u/Educational_Tooth_10

How do you sell on EBay and make a profit?

I sold a pair of shoes for twenty bucks, the most anyone would pay. eBay estimated the shipping at 12.00 from a photo of the shoes next to their box. Ok I don't have a shipping box yet so I buy one at the post office....mistake it cost about six dollars. Ok so pack the shoes in the box come back and ship the item with the customers address that I write on the box. Don't have a printer yet. The post office charges me 26.00 to ship the shoes. I lost money . Even if I would've charge a bit more for the shoes....which nobody wanted unless they were free.... the shipping was extremely expensive.
What are the right first steps to shipping out something?