Robb Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) Hi all, I searched around but didn't find exactly what I was looking for. Do you guys have a way to know the estimated shipping amazon will charge you through their USPS deal on a package before when you first add it to inventory? I know I could go to the USPS website and take a look but amazon I thought had a little bit of a deal/discount so wondered how to go about finding this out. Thanks for your help!this is the FBA thread so I don't think you're going to send in just one item. So, no they don't tell you what the cost of one item in a box full of items will cost. You prepare the whole shipment of items and it tells you the cost at the end. The biggest, heaviest lego box I've shipped was about $60. With 20 items in it that's like $3 each. Just an example Edited February 21, 2015 by Robb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exciter1 Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 this is the FBA thread so I don't think you're going to send in just one item. So, no they don't tell you what the cost of one item in a box full of items will cost. You prepare the whole shipment of items and it tells you the cost at the end. The biggest, heaviest lego box I've shipped was about $60. With 20 items in it that's like $3 each. Just an example That was my bad. It was an Amazon specific question, so I placed it here hoping one of you could shed some light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 That was my bad. It was an Amazon specific question, so I placed it here hoping one of you could shed some light.its ok, for a FBM sale they think that their forced estimate on the product listing page is close to right. It's often not, but I don't think the want all sorts of different shipping fees on the website. 4.99 is extremely common. What it will cost you? Use the PayPal tool that's the best estimate and a good price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubzero Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Hi all, I searched around but didn't find exactly what I was looking for. Do you guys have a way to know the estimated shipping amazon will charge you through their USPS deal on a package before when you first add it to inventory? I know I could go to the USPS website and take a look but amazon I thought had a little bit of a deal/discount so wondered how to go about finding this out. Thanks for your help! Amazon's shipping cost settings are fairly clunky to get through. I bailed on it. Amazon ranks by price + shipping costs. I just set to free shipping and add my costs into the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrickLegacy Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Do any of you guys stretch wrap your sets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bold-Arrow Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Do any of you guys stretch wrap your sets?no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackson Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 (edited) Let me tell you all how awesome FBA is. I paid to ship in a brand-new Anakin Skywalker figure. FBA accepted it. It sat in the warehouse for months while I paid the storage fee. FBA suddenly deemed it as "defective." I paid to have FBA ship it back to me. The picture below is what I received...no figure, just the cardboard. Edited February 24, 2015 by Jackson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtrak23 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Let me tell you all how awesome FBA is. I paid to ship in a brand-new Anakin Skywalker figure. FBA accepted it. It sat in the warehouse for months while I paid the storage fee. FBA suddenly deemed it as "defective." I paid to have FBA ship it back to me. The picture below is what I received...no figure, just the cardboard. It's a volume game and how much patience you have for opening cases and trying to get reimbursed for all their shenanigans. Not a day goes by where I don't shake my head in regards to something really, really, really stupid they have done. Usually it is multiple times per day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I just dealt with some annoyance with this .I am a pretty high volume seller, so I chalk it up to cost of doing business, but I had a few things marked as "unfulfillable" and I got them back, and 90% of them looked perfect to me. One of them was clearly damaged, and clearly wasn't the item I had sent in (had shipping labels on it and such from somewhere else) so I was annoyed about that. But, these are the things one deals with I suppose. I actually contacted customer service and you can request an "inventory check" before something gets shipped back to you that had been marked unfilfillable. Next time I encounter it, I am going to do that before requesting the stuff be returned to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meowingthings Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I try to only send in sets where I stand to make 3x my purchase price. This covers their wide range of fees, potential lost/damaged product and the initial shipping fees. Don't have the exact numbers but last year I purchased about $1100 in Lego, sold it for $2700, walked away with $800 in profit. Amazon also walked away with about $800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 This is in line with my plans. I count on 25-30% in fees (FBA, Shipping, Amazon Seller fees) when selling on Amazon. Smaller items are easier/cheaper to ship in quantity, but the FBA pack and pick fee takes a larger chunk out of your profits. The 3x purchase price is a solid target, also what I use for the most part. Some items I don't mind moving for a bit less, some I have to depending on other resellers, etc. Very small things (polybags, etc) can be a hassle, because even if you buy them for $1, you still have to sell for $7-8 or so to make any money if you are using FBA. I have generally moved away from items that sell for less than $15. Cost/time/profit ratio just isn't there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbroncoboy Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I'll counterpoint just for the sake of discussion - no argument intended, I have these discussions with myself all the time and don't know the right answers. Polybags for example, if I have a 24x18x18 box that i'm sending out anyway. I'm at target buying other items anyway and see a handful of polybags that I know I can flip for $2 profit each. I buy them. It's a low priority thing for me. After a bunch or when I feel like it they get added to the next shipment, label on each is all the prep they need and they get tossed into a box that's going out anyway. My perspective is that hey, they pay the shipping fees for that box. I find I care more about prep time then I have in the past. Bundling cereal boxes.. gives me nightmares. Bundle 4 cereal boxes with my sealer for $5 profit per bundle.. so not worth it. But a small item that takes no prep, no significant shipping cost.. I'm in even for a small profit per (if I can get in volume of course). I have a similar approach, but I have to really be careful with polybags or they never get received at the FC. They are really the only item I have problems with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenb99 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I get this frequently with returns that I've had shipped back and it always makes me curious. Stuff that is obviously not my item, different packaging, polybags, labels, etc. I never commingle. Makes me wonder is amazon that bad at fulfilling inventory and they mix up orders to the customer, or