need help with calculated/international shipping

[DreamFairyGardens]

I just asked this in the forum and found this team mentioned in a similar question.

I just went through my entire shop and switched my items to a calculated shipping profile so that I can ship internationally and it will calculate it for me. I used to have "ships free with another item" to offer complete combined shipping but now this is gone. Is there the option to have both? It was calculating for someone it would be $15 to ship 3 tiny items. Please help!

[Former_Member]

Teresa

There is no with another item with calculated shipping. It is entirely based on the size, weight, mail class and zip code or country it is going to.

The rules - first, you need to have the dimensions in your listing for your item only - NOT the shipping box or mailer.

The weight should be the whole thing packed up ready to ship.

If your items are very small and light, and you often sell multiples, then it's a good idea to package up 2 or 3 and divide to get a more accurate weight for 1. Sometimes you do have to make slight adjustments.

And you need to list your mailers and boxes in package preferences so that the calculator can use the boxes you normally use.

By putting the ITEM dimensions in the listing, the calculator can fit the items into the best mailer or box you have listed and then it takes the weight you have listed in your listing, depending on how many were ordered, and adds that up.

If you get it set up correctly (this can take some trail and error) then the shipping should be accurate no matter how many items are purchased.

[Former_Member]

A couple more tips. First, if you put a shipping and handling fee on the shipping profile, that is going to go on each item sold. If you put the fee on the boxes you use, then that only goes on once per box.

Putting it on the profile can often increase shipping quite a bit and can often throw off what you think shipping should be for multiple items.

If you do not have a box or mailer listed in package preferences to fit multiples of your items, then the calculator will put them in separate packages.

I put a couple of items in my cart from your shop and the shipping showed First Class at over $7. Since the top first class rate for Etsy shipping labels is $3.65 for up to 16 ounces, that means either you have a large fee attached to your items or the calculator is using two separate packages.

[DreamFairyGardens]

Thank you so much for all of this detailed advice!! This helps a ton. I need to go through and make sure I fix a few of the things you mentioned. You are the best!

[Former_Member]

Hello, I think I have a really good understanding of calculated shipping. It has worked well for me in the past. I do have my ITEM dimensions in the listings and I have SHIPPING BOX dimensions that will accommodate either one of those items and a separate size that will accommodate two of my products. My site used to combine two of my towels to get a lower shipping rate but now it does not. I changed my profile to expand to International today but cannot see how that would have changed it. Any insight into what I might have inadvertently changed? I do custom sizing.

[Former_Member]

I found my problem. I have a dummy account so I can test things out with purchases. This is what I was using to test out my international shipping. Oddly enough the ONE item I had entered an incorrect product size on was one of the items I was using to test this. Corrected this and now problem solved.