Buy your label online
The prices above are what you pay at the counter. Labels bought online get USPS’s lower commercial prices, which are often several dollars cheaper for a small parcel. You can buy them through eBay, Etsy and Mercari when an item sells, through USPS Click-N-Ship, or through free shipping sites such as Pirate Ship. Print the label at home, stick it on and drop the parcel at a Post Office or hand it to your mail carrier.
Free help from USPS
- Free pickup: USPS will collect parcels from your door for free when your carrier delivers your mail. Book it on usps.com.
- Free boxes: Priority Mail boxes and envelopes are free from the Post Office or usps.com, but only for Priority Mail.
How each platform handles shipping
- Poshmark: the buyer pays a flat $6.49 for parcels up to 5 lb, and you get a prepaid USPS label by email. From 5 to 15 lb you pay $5 or $10 towards it.
- eBay: you set the shipping price and can buy discounted labels through eBay. eBay’s fee is charged on shipping too.
- Mercari: you choose whether the buyer pays shipping or you offer it free, and can buy a prepaid label from Mercari. Mercari’s 10% is charged on buyer-paid shipping.
- Depop and Etsy: you set the shipping price and can buy labels through the app. Their fees are charged on shipping too.
- Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp: usually local pickup, so no shipping.
Tips to keep shipping down
- Weigh and measure the packed item before you list. A cheap kitchen scale is fine.
- Use a poly mailer or padded envelope for clothes instead of a box. Under 8 oz is the cheapest band.
- Reuse clean packaging, and keep a few mailers in stock.
- For heavy parcels, compare UPS Ground through eBay or Pirate Ship with USPS.