Tools

Q. What printer do you use and why?	We love our Brother Laser Printer because its a workhorse, printing thousands of labels. It is fast and toner cartridges are cheap.
Q. What tape do you use?	We use the standard 2” wide clear tape, 110 yard rolls. Recently we tried the thinnest stuff, 1.6 mil, because it is cheapest and it worked just as well. In a 36-roll box it is $28 with free shipping; that's 77-cents per roll. Save wherever you can on supplies!
Q. Do you use the fancy tape dispenser used for boxes?	No. We modified the basic 2-inch Scotch tape dispenser. It is much easier to control. The modification prevents the tape from folding back on itself which is a PAIN!
Q. What are your basic shipping tools?	I like to stand while doing the packaging, so I use our radial arm saw table covered with a rubber membrane that allows easy “forgiving” surface while cutting. I use a sharp utility knife, scissors, and single straight razor blades.
Q. What do you do for boxes?	Most items are shipped USPS Priority using USPS free boxes as much as possible. We also have a supply of smaller boxes (4x4x4, 4x4x6, 6x6x6) for smaller boxes. These allow as many items to be shipped first class which is the same cost all over the country, unlike USPS Priority which can vary greatly depending on the distance involved.
Q. What about larger boxes?	At auctions we try to use their larger boxes that we can then use to ship larger items in. Large boxes are expensive to buy. So far we have not had to buy any large boxes. We also have neighbors and friends who give us their boxes rather than tossing them in the recycling.
Q. what do you use for bubble wrap?	So far using 5/16” 12”-wide 100 foot rolls is all we've had to buy. We buy 4 rolls at a time for $10/roll with free shipping. That's 10-cents per foot so we still use it sparingly. You don't want to wrap a $12 item in $1 of wrapping.
Q. Do you use any other type of filler?	We use old newspaper mainly, but we do have packing peanuts that seems to come for free in other items we purchase. Again, we are pretty tight on costs of packaging.
Q. Do you make your own boxes?	Yes, at times. You learn to really work hard to ship under the 13-ounce First class level limit, or under the next 1-pound level. If you pack things and it ends up 4 pounds 2 ounces, you can usually get it under 4 pounds, saving sometimes $2, by reducing the box size or using lighter-weight filler. When you do 10 items like that a week it adds up. There are also items that you can't find a suitable box that will work, so you do at times have to make your own box. An example is a 18-inch carpenter's level that is basically 18” x 3” x 2”.
Q. Do you use a barcode scanner?	Yes, they are cheap. It speeds up searches on either eBay or amazon to see what the same thing has sold for. Not many things we get have a UPS code but sometimes you come across NEW items in boxes that you know you can flip pretty quickly. At an auction, you can use either the eBay mobile Ap or the AMAZON SELLER Ap on your smartphone to quickly look up what things sells for before you considering bidding on it.
Q. What scales do you use?	We have an electronic one that works up to 50 pounds for “final shipping,” one that is used to nail down the weight to purchase postage. When preparing the listing we use a smaller “mechanical scale,” good up to 25 pounds that gets one close enough to estimate shipping weight. We have an idea of what to add for the weight of boxes and fill to help in not over or underestimating shipping weight. We use almost exclusively Calculated Shipping on eBay unless it's under 13 ounces where we offer FREE shipping and build the shipping cost into the price.
Q. What camera do you use?	We use a simple Samsung point-and-shoot camera, model ST150F, that has proven to be reliable, focuses close in, and has Wifi to upload images to the computer. At times we also use the camera on or Smartphones if we are “on the go.”
Q. Do you have a photo-studio?	OK, so here is where efficiency is important. We have the computer, cleaning table, weighting station, and 3” x 3” photo table, all in a small area and use a chair with wheels. We tend to clean, photograph, measure, and weight the items, perhaps 10 items in a 30 minute session, then about an hour to do the research and list the items.
Q. Do you have a photo-table backdrop?	Yes, what works well is the thicker material from old roll-up movie screens. The backside of these screens provides a nice shadow-free neutral color.
Q. What lights for you use?	We have just a few fixed CFL lights and several CFL lights that are in flexible “drafting table” lamps that you can position where needed.