How do you ship jewelry? I am selling jewelry on myspace. How do I ship?

Question

Do I just buy bubble packages from Walgreens and ship from home? Does that require one stamp per envelope?

Answer 1

I ship using UPS, FedEX, DHL and USPS. For lower and mid-priced items (I'm assuming that is where your jewelry falls into right now) being shipped to U.S. addresses, I use the USPS (postal service) Priority Mail.

I have an online account so I can pay for postage and print it out at home and then either have the mailperson pick it up on their route or I can drop it off at the post office or a local mailing facility.

For 1-pound and less it will cost you $4.05 to mail the package USPS Priority and you will get a free electronic confirmation of delivery. Your USPS boxes are FREE and they can be ordered online to be delivered to your home/place of business for free. There is a wonderful small size that should fit your jewelry needs. Shipments arrive within 2 to 3 days of shipment.

All the delivery services now offer online accounts with you being able to pay for mailing fees and print labels online. I suggest you open at least one additional account to the USPS one.

If you are selling more expensive items you may want to look into sending items overnight. Also, remember for any jewelry shipment to have no indication on the package (like a return address) that indicates it is jewelry. I always use my name, not my business name, on the return address.

Getting a bulk shipping rate from any shipper means you are shipping a large quantity of items consistently. It is highly unlikely that as a start-up you'll qualify for any of those rates. However, many professional associations that you may join often have member benefits that include better shipping rates with certain package carriers.

However, I've found that in many instances you receive better rates if you pay for your shipping costs online and print the label yourself than if you take it to a shipping store (even the ones belonging to the actual shipper).

Good luck.

Answer 2

I would use FedEx plus insurance.