There are about as many different ways to ship ebay items as there are ebay sellers. That being said, there are many eBay sellers who don't ship using the correct packaging or the least expensive service. These 10 tips are written to help sellers get started shipping their ebay items correctly.

1) Always Pack the Item Properly The biggest mistake you can make when shipping an item is to go lighty on the packaging and send an unportected item. Buyers will instantly leave negative feedback if the item arrives damaged due to bad padding. Make sure you look into the proper packaging for the item you are shipping - a book is different then a china doll, and both require proper materials.

2) Never Pay For Packing Materials Right behind improper packing is over paying for shipping materials. There are far too many sources of free boxes and free padding to need to buy them. I have been a powerseller on ebay for 4 years and not once have I paid for packing materials. EBay and USPS offer free boxes, UPS offers free shipping labels. Local retailers will generaly have old boxes lying around also - this is perfect for those large items.

3) Ship Promptly After the Auction Closes So you've just spent $400 on the newest game console - purchased it from an eBay Seller. Do you want to wait a week just for the seller to ship the item? Neither do your customers. Always ship the item as soon as possible after the auction is closed.

4) Box the Product Before the eBay Aucton is Over It is a good habit to get into packaging your items before the auction is finished. This makes it exceedingly easy to ship within a day of the buyer paying. Shipping quickly will grab good feedback more than anythign else.

5) Use UPS Ground Shipping for Large Items It is generally the best to use UPS ground for anything that weighs more than 10lbs. It is very inexpensive to ship large items with UPS. Though slower than USPS, it is far more cost effective on larger frieght.

6) Use USPS Priority Mail for Sending Small Items Anything less than 10lbs is best shipped with priority mail. Priority mail is very fast, and very inexpensive for small things. Shipping with priority mail is also very good for your buyer, as it will get them their item quickly and effectively.

7) USPS Media mail is Best for Shipping Media Items If you are shipping a book, cd, dvd, or any other item that fits in the media catagory - it is probably best to ship with media mail. This is a very cheap service, and is great for the items it is meant for. If your item is expensive, however, it may be better to use priority mail to please your buyer.

8) Include a Thank You Note in Each Package This is one of the most overlooked methods of creating return customers. You need to ship the package anyhow, why not attempt to get another eBay purchase out of each customer? Almost all of the big players on eBay use this tactic.

9) Use Paypal to Print Shipping Labels Printing eBay shipping labels from Paypal is one of the easiest and most time saving features availible to new sellers. Larger eBay sellers might want to look into furthor automation, but for everything under 50 packages per week - electronic labels from Paypal are the way to go.

10) eBay Shipping Takes Getting Used To - Don't Quit Not everyone gets into a rythm immediatly. Shipping on eBay can be a trying task - but keep going and you'll soon be rewarded with happy customers and efficient practices. It is important to learn and rethink and establish you're own personal best practices. With time, anyone can ship like a PowerSeller.

About the author:

Mason Hipp has been an eBay Powerseller for over 5 years. During the last two years he has dedicated most of his time to helping people learn to sell on ebay. More information can be found at his website. Click here to learn more about eBay Shipping.