If you are an eBay seller, you have to wear many different hats in order to operate a successful business.  Daily operational tasks — preparing and posting listings, collecting payments, shipping sold orders and relisting unsold items – often steal time away from focusing on the best methods to run your business.

Free – No Subscription Cost for Goods Sold Through eBay
Fortunately, Stamps.com has developed a new method for eBay sellers to save time and money on shipping methods and preparation. The company has launched a new free program for eBay sellers that allows them to print shipping labels easily by importing all of their eBay order data into the Stamps.com software. Once the order data is loaded in the software, they can either batch print all of the day’s shipping labels or print each shipping label individually.  

eBay sellers will have access to the great shipping features that Stamps.com offers, including hidden postage, discounts for Priority Mail and Express Mail, and Customs forms integration. Plus, sellers will be able to use features that aren’t available elsewhere.

Unique Stamps.com Shipping Features for eBay Sellers:

• Print First Class Mail International:   Other online shipping programs require eBay sellers to upgrade to Priority Mail International.  Stamps.com allows you to print First Class Mail International labels.   An example: an eBay seller sending a 3lb package to Japan could ship the package for $24.52 via First Class Mail International – a 27% savings over the cost of $33.50 for Priority Mail International.
• Send All Sizes of Priority Mail Flat Rate:  Other online shipping programs only offer the medium-sized Priority Mail Flat Rate box. Having access to the other options could be a huge savings if you have smaller or larger products to ship.
• Discounted Package Insurance:  Stamps.com customers get 10 percent off package insurance and do not need to drop off their package at the Post Office.  Other online shipping programs do not offer insurance discounts.
• Insure packages up to $2,500:  With Stamps.com, you can buy package insurance up to $2,500 in value. Other shipping programs have a low $500 limit. Many eBay sellers are forced to split their packages into multiple shipments due to the lower $500 value limit or accept the risk for content values over $500.
• Batch Printing:  Stamps.com allows eBay sellers to batch print up to 1,000 labels at a time.  Other online shipping programs limit you to batch print only 50 shipping labels.

Customers using the Free eBay program can upgrade to a paid subscription plan to utilize Stamps.com’s other mailing and shipping features, such as printing postage on envelopes, importing data from Amazon, Yahoo! Stores, Google Checkout or their own shopping cart in formats such as CSV, Excel or XML. 

Sign up for the free eBay program now at:  http://www.stamps.com/ebayfree4

Starting on January 18, 2010, it’s going to cost more to send packages through FedEx. The international shipper is hiking prices to “enable FedEx to make key investments,” said company spokesman T. Michael Glenn in a news release.

On average, it will cost individuals and businesses 5.9% more to send a parcel anywhere through this service.  The company is expected to announce rate increases in the coming months for its ground service.

FedEx Express Tubes Will Have
6-Pound Minimum Billable Weight in 2010
Along with increasing their base shipping rates, FedEx is increasing surcharges as well.  If your destination address is incorrect, it now will cost you $11, an increase of 10 percent from 2009. “Remote” zip codes, as decided by FedEx, will require an additional delivery surcharge. And if you send FedEx Express Tubes, you’ll have to pay for at least 6 pounds inside the U.S., even if you’re contents in the tube are lighter. That can add up – if you ship a 3-pound Express Tube from Los Angeles to Miami, it will cost you $29.38* under the current 3-pound rate.  At the new minimum 6-pound rate for 2010, that same package will cost you $38.75 – at 32% increase.

USPS Does Not Add Miscellaneous Fees
Thankfully, the USPS is a great economical option to ship your parcels to their destinations.  USPS doesn’t have “miscellaneous fees” for sending packages to rural areas or for using a special printed return label like UPS and FedEx do. In fact, USPS offers many of these services for free:

• No Fuel Surcharges with USPS:
  FedEx currently charges 5.50% extra on your package cost for fuel surcharges.  The USPS doesn’t add any form of fuel surcharge.
• No Residential Delivery Charges with the USPS:
  FedEx will charge $2.50 for residential delivery in 2010.  The USPS delivers to all residences in the U.S. for no added cost.
• No Saturday Delivery Charges with the USPS
  FedEx Saturday delivery charges can be as high as an additional 54% of a standard 2 Day Express change**.  The USPS does not charge to deliver on Saturday.
• No Rural Delivery Area Charges with the USPS
  FedEx delivery charges to select rural area could cost as high $2.75 per package in 2010.  The USPS has been delivering to rural areas for free since 1896.
• No Address Correction Charges with the USPS
  FedEx will charge $11.00 to correct an invalid address.   The USPS does not charge anything to correct the delivery address.

The USPS offers Priority Mail which is one of the cheapest methods to ship your packages.   Shipping a 3-pound 38” x 6” triangular tube from Los Angeles to Miami would cost $15.88 using the Stamps.com discounted USPS Priority Mail rates – a 59% lower cost than FedEx’s new 2010 charge of $38.75 to be delivered.   Priority Mail packages will arrive at your destination in just two to three days.

Postage meters may sound like a great way to save time and money, but the added operating costs associated with a postage machine can increase dramatically.  You might think that you’ve covered all necessary fees just by buying a postage meter and paying $25 to over $50 a month to rent/lease it, but hidden fees often lurk beneath the fine print in your contract. Your business could spend $90 or more each month before you print any postage.

So what type of hidden postage meter fees should you watch out for?

Proprietary Ink Cartridges:
Postage meters only work with proprietary ink cartridges that are specifically made for the meters, The ink itself can cost up to $0.10 per print. As an alternative, online postage software like Stamps.com uses your own printer and costs about 1/100^th of a penny to print postage.

Postage Reset Costs:
Recharging your meter with funds to buy more postage isn’t always free. Whether you’re buying a refill online or over the phone, you will need to pay a reset fee. It can add up – costs could get as high as $10 per recharge.

Equipment Insurance/Maintenance Agreement:
Postage meter contracts want you to purchase equipment insurance, often referred to as a maintenance agreement for additional monthly costs (usually around $12 per month).   If your meter breaks and you don’t have the maintenance agreement, you’ll be stuck paying for costly repairs to get it fixed.

Early Termination Fee:
Postage meter contracts are complex documents and usually last several years. Ending your contract early can trigger an “early termination fee” costing your business hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Equipment Return Fee:
Once your meter contract is over, the customer often is responsible for mailing back the large and cumbersome meter at your cost, no matter if you ended your contract early or if you fulfilled your long-term lease.

Additional Equipment Costs:
The postage meter isn’t the only thing you’ll need to print postage. While most people assume the scale is part of the meter, some meters require a separate rental fee for the integrated scale.  And without a working scale, your meter is wont be very effective. 

Annual Postage Rate Updates:
Postage meter companies also may charge you to update the postage rates on your postage meter for annual USPS rate increases, or else your machine won’t work.

Custom Logos:
If you use a company logo or a rotating seasonal image on your postage, it will not only cost you more in ink to print but the postage meter company also will charge you up to $95 per image customization fee.

Stamps.com Online Postage Contains No Hidden Fees
Thankfully, you don’t need to sign up with a postage meter company in order to print postage. Stamps.com lets you print USPS-approved postage using your PC and printer, which translates into no additional costs for you. Starting at $15.99 a month, Stamps.com’s service costs a fraction of what postage meter companies charge. Also, there are no multi-year contracts or proprietary ink costs with Stamps.com.

Additionally, Stamps.com offers free or discounted Delivery Confirmation and a 10 percent discount on package insurance, rate discounts on Express and Priority Mail, address verification and “cost code” reports to outline how much you’ve spent on a particular customer or shipment.