’s the best solution for printing your labels? We’ve got some ideas for you.
The two main types of printers that you can use for printing shipping labels are laser printers and thermal label printers.
You may well already have a laser printer in your home or place of work. They weren’t designed specifically for printing labels, but can be used for this purpose. Thermal printers, on the other hand, were created specifically to print labels. This makes the job quicker and easier, but these printers are more expensive to buy. Which one is best for your business, and what should you consider when buying a printer?
If you’ve decided to go for a thermal label printer, what’s the best one for you? There are many thermal printers available, but we’ve picked out our top choices to help you decide.
This well-known printer is popular with ecommerce business owners as it’s easy to set up and use. It doesn’t require you to calibrate the printer to realign labels – however, on the downside, it doesn’t support fanfold labels, and it’s restricted to specific types of label rolls.
This is a great printer if you’re looking for something that you can customise to your exact needs. It’s powerful and prints labels quickly. This printer supports wireless and bluetooth connectivity so you can even print labels from your phone. Unlike the Dymo, it supports fanfold labels. However, it’s trickier to set up, so it’s not as easy to use straight out of the box.
This brand isn’t as well-known as Dymo or Zebra, but it’s a good option as it supports fanfold labels, and is a nice, compact size so it won’t take up too much space in your office. The print quality isn’t quite as good as the Zebra or Dymo printers, however.
Whichever printer you choose, ShippyPro Label Creator can save you time when it comes to making and printing your labels.
Your orders will be automatically imported, and you can add your courier accounts – and then you can print all of your labels in just one click. We’ve found that it saves an average of 40 minutes per day. Imagine what else you could be doing to grow your business with all that extra time!
Once the label has been printed, your order will be automatically marked as shipped on Amazon or eBay, along with the order tracking number so your customers know their items are on the way.
It’s important to check how much your parcels weigh before you send them, so it’s a good idea to buy a scale. You could always start out using your bathroom scale, especially if you’re sending smaller items like clothing.
However, if you have a bigger box and don’t want to use bathroom scales, there are some other options:
A barcode scanner is a good investment for saving time. You simply plug the scanner into your computer to scan barcodes directly into your system. This means you don’t have to spend time manually typing every barcode in, which can take a long time.
Scanners are particularly useful if you’re selling on Amazon, or if you’re doing a lot of retail arbitrage. If this is the case, pair the scanner with your phone – then simply scan the item and it’ll immediately appear on your phone. It’s a great time saver!
The KDC200 and KDC300 are good options to go for. Both of these devices glean data from product barcodes and then send it to your smartphone using Bluetooth.
Because the devices are lightweight, they can be worn around your neck, put in your pocket, or popped in an extra phone case.
It’s quick and easy to pair a KDC scanner to your phone, and even if you change phones, you can still use the scanner with your new phone. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials on how to pair the devices, like this one from The Book Flipper Company.
The packaging of your items says a lot about your brand, and can impact a customer’s perception of your business. Therefore it’s important to ensure your items are well-packaged and arrive at their destination in perfect condition.
To pack your items, you could use:
You don’t need to shell out a huge amount of money to stock up on packing supplies! You can find great shipping supplies for free if you know where to look. Some options to consider:
You can also get free branded eBay shipping supplies if you have an eBay shop. To redeem your coupon, go to My eBay, select My Store and then choose subscriber discounts. Then click on the eBay Shipping Supplies Coupon. From here:
ShippyPro is here to make the process of shipping items to your customers and tracking the delivery status much easier. As well as the Label Creator which you can use to instantly print out shipping labels for your packages, other features include:
Try a 30-order trial of ShippyPro for free today to see how these features can work for you.