Shipping

[Former_Member]

I know this has been brought up in the past but today I had a potential customer complain about my shipping prices.
I don't control what it costs to ship something so there isn't much I can do about it, however someone in the "Questions" forum suggested to me raising my prices of my items to be able to charge less for shipping. Have you tried this and do you think it's a wise decision why or why not?

[Anthropologeek]

First of all, is this the most affordable price? It seems a little steep for the states. I believe that you can ship something here in a small priority box (2 day delivery) for that amount. Maybe you could change the packaging instead to make them lighter, since it seems that they are super light. Are you using a box? Should you switch to an envelope?

[Former_Member]

I use a padded envelope I am in Canada, prices to ship things here are almost twice what it costs to ship in the states.

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

Your prices do seem steep. Do the Canadian sellers have an option to buy postage via etsy? I know its cheaper for people in the states.

I would find a way to make your packaging lighter and cheaper. I send my knits out in padded envelopes. Also buy a postage scale, and know what the postage will be upfront (at least as close as you can). The USPS website will give you amounts, not sure if the Canadian post office will.

Also, this below phrase in your policies is a bit weird. Why wouldn't you refund anything lower than $3 if it was off that much? If I saw that as a buyer, I would rethink making a purchase because, if shipping was really $5 for you, but I was charged $6.50, why wouldn't I get that $1.50 refund? That would discourage me from buying.
"there is more than a $3 difference between the price you paid for shipping and the actual cost I will refund you the difference."

[CozyDawg]

Seems reasonable to me for international shipping. There will always be someone out there who complains. You can't make everyone happy.

[Former_Member]

I ship internationally a lot and your shipping costs seem reasonable to me, from a seller stand point. Perhaps whoever convo'd you didn't realize that you were in Canada and shipping internationally?

I make a lot of custom comic book letters and they are very light and to send those internationally it costs upwards of $10, depending on where it's going. That is even with minimal packaging and in the smallest box I can find for the specific item. So I totally understand where you are coming from.

From a buyer standpoint, it may be the wiser choice to increase the cost of your items and charge a flat rate for shipping. It's all about the "buyer psychology". Most people would opt to spend more on the actual item and less on shipping, even if the cost evened out for you in the end.

I would test it out and change your listings to see how it goes and if sales pick up, that's awesome, if not you can always change it back.

Good Luck!
Hayley

[RefinedRuffian]

Yes and yes.

[Anthropologeek]

Very true to what everyone says about international rates... I guess, you could always charge a couple of dollars more per item and make the buyer think they got a deal in shipping.

[HoneyThistle]

Took a look at your shipping prices and they're pretty reasonable for a Canadian seller. I used to absorb some of my shipping costs into my item costs, but as has been said above, having the fees take a chunk of that and being able to keep track mentally when you're listing new items wasn't worth it... so my shipping costs truly reflect what the actual shipping price is now.

That said, I still absorb the cost of the envelope and boxes into the item price.

[WilliamsGiftshop]

I'm in Belgium, Europe, most of my customers are in the US, and I keep my shipping prices reasonable by including part of them in my product prices.
It works fine for me.

[Former_Member]

Thanks everyone,
I decided to adjust my prices and lower shipping costs to see if that makes a difference in sales. I'll try it for a bit, if I don't notice a difference I'll switch back. Thank you for all your input.

[Former_Member]

I think your shipping cost is perfectly find. It's not cheap shipping internationally. :)