shipping and handling costs?

[Lyra P iCraft Writer]

some people new to iCraft aren't always sure how to set their shipping + handling rates, especially internationally.

can someone explain how they do this?  i know for myself, even mailing something internationally can be expensive, much more than the typical s&h rates listed on iCraft -- so how do you guys do this?

give us your secrets!!!!

[RanaMuck]

What I do is visit http://www.usps.gov to check out how much it is to ship, how much tracking # costs (usually $0.60USD), and how much insurance costs (usually $1.65 for my items).  Once I figure out how much shipping is, I usually just put that in the ad.  The postal service's website has all the info on rates you could ever need.  You could always do like some people and just do flat rate shipping.  flat rate packages ship fast and can ship a lot of weight (hence flat rate).  Then you also don't have to worry about figuring out each item's shipping cost.

For example a flat rate envelope ships for $4.60 in the US to anywhere in the US.  Tracking # is $0.65 in the US.  So I charge $5.25 to ship a flat rate envelope from the US to a US destination.

I'm sure if you don't live in the US, your postal company also has a website that gives rates.
Hope that helps!

[normas bath and body]

Rana, that's really good info!
 :lol: ~Norma

[enidjewelry]

I only know because of trials and errors. And I have Canada Post's little gauge sheet where you see if it fits for small packet or not.

I weight my items approximately, but it's always small packet-air, so 6.20 or oversized letter - Air which is 2.92 to ship to the us

[Loopy4ewe]

For Canadians shipping within Canada is to ship as flat as possible. If your package can fit within the 2cm slot it can go oversized letter which can be sent for $2-$4 depending on weight. The 2cm slot is also key for shipping to the US to get light packet or small packet which is airmail and again very reasonably priced - $2-$6 I believe depending on weight.

If it is a larger package get a VentureOne card from Canada Post. You can sign up online. You do not have to be a registered business. You save 5% on shipping and I think it's 8% if you do ship 'n click (CPs online tool) I believe it also allows you to upgrade from regular parcel to expidited in Canada without a price increase.

That 2cm slot is killer though!

[Zs Knees]

Does anyone have their own digital scale to determine shipping rates?

I use the USPS website, but I always have to make a guess at the weight first.

I did a quick replacement and it seems there's a huge price range for scales, so I'm not sure what to go with. I don't want to make a big investment in this, I just want to stop trying to compare items to a bag of sugar!:)

[PinKixx]

Check e-bay, Zs. They have $20-$30 mail scales. Pretty useful.

[StudioduSoleil]

I have this scale from lee valley...
http://www.leevalley.com/gifts/page.aspx?c=2&cat=4,104,53214&p=61130

It's small and works quite well!

[Fairy Cardmaker]

I've seen some postal scales at Staples, but I haven't taken the plunge but I don't ship a lot.

All my stuff goes light packet, so there has been no savings from a Venture One card.  I do have one special order that my Venture One card will FINALLY come in handy for!

[Zs Knees]

Thank you for the leads everyone!

Studio, that scale looks great, but unfortunately I don't think it goes high enough for me if it only goes to just over a pound... I'll aim for something similar though.

I'm relieved that it seems good ones can be had for cheap

[PillowThrowDecor]

Check Staples as I think they have scales to 2 lbs and all the way up to 50 lbs and more.  Suprisingly scales are not too expensive.

Check Craigslist.  There are lots of retired Ebayers.

Christine

[GalleriaLinda]

I have an old-timey spin-dial scale where the face-plate is bent and the US postage pricing on the faceplate must be from the 70s - LOL!! I think it belonged to my dad back then.

But, being FRUGAL, I am using it for weighing and then either go to the US postal site to calc postage per weight/destination or use the PayPal label postage feature with that info. It works fine for that.

As far as international (from the US), I have shipped to the UK, Norway, Netherlands, Finland, and Canada (of course :wink: ) with no problems.

iCraft has not yet attracted a huge international crowd, I don't think, but it is coming - mark my word!!

I have read on other forums that Mexico and Italy are difficult countries to send to relative to postal package safety. Some sellers refuse to send there.

In addition, I have read (in other forums) that Australia's customs are very strict. You cannot send Jewelry - meaning to them like diamonds, rubies, etc... So handcrafted jewelry makers usually put "fashion accessories" or "costume jewery" (if that is what it is).

Never lie on a customs form. Never.

So, I am hesitant to put "everywhere else," as I don't want to ship to everywhere else. I wish we had an option to click the countries under an "international" button instead of "everywhere else."

I would definitely ship to most other countries but have no way to tell visitors except the shop announcement and put in every listing. Buyers don't like to have to contact to find out what the postage will be to their country.

Ideally, the exercise of figuring out postage to each country for your standard product size/weight is useful. Most are around the same price but a few are more and you need to know which countries are more.

Shipping international is always a risk as there is no tracking (from the US at least) except for expensive 3rd party insurance. So, it is a balance between what you are willing to lose (if lost) vs. what you are willing to pay as insurance (which may double or triple the money you have in your item).