Filling Orders - What's your method?

[lovebuguniverse]

When I first started selling I would wait until getting paid before placing items aside for packaging.

But after a while I noticed I was too overwhelmed and stated using a basket system. As soon as something sells I put aside the order in a basket (each basket is a different user) and so when they pay I just quickly double check the packing slip before sending the items off.

What's your method? Do you prefer to wait until you're paid? Do you find you fill orders quickly or like to take things slow?

[faerywishes]

I put each order in the envelop I would be using for that order and then it goes in the pending drawer until it is paid. I attach a post-it to the front with their user id. I do this at the end of each auction. That way I can weigh it and make sure the buyer is paying the correct shipping. One reason I do this is so I know at the end of each set of auctions which ones don't sell and less chance of mixing up orders.

Any messages I get from the buyer about their order I will then add a note to the post-it.

I check Selling Pro for any new orders a couple of times a day and then add accordingly.

When they pay I take their order check it against their invoice, make sure the shipping is correct again.

I do my packaging for Sold orders at night so they are ready to be shipped the next day. If they happen to pay on a Friday or Saturday I enclose a special leaflet along with the normal one I send. Just letting them know again there is no Canada Post shipping on weekends.

Ta Da I'm done.

This has worked very well for me.

[craftycatsattic]

I have a space problem with new items arriving several times a week and am always shuffling things around to find space so a basket system does not work well for me. It's important to have some sort of system though so that you stay on top of things. Mine is a group of balances and checks.

For starters, I use Selling Manager and have my view settings to include the item picture next to the title so I have a visual of what sold and don't confuse it for something else.

Secondly, I use both Selling Manager and my inbox to keep on top of items that were paid and are waiting to ship. I find it's important to monitor both as sometimes paypal communicates the paid item to selling manager but does not send the pament notification to my email inbox and sometimes the reverse happens.

Thirdly, I ship all items with the paypal notification sent to my inbox (or a replacement if this does not apply or is not available) and I cut and paste all the addresses into an Avery label template. When I prepare the envelopes to ship, I must have used all the labels and all the invoices. Sometimes I may be missing a label or an invoice which tells me I made a mistake and have to review.

I also review the gallery pics of what I'm sending (new or used) and check my item descriptions on used items that I have multiples of---to make sure that I sent the used item with the correct condition noted in the auction.

I also save the label templates by date, so yesterday was EBAYADDRESSES 07-14 and today it was EBAYADDRESSES 07-15. I keep these for 3 months. They come in handy when someone asks about their package. It's one thing to "know" you sent the package or to have marked it as shipped in your Selling Manager settings but there is some room for error. So what I do if someone asks, is I look up the item and see which date I sent the shipping confirmation. Then I go into word and pull out my label template for the same date and check if the buyer's address for the item in question is there. This leaves no doubt that the item was shipped and I can confidently inform the buyer that everything was properly processed and that the item is simply in transit.


This may all seem like a lot but if you follow it for a short while, it becomes second nature and accomplishes itself nicely.

I have been using this system for years with improvements added as I went along and it has worked well for me. 🙂

[vesivus]

I basically have a 'warehouse' with our items on shelves. I do not 'pick' the order until payment. When I have a stack of items paid and feel it is time to do a shipment, I'll head to the warehouse and pick/package. After that, I take them all to the computer room where we do our electronic shipping.

Canada Posts Electronic Shipping Tools work great if you're a relatively fast typer. 🙂

John

[ricarmic]

Here's what I do:
-all items have the item number on them
-items are stacked on shelves or in boxes depending on their size (I use custom made boxes so they are all the same size) The majority of my sales are from the eBay store.
-all "sold" emails are kept
-when payment is received "sold" email is moved to another directory*
-payment email (if it was electronic) is printed, or cheque/letter is put in the to be packaged pile
-payment email is moved to another directory as well
-to be packaged pile is taken and lots are pulled from the shelves etc and packaged (this is usually on Mon/Wed/Fri)

*This way I can find lots that haven't been paid for because they're at the bottom of the pile when you have it sorted in date order.

I don't do anything with the lot until it has been paid for.

Something I do that reduced my lost mail is:
-"Expedited", "small packet" etc: cut out the address on the paypal payment email and tape it to the box above the "expedited" or "small packet" or whatever form.
-Regular bubble envelopes, I just cut the same paypal address section and tape it to the envelope (with packing tape)
(as my English teachers will tell you I was never a very good writer!)

[ricarmic]

As usual I forgot to add something. My customers are stamp collectors so I have to put stamps on the package, so electronic shipping etc don't work for me.

I actually make sure I put nice stamps on the boxes which the collectors seem to appreciate, I suspect this is why I'm not punished as much as some other sellers on my shipping fees (which are often higher than the postage).