Selling/Shipping Large Lots of Items on eBay
March 22, 2016 3:37 PM   Subscribe

Due to some unforeseen expenses, it looks like I may need to liquidate some of my larger collections (dolls, toys, etc). Theoretically I'd like to sell them en masse (i.e. 20 dolls total in one lot) rather than individually. These aren't small or sturdy items. Is there a standard practice for shipping that many semi-fragile items (all bubble wrapped) at once to a buyer? Can you do multiple shipments through eBay, like how Amazon sometimes splits orders up? Any advice would be appreciated.
posted by Hermione Granger to Shopping (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I (a long-time junk dealer) would look for local resellers if shipping is that onerous. The price of shipping will make them unattractive lots for non-local resellers. See if you have any antique/collectibles/etc markets that do consignment, and/or ask within if they have any dealers who specialise in what you have that would be interested in talking to you.

You can send quite a large parcel through the regular post -- even 20 larger dolls should be a go.

I'm sorry for not directly answering your question. I can't think of a way that eBay/PayPal's set up to handle multiple shipments -- I've been selling there since '98 and can't think of a time I've ever seen it come up; I'd contact their crummy customer service if I was really set on doing it.

If they are items that are for one reason or another not popular locally but which go for good prices on eBay -- I paid my mortgage one month with my kid's outgrown "Littlest Pet Shop" animals thanks to collectors excitedly bidding away on eBay, but they sell cheaply locally where they are just toys -- then I would look for a local eBay seller to sell individually for a per cent of the profit. I just can't see any way selling lots so huge that shipping is an issue is going to work out more profitably than other options.

You could also look around for "Vintage Toy Show!" or "Retro Fun Gear!" [etc] shows within driving distance, the sorts of things that pop up in community centres and so on for a weekend and rent tables to vendors. The local rent-a-booth multi-vendor junktiques market would probably be a good place to ask about upcoming ones; there are also trade publications that advertise larger ones.
posted by kmennie at 4:49 PM on March 22, 2016


I don’t have any experience selling on ebay but lots of experience with shipping so hope I can help here! With either USPS or UPS you can have multiple packages in one shipment with one payment (multiple tracking numbers but they can be tracked together). I assume it’s common for ebay sellers to ship individual orders with multiple packages (I’m quite sure I’ve received such orders), so I can’t see how that would be a problem. You mentioned Amazon splitting up orders but that’s because they’re shipping from multiple locations and that’s different than shipping multiple boxes from one location.

UPS is more reliable but also more expensive so if you’re trying to keep the cost down USPS Priority is probably your best bet. If you sign up for an acct at usps.com you can enter package weight, dimensions address etc and experiment with how different ways of shipping will cost before you ship.

The first pound costs way more than extra pounds, so fewer packages will cost less. But if you don’t have access to large boxes or if you don’t think you can pack them safely in a large box, a few smaller boxes might be better. If the contents are particularly delicate and/or valuable, even with the items individually bubble wrapped you might consider shoring up the box a bit unless it’s a nice sturdy box already. The biggest risk with the relatively light weight items you’re shipping is that a light weight box will get crushed, so either putting items in a box within a box, or placing extra pieces of cardboard around the edges and/or using lots of packing tape on the box’s corners and edges will help prevent this.
posted by cilla at 7:51 PM on March 22, 2016


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posted by jourman2 at 8:38 PM on March 22, 2016


On Fedex.com you can print labels for one shipment that contains multiple boxes. They just ask for the number of boxes, & the size & weight of those boxes. Print them out, stick them on & then you can drop them off at FedEx. Or you can request Fedex comes & picks them up from you.
posted by thebrokenmuse at 12:13 AM on March 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


Ebay has a relatively new valet service where they'll send you a free shipping label and you send them all your goodies and they'll sell it for you and take a cut. That doesn't really solve your packaging problem, but I thought it was a neat feature.

I'd maybe reach out to local antiques dealers or toy/comic book stores or something and ask the head person how they receive/package their items to send and if there are any tricks for not having your items break in transit.

Good luck!
posted by helloimjennsco at 11:33 AM on March 23, 2016


Response by poster: All great advice, thanks so much!
posted by Hermione Granger at 2:47 PM on March 25, 2016


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