Tip #1: Always specify reasonable shipping costs
The most important shipping best practice is to specify reasonable shipping costs in your listing. Listings with specified shipping costs have higher conversion rates and earn higher Detailed Seller Ratings scores than items with unspecified shipping. You can specify the shipping cost in the Shipping Details are of the Sell Your Item form.

Tip #2: Ship within 24 hours of receiving payment
Particularly during the holidays, buyers are eager to get their items quickly. Clearly specify how many days you take to ship your items – 24 hours is the best practice. Shipping quickly will earn you higher Detailed Seller Ratings scores. To be ready to ship quickly, make sure you have the box and all the packaging supplies you need on hand when you list your item.

Tip #5: Pack it well!
Take extra care to pack your holiday items. You’ll want plenty of bubble wrap and packing supplies on hand in advance of the holiday season. Consider offering special holiday services like Ship-to-recipient, gift wrap, and express-shipping options help win over buyers, as well.

Tip #6 Give buyers a holiday bonus
Free shipping is a big draw for buyers, especially during the holiday shopping season. To offer free shipping in your listings, check the “Free shipping” box under Payment & Shipping when you list your item. “Free” will appear in the shipping-costs area of your listing. Listings with Free shipping will benefit from additional exposure, from buyers searching for good shipping deals.

Tip #9: Pre-order free boxes
Ship your items safely and easily with free co-branded Priority Mail® supplies from the U.S. Postal Service®, delivered right to your door. Order yours at ebaysupplies.usps.com. You can even choose flat rate boxes, which ship anywhere in the US for $7.95.

Tip # 10: Save time with PayPal Multiorder Shipping
Print up to 50 domestic USPS® shipping labels with postage at one time on your home computer—right from your PayPal account. The service is free; you pay only the postage costs. Use the USPS® SCAN Form so postal employees can scan the bar codes for every package in your shipment at once. With enhanced PayPal tracking, shipping status is displayed automatically in your buyers’ My eBay accounts, so you are likely to get fewer shipping-status questions.
To use PayPal MultiOrder Shipping, visit ebay.com/services/multiorder/shipping

Tip #11: Extend your selling season
Satisfy last-minute buyers. Always let people know when they can expect their packages to ship, and use the Get It Fast icon (available at no charge) to advertise that you offer rush shipping. Choose Get It Fast in your shipping options; offer at least one domestic overnight
shipping service, and ship within one business day of receiving cleared payment.

Tip #12: Let your buyers know their package is coming
Once you have shipped your item it is a great idea to send your buyers an email to let them know it is coming, and include the tracking number. If you use the PayPal label printing solution, the tracking number will automatically be uploaded to the buyer’s order details page.

Give Buyers Timely Shipping Status
Today when sellers use the PayPal label printing solution to print their USPS and UPS shipping labels, their shipment information automatically updates in their buyers' Order Details pages, accessible from My eBay. Now other sellers will be able to easily pass along USPS and UPS shipment information to buyers by uploading tracking information either on their My eBay page or in Selling Manager.

If you do not use PayPal Shipping Labels, you can easily pass along USPS and UPS shipment information to buyers by uploading tracking information either on their My eBay page or in Selling Manager.

Holiday shipping schedules for USPS and UPS.

USPS:
Link

UPS:
Link

Hi everyone:

Grab some eggnog and bring your questions and come chat with us.

We're here for you

Deirdre
eBay Community Development

Hi Paradisetreasure,
Yes, this is the Shipping Tips workshop. Feel free to post questions.

Hi Heather,
At time of printing the label, you will be asked to input weight and package size. Postage cost will be calculated based on your inputs and service selection. Once this is done, it is not necessary to have USPS measure or weigh again. You can even schedule USPS to pick up your package from your home if you are shipping via Priority Mail or Express Mail.

For more information on label printing: Link