How I Pack and Ship Books (It’s Easy, Cheap, and Keeps Them Safe)
Have a few books you want to sell but you don’t want to get ripped off by Half Price Books? I’ve been there and I’ve found that it’s really easy to make a lot more money from selling books using eBay and Amazon. When I first got started I felt like I was spending way too much money on the packaging materials for the book, so I looked for a better way and found it.
What I’ve ended up with is a nearly perfect way to pack and ship books that’s easy, cheap, and pretty much guarantees that your book won’t be damaged in transit. Follow these simple steps below and you’ll never ship a book another way again.
Step 0 – Gather the needed supplies.
The first step to any project is to make sure you have all the supplies you need. Some of these you may already have around the house, but here’s the list of stuff you’ll need:
- Corrugated Cardboard B Flute Roll (18″ is what I use)
- Heavy Duty Stapler and 1/2″ staples
- Scissors
- Plastic Poly Bags (ZipLock or similar)
- Packing Tape
- Book to ship
You probably don’t have any b flute cardboard sitting around the house. It’s an odd name for the product, but it works. It works so well in fact that I’ve found myself using it for shipping all sorts of stuff. I bought my roll of b flute from a local paper/cardboard box dealer at least three years ago and I haven’t run out of it yet. It was the best $20 I have ever spent on shipping materials and was BY FAR cheaper than using cardboard boxes or manilla envelopes.
Step 1 – Put the book and order slip into a plastic poly bag.
You need to ensure that your book arrives to its intended recipient in the same condition it left. I like to put the book along with a packing slip into a plastic bag to protect it from rain or if a postal worker drops the package into a puddle. Plus, the bag keep the book from getting scuffed up by the cardboard. I like to leave a little bit of air in the bag to add some extra cushioning for even more protection. Again, you don’t want your book to be damaged in transit. That’s never good for anyone.
Step 2 – Wrap the book with cardboard.
Once the book is snug and secure in a plastic bag, wrap it tight with corrugated b flute cardboard. You’ll want to make sure you hold it tight through this step because the cardboard tends to unroll fairly easily. Wrap it with two layers of cardboard. Any more and you’ll have trouble stapling it closed. Any less and the book is more likely to get damaged.
Step 3 – Staple the ends of the package closed.
Now that your book is tightly rolled with the cardboard, grab your heavy duty stapler and close both ends of the package. I’ve found that 1/2″ staples do the job pretty well. Just be sure to pay attention to the limits that your stapler has. I bought some that were too long for my stapler once.
Put use about four staples on each end of the package, depending on the size of the book. The key is to make sure the package stays closed, but you still want it to look professional, so don’t go crazy with the stapler (as tempting as it might be).
Step 4 – Add a shipping and postage label.
The easiest and cheapest method of shipping that’s out there for books is USPS Media Mail. This is a discounted rate for shipping books, CDs, DVDs, and video games and the like. The USPS lists shipping time as taking up to 9 days, so this may not work in all situations. I’ve found that the package usually arrives in about 4-5 days, so it’s a good deal and not much longer than more expensive options.
I always print labels using PayPal, no matter how I sold the book. I also just use regular paper (it’s cheaper) and affix it to the package with packing tape. Printing the label at home is cheaper than buying it at the post office and you can much more easily track the status of delivery. PayPal sends an email confirmation with the tracking number for every label you create, so it’s easy to track down the number, especially if you use Gmail.
Step 5 – Ship it.
This step is probably way too obvious to really be necessary, but I did want to point out that you have couple options on how to actually ship your package. I live really close to the post office, so I’ll just drive by and drop the package into the bin inside the building. I’ve never had to wait in a line for this, so it’s really quick to get in and out. You could also schedule a pickup for your package in PayPal, but I haven’t done this in a long time, so I’m not too sure how that works out.
Conclusion
So that’s the method I use. It takes some practice at first to make the process run smoothly, but after you’ve done it two or three times you’ll find it happening much more quickly.
What about you?
Do you sell books online? What tips or tricks have you found useful? Is there anything unclear in my tutorial? I’d love to hear from you.
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Hi Kevin.
I don't sell books online but I do swap them via PaperBackSwap.com. My packing technique is similar to yours, though I use brown wrapping/shipping paper and tape instead of the corrugated cardboard and staples. I also prefer to use self-adhesive paper to print my shipping labels.
Only other difference would be that unless it's too big for my mail box, I just let the mail delivery person pick it up from our box during regular delivery times. (Rather than driving to the PO.)
Does PayPal charge a fee for printing out the Media Mail postage? Since USPS doesn't sell the MM postage online I've done it through PBS, but they charge a fee.
Joyce
PayPal does charge a small fee for the postage, but the postage costs less overall. I spent much more on postage one time when I bought it in the post office, so it's worth it, to me, to print from home.
I only have one of those community mailboxes in my neighborhood, so I can't stick it in my mailbox.
How do they manage to charge less than straight postage value? I thought there were set postal rates.
Oh! It also occurred to me you might include a link to the books you have for sale.
Good question. I couldn't remember why I went with PayPal for the postage label, but I figured it out. The USPS has Click-n-Ship for buying labels online, but they don't offer Media Mail as an option. PayPal does, which ends up being quite a bit cheaper than Priority Mail. I usually pay less than $3 per book.
I actually have a link to the books I'm selling in the post, but it's kind of hidden. I'm probably going to to a post next week about getting setup to sell books through Amazon, so I'll talk more about it then. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/shops/KMRBooksAndMore
Hi Kevin–
This is a helpful post, particularly the part about using PayPal. I’d never thought about that. I just started selling some extra books on Amazon, and I was curious whether you exclusively use Media Mail–even to customers in Alaska or APO boxes? I went to the post office today, and the worker told me it would take exponentially longer and I’m nervous about someone claiming they didn’t get it so I mailed it all regular. I had one shipment to Alaska and one to an APO, which meant I ended up losing money. In your experience, has it still been alright to send Media Mail to those places or do you have any rules about shipping outside the contiguous 48 states? Thanks for any details you can provide!!
Thanks for the comment! I haven’t had any problems with delays in shipment. Amazon gives some nice buffer time for shipping, so it hasn’t been a problem for me.
That said, I have only shipped a couple things to Alaska. I’d say if you’re worried about it getting there on time to upgrade the shipping method even if you end up not making any or just a little money. To me the positive feedback is worth the extra cash spent.
Good luck with the shipping!