Postage and Parcel Scales : eBay Guides

The first thing you need to think about when considering purchasing postage scales is how much money you are willing to spend, and how much it will benefit you.

If you are selling a few one off times (10 or less) you might be best, just weighing your items with kitchen scales. If you don't have any, most major supermarkets sell manual ones, for around £5, which weigh upto 5kg. These are also available on eBay, at similar prices, and some come with postage rate sheets and related items, which can be very handy for the novice seller.

If you're selling more than 10 items per month, it may be a wise investment, to buy some decent postage scales. These can be manual or digital, as if they are accurate, it makes no difference. You can pick up a good pair of postage scales for less than £50 on eBay, some of which can weigh upto 35kg. They are simply accurate scales, which tell you the weight of the item on them. They won't tell you the postage cost, you will need to work that our for yourself.

I have Ultraship digital scales, and they are great. They weigh in 2g increments, and come with a detachable digital display so if you are placing a large item on the scales, you can read the weight.

For really large or heavy parcels, it is a good idea to weigh them on bathroom scales. For awkward and heavy items, pick up the item, and weigh
 yourself and the item on the scales. then weigh your self. Take away the second weight from the first, and you have the item weight!

If you're a really serious eBayer, you may wish to use scales which have the option to display the actual cost of posting the item. The cheapest I have seen, for these types is around £200.

In my opinion, the best all round scales for the average eBayer, are one from the digital Ultraship range! (PS: I am in no way associated with Ultraship, I just like my scales!)

Good luck with your eBay selling.