Shipping question...

[ArtistLydiaMakepeace]

What method and packing materials do you use to ship your greeting cards, prints, or other small flat items?

I shipped a greeting card from my shop and I spent over half my profit just sending it to the customer :(

I am happy to have sold it and that it was a miscalculation that affected me and not the customer, but I want to know how to ship more cost effectively next time.

[ZehOriginalArt]

I love your cards! Nice shop too.

Not sure what you used to package the card, but bubble mailers are lightweight and cost less to ship. I get mine from http://royalmailers.com.

I also put a piece of mat board or foam core board (most lightweight) in with the item to keep it rigid, but that does add to the weight.

I also write "Do Not Bend" on the package.

It might not be worth it to do singles on the less expensive cards. Maybe try a listing that bundles two or three of them together to make a set? That should help with shipping.

[MyDistinctDesigns]

Do you have direct checkout? If you do print your label from etsy. Is is much more cost effective and includes tracking.
If you do not have direct checkout- print your label through paypal.

[organicmountainwoman]

I use a recycled mailer from Caremail. I've gotten a lot of positive comments on them and a negligible quantity of breakage issues with them.
You can find them on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H9NXXY/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00
They come in several sizes too :)
I agree with Sherry...I've done muuuuch better on shipping since I started printing labels on etsy. And when I sell through auction sites like tophatter, I do much better with PayPal too.

[CreationsByCarrieD]

A scale would help with weight miscalculation if that was what took a chunk of your profit. I currently ship Priority Mail via USPS for my US shipments and First Class USPS international but I think I will switch entirely over to First Class very soon.

Buy packaging such as mailers in multi packs that usually cuts down some cost too. Also, as Sherry mentioned print your postage on line. It does save a little too.

Hopefully a card maker can offer more advice. I remember selling something once on line and my profit was .16. I hadn't calculated shipping correctly. It happens. Getting a digital postage scale helped me.

[Former_Member]

Hi Lydia!

Are you using an online business account for USPS? It will save you money. I save between $1-2 on my shipping when I buy my postage online, vs. buying at the local P.O.

I still don't charge actual cost for my shipping; I have some of those costs covered in my listing price (I'm not sure I can convince most of my customers that it really does cost me just shy of $8 to ship a single jewelry purchase via Priority)... but there might be a way to find a balance.

I think you could probably afford to raise your shipping price, but consider including a note in the listing about how you ship (customers will expect to pay more for Priority- which it looks like is your policy... and for me it would be a great selling point). :)

[ArtistLydiaMakepeace]

Thank you all! I shipped my card in a recycled manila envelope with a lightweight piece of cardboard. It still cost me $6.20 to ship it from Florida to Illinois!!! I sent it priority. Perhaps if I sent it in a smaller envelope next time?...

Thank you for your advice too. I don't have a printer yet but when I get one I will be sure to print my labels right from Etsy. That will be super fast and easy. I'm always paranoid I will write the address down incorrectly.

I was also just informed that postage went WAY up a couple weeks back and I have now raised all of my shipping costs up by as much as $2.00 especially for international. I was told their costs have almost doubled! I'm also going to consider splitting some of the cost for shipping between my item and listed shipping cost and include that I ship priority in all of my listings.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

I ship my cards in 6x9 poly envelopes that I bought in bulk on Amazon (about $5.00 for 100). I insert my single cards into a clear cello envelope. I bought a bunch years ago from a friend who was downsizing her supplies but you can get them right here on Etsy as well. I wrap my card sets in a pretty ribbon and put them in a ziploc sandwich bag - not very pretty but it works for now until I find attractive packaging that fits my budget. I include a thick piece of clean, plain cardboard (I have a secret supplier of cardboard!), a business card, a coupon code for future purchase and a packing slip incase the package gets torn open. I always print my shipping labels through Etsy.

U.S. postage rates went up very little with the recent increase. First class packages 3 oz or less only increased by about 5 cents. International rates doubled and that's where most sellers need to carefully go over all their shipping fees.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

Oops, I forgot to say that it costs me $1.69 to ship a typical package through Etsy shipping. Most of my packages are 3 oz or less and I always ship first class.

[Former_Member]

What a great thread! I ran into a similar problem with shipping. Just sold a single card and was happy until I had to ship it. My profit (before taxes) was 50 cents. I packaged it in a padded envelope and put cardboard inside. PO treated it as a parcel (basically same as a box which is nicer) and charged my over 2 dollars.
So my question is: can i use nonpadded envelope? I want to make sure I avoid any damage to the product.

[OneFairfaxRoad]

Lydia,
On my smaller vintage items I always ship First Class, pricing it with my USPS scale and printing the label thru Paypal or Etsy Direct Check Out.

I find First Class is fairly quick. You may want to price your listings at First Class rates and state "Contact me for Priority Mail Pricing."

[Former_Member]

Cute cards, Lydia.

Envelope size matters. Regular "letter' pricing is for these sizes.
Dimension Minimum Maximum
Height 3-1/2 inches 6-1/8 inches
Length 5 inches 11-1/2 inches
Thickness 0.007 inch 1/4 inch
But I don't think you can get Shipping Confirmation until you go to Large Letter or Package.

I use 6x9 plastic (poly) grayish white mailers I got on Amazon very low cost to mail my sewing patterns. (most are digital files emailed in etsy, had to ship paper patterns on ebay).

Keep envelopes in "letter" size if you'd want to make your cards small enough to fit. If you would have put it in a Priority flat rate cardboard envelope it would only have cost you $5.60. Ebay allows seller to list two or more shipping choices in the listing, one could be what you calculate (cost of envelope & cost of stamp) and one Priority Flat Rate Envelope. You'll choose which to list after you've weighed and calculated.

I always weigh on a postage scale, then go on usps.com and calculate price, and be sure to include cost of Shipping Confirmation, before I put a shipipng fee in my listing.

Lots of great advice was given by others; Sell sets instead of just one card. Bubble mailers, recycled cardboard mailers.
Ship through etsy payment shipping labels or through Paypal shipping labels. Both give discounts, and shipping confirmation.

[ComfortAndGrins]

Maybe try shipping first class which is under 13 oz. You can ship 3 oz or less across the country for around $2. Etsy has great shipping

Confirmation is now free on priority and first class packages since the new price change