Hi Heather, you can set up calculated shipping and it usually does the work for you. You can also ask this question in the forums section. There are many people ready to help answer any question you might have. I took full advantage of everyone's help when I first opened. It gets easier.
If you decide to add the shipping costs to the item price and offer free shipping you may or may not be losing money because it depends on weight and destination. If you ship international, it gets a bit trickier...I chose to keep it domestic until I figure that out. Shipping overseas can be expensive.
If you have a printer and shipping label paper you can set up etsy shipping labels and simply print from home without ever waiting at the post office. You should definitely get a scale, it helps a whole lot.
Good luck to you. I hope you don't give up! -Binish
