How to ship an item sold on eBay?

You will need a box first, and not just any box with all kind of label and logo on it that might confuse the shipping company. My suggestion is to go to the nearest UPS agent (if UPS is the choice of shipping company), get a box from them, pack it up (bring your own tape and some old news paper for filling), then fill in the shipping slip and pay for it, which is calculated based on weight most of the time. ... not sure what to add, since I the last time I ship stuff in U.S. is quite a while ago.

Just to help you out. FedEx is almost always cheaper than UPS for medium to large packages. Both shipping companies offer a default $100 insurance with provided tracking. If you ever sell an item over $250 on eBay, always get direct signature option to be covered by PayPal's seller protection. Never use USPS for medium/large parcel (5+ pounds) unless you can fit it in a flat rate box. Their parcel rates are exorbitant and do not include tracking or minimum insurance. USPS First class for media such as CD, DVDs, games or anything under 13oz ConUSA or 4 pounds international. First class is almost always as fast as Priority Mail. They all go in the same truck, don't pay more.

 

This information will save you a lot of money if you do eBay for a long time.

^FedEx Ground is almost always cheaper...

Also check USPS flat rate boxes. If it fits, it ships. Sometimes that is the cheapest alternative. Also, if you pay for postage (flat rate not included) for USPS online you get a discount. Just print the label and tape it to the box.

Great advice for smaller boxes, but I think this wheel probably won't fit in there, but for future purchases, I love flat rate for the simplicity.

Your ad clearly stated lower 48 conus, and the promised shipping rate therefore should apply only to the conus.  The value of shipping you offered was $25, so you should ship it via a method that costs $25. 

 

Since you already messaged the buyer, wait until tomorrow morning for a reply.  If you do not get one, ship it out via the 10-day $23 method, email them the tracking number, and consider your part of the deal completed.  There is no ethical dilemma. 

The flat rate boxes really only make sense for heavy packages, because the boxes aren't as cheap as you'd think. There's a definite weight at which Priority flat rate becomes cheaper over even Parcel Post but I've never bothered to find out what that weight is. The Priority Flat Rate box, for example, can easily out-cost a regular unmarked box being sent via Priority Mail, which has a $4.60 minimum (regardless of weight - applicable to extremely light-weight items). Also, unless time is of the essence, FedEx Ground (or UPS Ground) can be cheaper than either USPS Parcel Post or USPS with a flat-rate box - especially if you're sending to a business address (FedEx & UPS both upcharge for shipping to residential addresses). In fact, if you're shipping to a business address, there's usually no reason to use USPS unless you're shipping something very light-weight, like CDs, cables, or small headphones (where USPS First Class Mail comes in handy, and Priority for the overweight items). For shipping to residential addresses, it usually makes sense to get a quote at both USPS and FedEx/UPS to find out which is cheaper. From my own personal experience, I usually ship anything sized over a "compact box" via FedEx because it's usually been cheaper (and usually worth it for the included tracking). And don't even bother with USPS Parcel Post for shipping large/heavy items like massive headphone amps or DACs - I did that when I first started selling stuff and found out the hard way that it was significantly more expensive than FedEx Ground. Parcel Post always takes a long time and isn't trackable either which doesn't make it worth it at all.
 

If you specifically stated you'd ship to only the lower 48 in your eBay listing, you have no obligation to ship the item at all. Just issue a refund and send the would-have-been buyer a note explaining why.

Edited by Asr - 12/20/10 at 2:30pm

I always offer USPS Priority Mail as the only option. I tell people in my listing what the flat rate will be within the US, and that international shipping will have to be arranged by mutual agreement. I usually just guess at what the weight will be and check the USPS website for postage within the US. But recently my wife bought a small kitchen scale so now I can get exact postage up front.

After that it's dead easy. If you have your PayPal and Ebay hooked up, just look at the email notifying you that your item has sold. It should have links to print a shipping label. Works awesome, saves a ton of time, costs a small amount but way worth it.

Tape that label to the box. Postage gets paid out of your Paypal. Drop it off at the post office.

And while I'm at it, the Ebay selling app for iPhone is awesome. Streamlines things so much and makes it really easy to include pictures.

Right...I always get online quotes though based on weight and package size and compare those to the flat rate prices. 9/10 I ship in a plain box and use UPS/USPS about 50/50.