posted on June 9, 2002 06:18:48 PM
Since USPS is changing Priority to zones, I guess I am going to need a good scale to calculate postage. I have seen several on ebaY. Any advise?
posted on June 9, 2002 06:40:15 PM
I see many on ebaY, my question was which one? I need it to weigh in 1/10 of ounce for postal standards. And want it big enough that you can see the read-out when you sit a box on it.
posted on June 9, 2002 07:19:50 PM
any scale that is advertized as a postal scale will weight to the tenth even a deit type scale you may have at home for weight portions out will work as a postal scale .
as far as priority is concerned if and Item is up to .4 you pay for the half pound if its up to or over .6 you pay for the whole pound there is no inbetween.
weight will have nothing to do with zone postage fee set up zip code will.
posted on June 9, 2002 07:45:36 PM
Dman-I understand that it is based on zones. But now I will have to put in my auctions my zipcode and the exact weight of the item, so people will be able to calculate how much shipping will be. I always put the shipping charges in my auctions, and with the zone system, I will not be able to do that. If I put how much it weighs, from point "A" zip code, it will help cut down people emailing me with the "how much is shipping" question. I only charge exact shipping, and to do so, I want an accurate, calibrated scale. Not all scales are the same, and I don't want one I have to callibrate for accuracy every time I weigh.
I just wondered if anyone had a good brand scale they use and like, that's all....
posted on June 9, 2002 08:06:21 PM
A scale is a good for anyone in mail order to have, How ever its not nessary to put the weight of the items and your zip code for buyer to figure postage.
Just sel up a fixed price for priority shipping this has worked out for me very well over the last two years now.
I fix the priority shipping at the two pound and have internation add X amount for international shipping.
when the rate change I will set my priority fixed rate at the mid range Height and will add a note for any one west of the mississippi to add $1.40 for shipping to there zone and $2.50 for international shipping.
if most of the items you sell fall in the weight range of 1 to 2 pounds this will work well.
any thing over that I will shift to shipping parcel post inless buy request priority or express.
This zoned shipping is not new they have been useing the zones for parcel post all along makeing it just as cheap for people to use priority how ever the priority zoning will bring the cost differents between the two back in line
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
[ edited by dman3 on Jun 9, 2002 08:12 PM ]
posted on June 9, 2002 08:15:49 PM
yes I have a Sunbeam digital for up to 10 lbs, I believe it was made by Pelouze, and a UPS scale I bought at an office yard sale for $5.00 that weighs anything that is too big or or heavy for the digital scale. It is very handy because it has a step on thing that will stop the scale at it's registered weight even though the package might be covering up the read out window. So for me there wasn't *one* perfect scale, but two.
BUT, I just charge flat rate shipping and will probably continue to do so, figuring in the middle somewhere for the shipping costs. Sometimes I err on the cheaper side, sometimes I pay a little more to ship it, but it usually evens out. If it is TOO MUCH significantly less than I charged them, I send them a refund, then I have a happy customer.
posted on June 9, 2002 08:24:38 PM
Thank you for you replies. I do not charge flat rate shipping as I sell many different things from a few ounces to many pounds. And personally, as a customer, I dont want to pay more then what an item costs to ship give or take a little for packing. I only charge actual shipping, and in almost 1000 sales that has seemed to work. Thank you again for your help, I will continue on my search for the perfect scale...
posted on June 10, 2002 04:17:27 AM
I bought a nioe scale of E-bay it's a Royal eX2. My only problem was many of my packages coverted the LCD display so I couldn't tell what the weight is. My way around this was to use the tare function. You can put a container on the scale then zero it back so the container's weight doesn't show and put your item ontop of the container. So I have a wooden block that fits most of the scale and it's high enough that when I set a package down opver the block so that the block is in the middle of the package I can read the LCD. So far that work-around has worked fine for me because all the weight of the package is being pressed onto the block. I'll post back when I ship the laptops I weiged using the scale saying how well my work-around did then
posted on June 10, 2002 10:04:12 AM
Unless you need a scale for 1st class mail (under 13 oz.) Any kitchen scale will work. It doesn't matter if it is 1 lb. 4 oz or 1 lb 10 oz. It will be rated at 2 lbs. I am using an old scale that I purchased for $15.00, it weighs up to 25 lbs. I weigh almost everything I ship. I don't want to help pay the freight.
