Whats the cheapest way to ship?

parcel post is cheaper....but for .50 more you can get first class. First class is 3-5 days
parcel post is when ever in the next three months they can decide to put your item on the truck.
 
In my experience flat rate is more than weighing the items and paying actual postage unless you have something really heavy for the size.

For instance, I mailed a pair of dress shows my buddy left when he helped me move, and it was like $3 cheaper to pay for it vs. getting the mid-sized flat rate box.

Best bet I've found is just get a postal scale and ship first class with the paypal shipping above.
 
If you help a lot if you let us know what you are shipping. If you are shipping a single DVD 1st is the cheapest, but if you are sending something bigger there would be better option
 
Cheapest way to ship is ducttape the item to a homeless person, then pin a note with the address on it to their tattered rags.
 
[quote name='Karma Is a Bish']Yeah it's more like single items, like a game or dvd.[/QUOTE]

Paypal shipping, USPS first class in a bubble mailer is the way to go.

Costs around $2.20-2.60 for most games/dvds and that includes delivery confirmation.

If you're going to be shipping a ton, order a box of 50 or 100 bubble mailers on Ebay to save money as it comes to around 25 cents a mailer that way--vs. a buck or more if you buy them locally in smaller packs.
 
[quote name='Karma Is a Bish']What's the best way to get boxes for shipping media mail?[/QUOTE]go to the grocery store and ask for the old shipping boxes, or turn priority boxes inside out
 
[quote name='darkslime']go to the grocery store and ask for the old shipping boxes, or turn priority boxes inside out[/QUOTE]

I've found some of the newer priority boxes has priority mail written on the inside, so the post office has gotten wise to our tricks.:)
 
Cheapest way to ship what? It varies from parcel to parcel, service to service you know.
smile
 
Supplies get me more then anything else, if you're going to ship out a lot of games individually buy the padded envelopes off ebay in bulk , or alternately buy cardboard shipping paper and bubble wrap from a store and makes your own packaging . From there like others said use the paypal shipping, not only is it cheaper but it cuts down on standing in line at the post office or UPS.
 
Here's the basics:

Single Item DVD, Game, CD or anything less than 13 ounces: First Class Mail. Pretty fast too.
A lot of books, movies or games (talking about 3+ pounds of stuff) and you don't care if it'll get there slow: Media Mail.
Larger Items (Under 5 pounds) or you want something to get there fast: Priority Mail.
Even larger items (over 5 pounds...think game consoles): UPS or Fedex. They have very competitive rates that beat out USPS at this size and offer real tracking.

Never under any circumstance ship Parcel Post. Not only is it dirt slow, but usually almost identical in price to Priority mail ( give or take a few cents).
 
[quote name='pat87']Here's the basics:

Single Item DVD, Game, CD or anything less than 13 ounces: First Class Mail. Pretty fast too.
A lot of books, movies or games (talking about 3+ pounds of stuff) and you don't care if it'll get there slow: Media Mail.
Larger Items (Under 5 pounds) or you want something to get there fast: Priority Mail.
Even larger items (over 5 pounds...think game consoles): UPS or Fedex. They have very competitive rates that beat out USPS at this size and offer real tracking.

Never under any circumstance ship Parcel Post. Not only is it dirt slow, but usually almost identical in price to Priority mail ( give or take a few cents).[/QUOTE]

You're wrong on parcel post. For the first earlier pounds yes it is identical to Priority Mail, but there is some HUGE differences. On Priority they also charge by length of the package so if it exceeds a certain amount of inches, the cost DRAMATICALLY shoots up while with Parcel post it does NOT skyrocket and still stays on the same pricing. I tried to ship a complete Sega CD and the price between Priority and Parcel was about 15 bucks difference because the Sega CD was too wide and there was a fairly hefty surcharge on Priority which Parcel post did NOT have.
 
How do you guys weigh your packages, do you have your own scales? Will the post office care if I keep showing up just to weigh packages?
 
[quote name='Paco']You're wrong on parcel post. For the first earlier pounds yes it is identical to Priority Mail, but there is some HUGE differences. On Priority they also charge by length of the package so if it exceeds a certain amount of inches, the cost DRAMATICALLY shoots up while with Parcel post it does NOT skyrocket and still stays on the same pricing. I tried to ship a complete Sega CD and the price between Priority and Parcel was about 15 bucks difference because the Sega CD was too wide and there was a fairly hefty surcharge on Priority which Parcel post did NOT have.[/QUOTE]

Ermm... maybe so, but parcel post is still useless to me. If an item I'm shipping is fairly heavy or large, I'll ship UPS or Fedex since they're usually cheaper when it comes to larger items.

In all the years I've been shipping on ebay and elsewhere, I've yet to find a reason why I should ship parcel post. Parcel post's prices are nearly identical to priority (at least in the range I usually ship at) and is a no brainer to pick priority.
 
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