How NOT to make money on eBay

So... If you happen to be like me, and you're having a VERY rough December financially, and you decide to start selling off your beloved possessions to pay for incidentals like food, gas, prescriptions, etc. I offer you this bit of advice: Once your items have sold, and it's time to ship them, PACK THEM YOURSELF!!

I put a few items on eBay Sunday night, and I was happy when one sold immediately. I went to the UPS Store today to ship the item (a small travel guitar). I had no appropriately sized boxes for the item, so I decided to have the UPS Store pack and ship it. After packing the item, I was told it would cost $30 to ship it UPS ground. No problem. I only charged my eBay customer $20 for shipping, but I could "eat" the $10, and still make a $50 profit on the item.

Unfortunately, it turns out that price was just for the shipping... the box and packing were an additional $30!! So my gross income for the guitar was $80, and I paid $60 to ship it... meaning I made a whopping net income of $20, and I no longer have my cool little travel guitar (that I bought to use while working on ships). ;^(