How do you ship?

[Former_Member]

Just wondering how most people ship their orders: USPS? USPS with confirmation? or Priority? Do you charge for shipping? Is shipping "free"? Just looking for a consensus. I had read on a previous thread that if you don't ship your item(s) with a tracking # and it happens to get lost...YOU are the one who is out of $$. So please if you would ... share your opinion? Thanks! (OH. And Good Morning!!!)

[NightShiftVintage]

Hey there juju! I always charge for shipping. I quote a east coast, west coast quote...if I over quote, I refund back the difference, if I under quote, they get a deal. I ALWAYS add delivery confirmation so the package can be tracked, some times I add insurance.

[ExpressionsInLeather]

My things are all relatively small and light so I use USPS First Class mail. The more expensive items I usually insure but the vast majority travel with no tracking, delivery confirmation or insurance. Only two packages in over 1,000 have gone missing and I replaced them for those customers. Delivery confirmation is not insurance and in my opinion not very useful. A package marked delivered only means that it has arrived at the destination post office - not that it arrived at its' actual destination address.

[Former_Member]

HA! Right off the bat I have two sort of 'opposing' opinions! I knew it. Any other takers? I'd love to get some more takes on this subject. (Thanks, 'brigit' and 'Vintiques'!!)

[JulieEllisDesigns]

I haven't (unfortunately) had to ship much, but I do charge for shipping. I don't use tracking and I don't use insurance. Haven't had a problem yet.

[Former_Member]

I print my labels from Paypal and use USPS 1st class and it has automatic tracking and delivery confirmation (You do pay for it, but it's discounted if you use Paypal rather than the Post Office.)

The labels look very professional and I just stick them on. It saves so much time. . .

[Former_Member]

Hi! I'm not in the US. I ship with Correos de Mexico, registered option, so I get a tracking number and proof of shipping. And yes, I do charge a shipping fee.

[Former_Member]

Oh, yeah. I do charge for shipping.

[Former_Member]

SilverSmack...you print your labels from PayPal? I'm not sure how that works? Can you please explain?

[MsBittyKnacks]

Hey JuJu,

As shipping goes, I invested on a scale (got a good one on ebay quite cheap). Always charge for shipping, but don't overprice do your homework. For domestic orders I ship priority w/insurance. International priority or parcel depending on weight. I print my labels online USPS, so they always give a tracking #, which is a plus to give to buyers.
Hope this helps...

[Former_Member]

Priority with signature confirmation for anything over $20 (which is most of my shop)
First class for everything else.

[RaesSpirit]

Good Morning,
I charge a flat fee for shipping. I ship regular USPS first class mail. I have insured items that are more expensive, If the customer wants priority mail, I let them know the exact cost and they pay the extra.

[Former_Member]

Thank you, MsBK. I have also been printing out my own USPS labels. Just wasn't sure if I should do 'regular' or 'priority'. Some people charge a flat rate (for ALL items), some charge different shipping for different items, some include insurance, some don't, some include tracking #s, some don't. <SIGH> Just trying to figure out what works best for me!! Thanks also to KoutureCrochet and RaesSpirit. I'll have this decided by the end of the day, hopefully!! :)

[Former_Member]

Does anyone else want to way in on this? Thanks!

[Former_Member]

I ship to US & Canada and charge a flat rate that usually covers first class postage with delivery confirmation. While I love making frequent visits to the friendly people at my neighborhood post office, I am keen to explore the PayPal mailing label options (especially if they are lower).

Although my shipping costs don't cover packaging and mailing supplies, I work those costs into my general overhead, so they are covered by retail price.

In general, I prefer not to charge extra for more items sold because I think this is a small incentive for people to add more items to their basket.

[Former_Member]

That's a very good point, gr8findings! I've had every combination of shipping (from NO shipping charge, to flat rate, to $5.00/domestic). I just need to pick one and GO WITH IT! But I definitely agree regarding not charging for more items sold. Re: Paypal shipping .. I don't see anything on the Paypal site that speaks of their shipping? Where would I find out more about that?

[Former_Member]

I think you don't have to do anything to use Paypal shipping. You just have to know how much your item weighs. Anything 3oz. or less is the same price and anything 13oz. or less you can just drop in the mailbox or just leave in your mailbox, so it is so convenient.
After someone pays, (Only in U.S.) there is an option after their name to "Print shipping label." Make sure you have two, half page sticky labels in your printer. It will print a receipt on the second label, but there is a way to change that. Their info and yours will already be on the label. You just chose "First class" (or whatever). Choose the shape of your package and the weight. You can even add a message because it automatically emails your customer to tell them the package has shipped. Confirm and print.

You'll never go back to writing out labels. . .

[MsBittyKnacks]

I give a discount if they buy more items. On the paypal order details/ info at the bottom you find shipping options (print label,add shipping info,etc)

[Former_Member]

I was using priority flat rate but most of my items in this shop and even in my knit/crochet shop are under a lb. so im thinking i should change to first class. I know that priority is for anything over 13oz but is it still ok to ship in priority mail boxes/envelopes if your shipping first class? or do you just use reg cardboard boxes and reg mailer envelopes for that?

[Former_Member]

just a fyi for anyone that was wondering the same as i, I just called usps to find out for sure and they said to use regular cardboard boxes or regular envelopes for the first class mail.

[Davs]

Free shipping here and USPS with confirmation, unless we're talking about my ACEO's which I've not done tracking with.

[EmarcidOrchid]

I use USPS FCDC. $1.75 usually is what I pay for the shipping fee, except for a few relatively heavy ones. Added the bubble mailer, the inside bubble wrap, pouch or gift box and so on, I charge $2.5 for shipping in my most listings.

However, if they choose to use my "eco-friendly" shipping, I refund my customer $1, which means I only get $1.5 for shipping, and I pay the extra $0.25 and gift box/pouch by myself. Sometimes my customers do love this way, and I'm also glad I could do something to protect the earth. :)