Bubble Mailer - dimension versus weight

[towno]

Hi - I have been reading the FAQs and tips from those of you who tested calculated shipping, thanks so much, I've learned a lot. I just got my first inquiry for international shipping and have one concept I'm not quite getting yet with the calculated shipping. For now, all of my products will fit into the same package size, and I'm using a 10.75 x 8.5 inch bubble mailer. I sell girls dresses, and they are very lightweight so it seems to be cheaper to go first class internationally than any sort of flat rate. I added the envelope size as a custom package size to my calculated shipping profile and am not using the etsy custom sizes. Now I'm editing my product dimensions in the quick edit, but am confused about the dimensions I'm supposed to include. I thought I read somewhere here that I should include the product dimensions (l x w x h) for each item, and etsy would decide which envelope to use. But then I thought I read I should be including the box dimensions here. I don't know what to put for height in either case - the height is very minimal as the bubble mailer is very flat. Also, should the weight for each item be the actual item weight, or the weight of the item in the bubble mailer?

[Former_Member]

If you put that envelope in preferences what height did you put? Bubble mailers can expand. Can you put more than 1 dress in an envelope? Is this the only package type you use?

The measurements you put in your listing need to be slightly smaller than your envelope. Putting 8x10 would work nicely. You will need to add a height which is why you need to enter a height for your envelope. If you put 1 for the envelope you can then put 1 for your item and it will fit.

For the weight you should give the weight of the dress in the envelope ready to ship.

[towno]

Thank you so much Kathy, that helps tremendously! I think I get it now - I put the maximum allowed bubble mailer size for first class mail (international and domestic) in my shipping profile envelope size. I remeasured my dresses when folded to ensure they are smaller than my envelope size, and put those dimensions, which are smaller than the envelope size, in my product dimensions. I then added the weight of the dress in the envelope ready to ship as you suggest and it works. I think I can add about three dresses and it will include them in the same package, yeah! I might also include a flat rate envelope and flat rate box size to my profiles in case I ever get a large order, or if it ends up costing less for some reason that way. Thanks again, I really appreciate the help.

[Former_Member]

So glad it helped.

It is usually a good idea to have both first class and priority checked off in your profile. I know international goes up to 4 pounds for FC but domestic only goes to 13 (retail) or 16 (etsy) ounces. So it's good to have that option. If you only have FC it will just put things in 2 envelopes. But if you decide to add a flat rate box or bubble mailer you will need priority to support that. And sometimes people are just more interested in selecting priority.

When you have both FC and Priority selected - in the listing they will always see the lower FC price. When they get to their cart there is a drop down menu where they would be able to see the Priority price.

Good luck

[towno]

I updated my shipping services area to now include all of the options. I have worried about keeping the shipping prices lower, and never thought that people might actually choose priority. I just officially opened my shop in February...so much to learn! Thanks so much for all of your help, in this post and the others I have been reading:).