Shipping on eBay

The dollhouse is bursting at the seams, and I really need to get rid of stuff. Though I sold a few small items on Etsy, I don't think it drives enough traffic. Next stop, eBay.

My questions have to do with shipping. On Etsy, I found in order to move the few things I did, I had to have zero shipping. The buy it price included shipping. But how to handle that on eBay?

I've poked around on eBay and have seen ridiculously low postage rates that won't even cover the cost of a box, packing tape or bubble wrap. The post office figures shipping based on zone plus weight of package, but if you don't know where the buyer is located how can you figure out the real mailing price?  They also have a flat rate if it fits in the box, it ships which is what I used on Etsy plus an extra $1.85 for insurance. Currently the medium flat rate is $12.35 and the large flat rate is $16.85. Tracking is included.

Let's use the teacup above as an example. The original price of the cup was $15.00 and I've seen the cup on  replacement china sites for $25.00. Do I start the bidding $30 ($15 for the cup plus $14.20 for the medium flat rate plus insurance?) Do I start the price low like $9.99 and hope the price goes up to cover the shipping? Or the bid starts at $9.99 plus shipping ($14.20) My goal is to get the stuff out of the house, but I'd like to earn a few cookies for the time it takes to upload pics, monitor the site, pack the item, go to the post office, and buy packing tape and peanuts? What to do, what to do?

The Friday Five

Five decisions I made this week

1. Start a blog to go along with the Etsy shop. Thought buyers might be interested in stories behind some of the items in the shop.

2. Picked the platform. Decided to stick with Blogger because it's what I know.

3. Pick layout and design. Pick color. That was a no brainer. Wanna guess what color?

4. The Young One edited a pink, copyright free pig and made Mafundsalo white and blue. I found the wings from a PSP tube site. She altered the color. Didn't my baby do a great job? I was able to make the banner used at the blog and the Etsy shop.

5. I wrote the first Mafundsalo blog and scheduled it to post today.

What decisions did you make this week?

Help Me, Lord

I've started another blog. I'll be blogging about the provenance and stories about items in my Etsy shop, Mafundsalo Curio. More to come as soon as I finish tweaking.

The Friday Five and a Give Away

My ma loved tea cups, figurines, and fancy dishes. She has quite a collection and some lovely pieces. Unfortunately, I don't have the room in the dollhouse to assimilate all her treasures. Five things I did this week.

1. Moved 6 boxes of her things to my house, and we still haven't finished.

2. Washed tea cups, dishes, figurines. wrapped and packed them in plastic boxes

3. Researched some of the pieces: milk glass, decorative plates, cranberry glass...

4. Spent the week learning the ins and outs of Etsy. (To those that answered my questions, thank you.)

5. Launched an Etsy shop: Mafundsalo Curio 

To celebrate the launch, visit my Etsy shop: http//etsy.com/shop/MafundsaloCurio Critique the site. Admire the wares. Correct the grammar of the item descriptions.  Come back and leave a comment on the blog. I'll put your name into the cowboy hat for a drawing to win the handsome teacup pictured above. The cup is 3 inches tall. It is decorated with small white, pink, golden flowers, and silver leaves on a white background. The cup is trimmed in gold and is in pristine condition. There are no chips, cracks or crazing so you'll be able to enjoy your tea or coffee in style. Because of the gold trim, the cup is not suitable for the microwave though the arcing will be spectacular.

Winner of the cup will be announced next Friday. Thanks for playing.