are the customers returning different sets after purchasing multiples (less likely). Assume it's just the great big amazon machine not keeping track but I wonder if it's to the customer or just on the returns. Amazons inventory can be a mess (although for the amount of volume they do I am sure it's not that big in the whole picture). A good portion of there salvage returns are mislabeled by them where the inventory sticker does not match the actual product. It can happen to a batch of them as I will see the same error for a few months in a row. Happens a lot on color variations as well. Faucets usually have stainless, chrome, oil rubbed bronze etc and they are continually scanned wrong. They go off those scans and that's what gets sent to the customer. So when I get it I am constantly checking there scan versus the actual box label from the manufacturer. They also have a huge problem with multi box items. Most of them are only labeled with one label so you will see a box 1, 2 or 3 of an individual item keep coming back. It happens so much and for such a long period of time on the same exact items it is baffling. Its funny because you can read the reviews of that item on Amazon and see it mentioned several times yet it was never corrected. Any of those items that go "under review" are items that have a higher percentage of winding up on there liquidation loads. The customer returning different items has gotten better over time though. 3-4 years ago it was really bad. It appears they started actually cracking down on that. Worst issue I had was getting a $3,000 Canon Lens with a Canon Lens from 1984. Still had the 84 Olympics logo on it lol. So I would say more of the error is on them now than before than customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I'll counterpoint just for the sake of discussion - no argument intended, I have these discussions with myself all the time and don't know the right answers. Polybags for example, if I have a 24x18x18 box that i'm sending out anyway. I'm at target buying other items anyway and see a handful of polybags that I know I can flip for $2 profit each. I buy them. It's a low priority thing for me. After a bunch or when I feel like it they get added to the next shipment, label on each is all the prep they need and they get tossed into a box that's going out anyway. My perspective is that hey, they pay the shipping fees for that box. I find I care more about prep time then I have in the past. Bundling cereal boxes.. gives me nightmares. Bundle 4 cereal boxes with my sealer for $5 profit per bundle.. so not worth it. But a small item that takes no prep, no significant shipping cost.. I'm in even for a small profit per (if I can get in volume of course). No argument at all, I agree with you - I am just not nearly as organized as I should be. ;P And money definitely can be made - and it can be good for feedback and to fill up those 40 FBA Premium sales too. With me they get stuck in bags and thrown in a box and have to be found, sorted, and counted later. If I tackled them in a timely manner like you do, probably wouldn't cause me headaches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubzero Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I have a similar approach, but I have to really be careful with polybags or they never get received at the FC. They are really the only item I have problems with. Throw them all in a small box and pack that in with your shipment. It helps tremendously with small items like that. Just be sure to stick a label on there stating 'individual items inside, please open' or something along those lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meowingthings Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 My concern with low dollar item is the potential damage to my rating and or feedback. I worry those $2 polybag profits would not be worth the risk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubzero Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Product damage or ? Can't be worse the funko's. I swear 1/4 of them are received damaged by customers. I had a huge problem with Pops at first. So many collectors want pristine boxes. I ended up boxing them first and sending them in. Much better now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubzero Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 My concern with low dollar item is the potential damage to my rating and or feedback. I worry those $2 polybag profits would not be worth the risk. I've sold hundreds of polybags on AZ with no complaints. You can always throw them in some 2 mil bags first for extra protection if you feel it necessary. Adds cost but also peace of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubzero Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I buy from bubblefast or from ebay. I get the open end ones and impulse seal them closed. Way faster than peel and stick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meowingthings Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) Amazon (FBA) wants me to ship far more than I can fit in one box. Is there any option to ship in multiple boxes (like box 1-3, 2-3, 3-3 and so on) I don't recall ever seeing a multiple box option but I also have never looked. Edited February 25, 2015 by meowingthings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bold-Arrow Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Amazon (FBA) wants me to ship far more than I can fit in one box. Is there any option to ship in multiple boxes (like box 1-3, 2-3, 3-3 and so on) I don't recall ever seeing a multiple box option but I also have never looked. yes. Right above where u enter box weight it asks for number of boxes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meowingthings Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Thank you very much. Worked perfect for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykingdomforabrick Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I submitted a ticket asking them to fix the helicarrier listing: "Thank You for your patience while i investigated the issue with the bullet points. I have been able to get word that this item is not officially released as part of the LEGO catalog on Amazon yet (it will be available 6/1/2015). Therefore, I cannot approve on any bullet points until that time, when the item has officially been released for sale on Amazon." Because that makes sense.. so they left the listing online and live, just kept it with no bullets. And did we know that the helicarrier was not available till 6/1 on amazon? That makes it a much nicer flip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I am going to guess the answer is no, but serious FBA sellers - Has anyone found a way to have items shipped directly to Amazon from a retailer, thus cutting out the extra step/expensive of having stuff shipped home then sent right back in? Or if you are purchasing items from Amazon, ways to instantly get it transferred to your inventory instead of having them ship it to you at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bold-Arrow Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I am going to guess the answer is no, but serious FBA sellers - Has anyone found a way to have items shipped directly to Amazon from a retailer, thus cutting out the extra step/expensive of having stuff shipped home then sent right back in? Or if you are purchasing items from Amazon, ways to instantly get it transferred to your inventory instead of having them ship it to you at all? not possible on both accounts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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