Teach Soap

I thought I would ask here since a lot of you have online businesses.
I'm looking around at other people's shipping on Etsy and don't know how they are doing it. (for that matter, I don't how they are making any money off their products either!) Some are charging 1.50 to ship 4 oz of lotion, my jewelry was more then that to ship, anyway..
Here are some of my dilemmas!
1.Some offer flat rate Priority Shipping of 4.95. My jars won't fit in that box.
2.Some are starting at 4.95 and then adding a certain amount per item. Zone 8 is $5.55. I don't want to lose .60 because someone in California buys something. I would have to start at 5.55 for one item and then refund back if it's over, which I'm fine with. But 5.55 to start sounds high compared to some other people. (average seem to be charging 3.50 for 1 item then like 3.00 for each additional)
3. I found a 4x4x4 box here to test, lotion and some bubble fits PERFECT but Paypal label won't fit.
4. I ordered poly bubble mailers. To even use them (and they look bulky), I would have to lay the lotion jar down on it's side. I did purchase seals but to me looks bulky and weird. So that is 20.00 down the drain!

My preference would be Priority mail boxes, the smallest they have is 7x7x6, they are a little too big but they are free lol.
So it's spend what money I have left on some 7x5x4 boxes and use those for 1 item , then Priority mail for more then 1 item or use Priority Mail right off the bat and charge 5.55. Any advice???

Shiny, it's a tough balance between staying competitive & not losing money in shipping. I've taken the middle-of-the-road approach, where I take a bit of a hit on single items/west-coast shipping, but most of my orders come out within a dollar of my listed shipping fees.

I use flat-rate shipping whenever possible, & buy light-weight corrugated & bubble mailers for the rest of my orders. Keep in mind that the size of the package doesn't affect the postage rate as much as the weight - aiming for the smallest box possible doesn't really save you anything. If you can get to the post office regularly, you can do metered 1st Class postage for all your orders - PayPal limits 1st Class to <13 ounces, but the post office itself does not. I don't have a car during the week, so it's just not an option for me.

I do take a fairly large hit on international orders - I don't get many, & I try to keep my shipping rates affordable. Not their fault the USPS did away with affordable overseas shipping

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Please visit my Etsy shop!

I think I finally decided! I'm going to go with ulines 7Lx5Wx4H boxes. The label should fit perfectly on the top but the box still shouldn't be so big that it moves around too much. any jars 2 and over will be priority mail in their own boxes.
any ideas, does that sound good? lol

Upon occasion I use flat rate envelopes. Yes items can seem bulky but if you put cardboard inserts on either side of two jars and then into the envelope it helps the envelope keep some shape. My post office suggested this to me.

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~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

海の皂

I think any package that is over 13 oz. is Priority mail. You can not send at first class over 13 oz. You can choose to send Parcel post but with the speed of it and the cost why would you want to. As you play with it you will learn. I price my shipping to break even in the long run, I make a little on some and loose a little on some. I too refund customers if I overcharge on shipping by a $1 or more. I think I have only had to do that twice. Go to the www.usps.com and you can order priority mailing boxes there and they will deliver right to your door for free. They also have a large selection of sizes available online as well, many more than what your post office will have. The biggest challange I have had for shipping was my 6 pack of soaps. It weighs + or - 13.5 oz. so I have about 2.5 oz. to package it to keep it under 16 oz. If I keep it under 16 oz. I can ship them for $4.85. If it weighs 16.05 oz. it cost me $5.20 to $9.50 to ship it depending on what state it goes to. Good luck, isn't this fun?

Bruce

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www.homebrewsoaps.etsy.com

hi bruce
I ordered some of the smallest priority mail boxes too that I found on the website, I felt they were too big for one jar (they are 7x7x6h).
My boxes came today and they are perfect! One jar with some bubble and recycled peanuts fits great and it actually fit up to 4 jars. I did all the calculating and 1 jar with wrapping and the box was 10 ounces so will go First Class. 2 jars was 15 ounces so everything over 1 jar has to go Priority Mail. I'm going to refund any thing over 1.00 when it hits Priority Mail. I'm doing $3.75 for one jar and $3.00 each additional jar for the shipping on Etsy. It calculated out perfect of not losing any money to west coast people purchasing. East coast people will more then likely get the refund.
Thank you all for the help!

You are welcome.

Bruce

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www.homebrewsoaps.etsy.com