How to determine shipping?

[Former_Member]

I have had my shop open since 2008. When we were located in North Carolina shipping was not an issue for me. The post office was great and i NEVER had anything break. I could always give a consistent shipping price and not have any kind of issue with eating shipping costs etc.
Since moving to Jacksonville, Florida i am always very hesitant to put shipping prices since the different "zones" dictate how much shipping will be. I have gone with UPS since and still have a hard time putting a price on shipping.
I am frustrated and at wits end about this and am reaching out to my fellow potters for advise and guidance.
Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You in advance.
Janie Vila
A Little Off Center Pottery

[Former_Member]

Janie, I have the same problem. We used to sell things on Ebay, which makes it easy with a customized shipping calculator. Maybe Etsy will adopt that eventually. In the meantime, I do my best to set shipping at an average based on the size of the pot. A mug might cost 6 dollars to ship near by and 9 to ship to the east coast. So I set it at 8 (round up for packing material). In the end shipping & packaging cuts into the actual selling price, but I'm afraid to set it too high. Maybe we should be putting something in our shipping policies explaining that Etsy doesn't have a shipping calculator so we work with an average cost.

[ThistleBeePottery]

With the emense diversity here it's pretty ridiculous that Etsy hasn't given us a shipping calculator yet. But we do have a wedding registry! (insert sarcastic tone here) =/

I tried using an average pricing but found I was losing several dollars with too many shipments. So I set my shipping charges at the highest point for the weight. That way I don't lose money if it's too low. I state in my policies that if the shipping charges exceed the actual cost the customer can request the difference is refunded. So far no one has asked for their $2-$3 refund.

[Former_Member]

Maybe we should make some request to etsy about this issue. I have considered posting my items on ebay. It is easier for artist that make small items to ship but potters have a problem with this. It cost $12.00 to ship to california from florida.... i had to eat that difference. I am frankly fed up with having my shipping cost cut into my profit. I have tried so many different things that it is NUTS!! (BTW i save all of my plastic grocery bags and use them for padding along with bubble wrap when i ship, that way i can recycle and reuse!) :)
Thanks for your input i hope that etsy will hear our cries of frustration and come up with a solution....

[DMPottery]

Sellers in the US have it so much better than us in Australia where postal costs are much more expensive than yours, both internally and internationally. We don't have the options of private companies that you seem to either, and I've heard about shipping calculators in Paypal or something (?) - no such thing for us in Australia. I list a mug for $25 and the shipping cost to the EU could be $25 also! and if I add a vase to that - maybe $40. The price jumps dramatically if I go over certain weight thresholds for international (size thresholds for domestic). Within Australia that mug could cost anything from $7 (within my state) to $18 interstate. Every weight bracket and parcel size will be a different cost with dramatic jumps in price through the scale.

Not to mention the additional $9 we get charged on top of the weight cost to send anything to USA - some kind of 'terrorism tax'.

Talk about discouraging to buyers and sellers alike!

Denise
PS; If Etsy did provide some kind of shipping calculator I can guarantee it would only be applicable to US sellers, yet Etsy is full of sellers from all over the world. At least you have the Ebay calculator.

[MudbugCreations]

I struggle to figure it out as well. I am pretty new to Etsy and shipping is a nightmare. Every single time, my shipping cost has cut into my profit. I have figured that a mug is about 6-8 dollars to ship, so I am basing my current work off of that. The best I've been able to figure out is to weigh things and find shipping calculators online. It helps a little.