Starting ebay in the US
 

Hi everyone I am new to the US and was wondering if anyone else sells here and has a cheap but tracked method of shipping. Over in the UK I was using second class recorded. What would you recommend in the US bearing in mind I need a signature but just a standard method of delivery...also I will welcome any other tips if ebay is in any way different to the UK

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

It probably depends on the size and weight of the item to be shipped. The two main methods are UPS and USPS. You can go online and do some sample shipments to compare cost.

Rene

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

Getting a signature is not common in the US. I can't recall the last time I signed for something (it was years ago, and we buy a lot of things on-line), and given that many people work, deliveries are throughout the day and nobody (parcel co) wants to be p!$$!ng about making multiple calls just to get a signature. I certainly wouldn't make a second purchase if I had to f@rt around with signing for deliveries.

Everyone seems to rely on parcel tracking, which tells exactly when a parcel was dropped off at the delivery address. ... Look for other threads on the subject of parcel delivery - people have come home to find anything and everything up to high-end cell phones and flat screen TV's sitting on their doorstep. ...... This is not the UK and petty theft of parcels from people's doorsteps appears to be a relatively rare occurence.

My recommendation would be either USPS flat rate boxes ("if it fits, it ships"), or UPS.

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

And they give you the boxes free, all sizes.

I ship things weighing 10's of tonnes sea freight but I also use USPS for wee fiddly accessories. Fairly low price that includes tracking.

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

I think this might be another of those it depends where you are things. In Portland parcel theft from doorsteps has got bad enough that it makes the evening news, especially if the loser had video of the theft. People driving around following the UPS and Fedex trucks and taking the parcels when delivered.

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

DHL with signature delivery will drop a parcel off if the receiver has the tracking number written down and signed a piece of paper and taped to the door.

Works quite well down my way...don't know how well they work else where.

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

DHL virtually shut down their US operations about 4 years ago, and doesn't do pick-ups in many areas. ..... My employer used to use them, but DHL doesn't want our business. ...... Maybe it's different in the largest cities? :unsure:

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

https://www.unishippers.com/index

Apparently a proxy for UPS, and presumably cheaper.

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

Thanks everyone for your replies it was most helpful. Ive compared costs for small packets with the recommended companies

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

That's why I asked. They're pretty good and reliable in the Boston and Metrowest area but I haven't really seen them any where else.

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

They dropped the rural service here in Central Virginia but still do international shipments into the USA.
One of my parts suppliers uses them and they are very quick

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

I'm not sure if small businesses have access to these services but many large ecommerce web sites use "UPS Sure Post", "DHL Smart Post", or USPS (no special name) for low cost deliveries. All three use USPS for final delivery to residences and businesses. The web sites appear to pay very little for those shipping services. The USPS service appears to use a 3rd party company as the long distance carrier (not the way it is done for normal USPS service).

Of the three, the USPS service seems to be fastest. Hand off to it's partner, movement through the system, and final delivery by USPS is fast and delivery is 7 days a week in larger cities. When Amazon ships to me, I hope it is using USPS and disappointed when it uses "DHL Smart Post" which is generally slow to get into their system, moves slowly through their sorting facilities, and handoff to USPS is slow. "UPS Sure Post" is better but sometimes a package sits in one place for days.

Amazon Partners With U.S. Post Office To Deliver Packages On Sunday - Forbes

The service is available to all Amazon customers, not just Amazon Prime customers as an earlier version of this story stated.

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

USPS pretty much uses a 3rd party for everything except the actual local delivery and their sorting facilities.

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

Ebay UK would not let me use the same credit card I used for the US account.

Re: Starting ebay in the US
 

That is true but what you don't see in a normal USPS tracking is the package being turned over to a "shipping partner" and then back to USPS such as the following. Normal USPS shipping appears to be under the control of USPS 100% of the time even though they may use common carriers but not when they use a shipping partner.

USPS Tracking with Shipping Partner

USPS Tracking without Shipping Partner