Tips/info for FS/FT newb?

[duragezic]

I need to sell a CPU and maybe something else or two in FS/FT, but I'm not sure how to ship it and whatnot. I recall a good general guide that was stickied in FS/FT, but that was years ago.

I don't think there is a UPS or FedEx here... not one where you can go pick up something after a delivery attempt or has a front office shipping store. That leaves me with USPS I guess.

Shipping
I ordered a new CPU from Newegg and kept everything, so to sell this old CPU + HSF I could use the AMD box, the packing peanuts, and the cardboard box with a new label, but I don't know if USPS would take it like that? Don't they ship stuff in their flat-rate boxes? Do they supply the box and packing materials, etc for free?

If I ship it USPS, what is the standard as far as type of shipping, delivery confirmation, insurance, etc? How much can I expect it to cost for shipping a 2 pound package? (I want to include the shipped price but don't want to pay too much for shipping and sell the item for less than I want).

Terms
Seems like most of the FS/FT threads I see are all items with shipping price included and they have a small list of their terms. I myself am not active in FS/FT (broke!) so don't have much Heatware.... actually I only have one eval but it's from like 1998, so obviously I'm not going anywhere! But on Heatware, it is under my old username on here that the mods switched for me years ago. How can I prove that it is mine?

Do I want to say "only ship to the 48 continental states" so I don't lose out due to my shipped price not being enough?

If someone is interested in the CPU and has say 15 positive heat since 2000, they will likely want me to ship first. I know most everyone here is honest, but it just seems weird to ship a ~$40 item several days or a week before I would even see the money. OTOH, that seems like a common practice here, so I don't want to alienate many buyers with unreasonable terms.

Other
How should I accept money? I don't know if I can accept Paypal... as I only have the simple account I had to make for buying some things off Ebay. I'd like to avoid any fees as well as the item to sell isn't worth much.

This stuff may sound obvious to you guys, but I need some basic guidance (outside of what the stickied thread in FS/FT covers) so any selling I do goes smoothly. I am also quite busy during business hours so when I do sell this, I'll need everything to go quickly and smoothly to get it shipped ASAP.

Thanks for the help or any other tips!

P.S. I do know to enable my email address when I actually do it.

 

[TruePaige]

For Paypal you can accept all payments except cc funded ones with your basic account.
For Heat Issues, just make sure someone has maybe...20+ Heat if they want you to ship first (Maybe higher, your comfort level is up to you)
USPS website can quote you a price.
On Heatware go under aliases and add your current username for AT FS/T.

There ya go! =)

 

[evident]

Shipping: If it's something small and relatively durable (eg properly packaged cpu, ram) i'd ship it USPS. Their flat rate boxes can be a decent deal. most packaging material besides the box at usps isn't free though

terms: don't let people lowball you into oblivion, hold out for offers if you aren't in a rush. if you have no heat, then i would ship first but ONLY to people who are reputable on the forums, look around and find more info about them

 

[ElFenix]

USPS priority provides boxes for no extra fee, but it isn't the cheapest way to ship. they have both flat rate and regular service (depends on the box you pick up). you can also use your own packaging and put priority stickers on it. media mail is cheaper, but slower, and some post offices crack down on it if you're not shipping a book or something. parcel post is also cheaper, but is dirt slow.

sometimes fedex/ups/dhl ground is cheaper, but you have to provide your own packaging.

they all have online calculators, so just guestimate the weight and see which is less expensive.