How to calculate shipping fees

Dear Astromarters,

My question may seem strange but I have a small scope I want to put up for sale on astromart and ask that 'buyer pays shipping' as I see on a lot of ads. How is this generally handled when the buyer generally pays by pay pal, etc., at the time of the purchase? Is the buyer then trusted to send the shipping fee after it has been shipped?

Thanks,

Kirby Benson
Las Cruces, NM

Kirby, This can be a lengthly response for your question raises the issue of using Paypal and Shipping costs. I can give you my best advice from experience shipping telescopes and other items. Firstly, The buyer always pays the shipping costs in advance of sending the item. In order to do that you must research what it would cost to ship your item depending on your choice of service in which you will ship the item ie, USPS, UPS or FedEx. And the location in which you are willing to ship your item. I can give you personal advice of shipping a item within the US or the lower 48. Outside the lower 48, can cost considerably more and if shipping outside country you may encounter customs fees which you or the buyer may need to consider. In any case either can be done just more paperwork and in most cases more money. I can tell you from my experience, I have always favored FedEx ground service for shipping telescopes they are reliable and in most cases much cheaper than the other two. The first thing would be to properly package your item for shipment, find a box and packing material and have it all packed up ready to go. Next weight your telescope, you can do this by first standing on a scale noting your weight and then doing the same with the package and deducting your weight. This should give you a fairly accurate shipping weight if your home scale is accurate. Next go to the web page of the service you plan to use and you can generally calculate the shipping costs there. This will require correspondence with whom you plan to ship to. You will need their address/location to calculate the item. Then let them know the total of the shipment costs and add it to the final cost of the item. This by no means is a overall view of all the variations of shipping methods available and there are many depending on what you are shipping and the service you are using. Hopefully this method will help you get your package on its way to a new home when it sells. Hopefully others can also give you their advice but this is a popular question not just for beginners and probably should have its own Forum.