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How does the buyer choose shipping?

 
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moonriselotus



Posts: 4

PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:10 pm    Post subject: How does the buyer choose shipping? Reply with quote

Hey all. I'm so very new at all this, and I just keep having more questions regarding shipping.

(1) Where/when does the buyer choose the shipping? Or do they pay for the item first, and then I send them an invoice for the shipping cost?

When I tried to test my shop, I "bought" an item, but I wasn't asked about, or charged shipping. I do have both USPS calculated shipping enabled, and the matrix set up as well.

Another challenge I'm having is with item size/weight.

(2) I can send a sheet of stickers I made in a fist class letter or large envelop. However, I cannot send acrylic key chains in that, as they would need a bubble mailer. Yet they are smaller than a sheet of stickers. BUT don't weigh enough to keep "large envelope" from appearing under the "click to check" shipping.

It seems like I simply cannot offer letter or envelope option at all in order to have it NOT appear for the key chains?

This creates a problem, because then buyers will be paying more shipping than necessary for stickers.

However, if I enable letter or envelop, then buyers will be paying less shipping than needed for a key chain.

And, if I DO up the weight enough to keep the envelope from appearing, that still makes the shipping on the key chain's package more expensive than it should be for the buyer.

I'm not sure how to solve this.

The "solution" of just using the Shipping Matrix also creates an issue, as packages don't cost the same to send per zone of the US. I'm in NJ, so I can't have someone in PA paying what shipping should cost for for someone in CA.

I don't like the idea of using flatrate or free shipping either, because (a) no one is going to want to pay nearly $8 shipping for a single key chain, and (b) my items are already "expensive" as it is, so no one is going to want to pay $24.50 for a single key chain (as I charge $16.50 for one and adding the $8 in there for 'free shipping' would make it that much).

Any help would be loved...even if it means I should be using something like etsy instead (but their fees are terrible there)?

Thanks for reading.
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pickychicky



Posts: 1552

PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

(1) They choose shipping during the checkout process, so you don't have to do anything extra.

(2) All shipping options are shown whether or not an item is eligible for a particular method. Since I began adding books, which have to be shipped via Media Mail, I have rethunk my shipping and am now just offering "FREE SHIPPING" on all First-Class and Media Mail items, but I also offer Priority-shipped items, for which I use the calculator.

So, in your case, if you only have First-Class Letter and First-Class Package items, you could offer free shipping on the Letter items and use the calculator for the Package items.

One other hint, in case the need ever arises, since the calculator charges retail rates (which I don't like), I have learned to quit offering Priority and just offer Standard Post. The retail rates for SP are only $2 above the commercial Priority rates I pay and it allows me to include a 'FREE PRIORITY SHIPPING UPGRADE" statement at the end of the listing -- an incentive. I'm actually still in the process of adjusting my settings and the Priority items are next.
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moonriselotus



Posts: 4

PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

pickychicky wrote:
.


Thank you so much for your insight. I like the idea of adding the free-shipping on the smaller/lighter items. Best wishes to you!
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While the first things I say have nothing to do with shipping, they are things that may need to be fixed in your store is you don't mind me mentioning. On your home page, you have the word 'verity'. Did you mean verity or did you mean variety?

You only need to charge sales tax from your own state unless you are selling so much in all those other states that you have to collect it. That is a LOT of paperwork and if you need to collect for that many states, you are most likely need to be selling around $500,000 per year!!! You can't collect sales tax unless you have signed up to do so in each state, otherwise, how do you even process the tax to send it to each state? And each of those states all has their own rules and when the tax needs to be remitted. Hope that makes sense.

In your terms, that is very important information. However, you should also state your terms there for refunds, what to do if something gets lost in the mail, and different things pertaining to your store.

Now as to shipping. I don't know where you are printing your postage from, but most postage sites will automatically have 'stealth' postage on the label, as in the buyer will not see what the postage was. If you print your e/postage at PayPal, you will not see the full postage on the label. You may not need those mentions about the S&H being more than what is actually paid for postage.

Although, from your post, it looks like you are charging $8 for S&H. I did just check one of your listings and saw that you don't charge $8 at least visibly. I guess I don't understand.

Please note that you are not allowed to make a purchase from your eCRATER store. So make sure any test you do ends before money changes hands.

Quote:
⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ Notes ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

PLEASE READ: The total shipping cost that appears on your package MAY NOT BE THE SAME AMOUNT that you paid on eCRATER. If the shipping cost is a different amount on the label, a lesser amount, please know that the higher shipping you paid on eCRATER includes the "handling" fee (which will not be shown on the actual package). Thank you for understanding.

✦ Please expect shipping delays due to COVID19.
You will receive one (1) yokai holographic acrylic charm. Display items not included.

✦Actual colors may vary, as every computer monitor displays colors differently.


What is quoted above should be on your terms page. Google would consider it 'boilerplate'. What is in the description, should only be about the item for sale. You could use fuller descriptions, such as mentioning the attachment and heart charm looking thing. Most everything that I have seen in your store looks like it would ship for 3-4 ounces. With being that close in size, (I didn't see any stickers), I wouldn't bother with calculated at all and only use the Matrix which is what I have been using here since 2008 and it has worked very well for me. The thing you want and especially at your price point is tracking and you don't get that unless you ship via First Class Mail Package. You don't want to be shipping things out that cost the buyer $16 and then they claim they never received it. You have no proof, either way, so you refund their money or send another item. Just because it is a lightweight sheet of stickers, doesn't mean that you shouldn't need delivery confirmation. Many buyers are getting smart about ways to scam sellers and seeing no tracking on the envelope can put them in the "It never came Mode". I'm in PA and the most it costs to send up to 4 ounces to CA is $3.18. You could have all your items that are 4 ounces or left in the Matrix and if there are some heavier, they can just be in the next section of the matrix. If your buyer sees that you are charging basically the same shipping price on everything, I doubt you will have much squawking.

I hope some of this helps.
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pickychicky



Posts: 1552

PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2020 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NOTE: On PayPal's shipping tool, and I believe they even have it in your account settings now, there's a toggle switch for whether or not you want to print the postage amount on the label. I was just recently going through all of my PP account settings and I do believe I saw it in there.

It's kind of hard to find via the shipping tool, though, and I can't remember off the top of my head since it's been years that I've had mine set that way. I believe it can only be found on the page where you select your shipping carrier -- an obscure blue text link at the bottom left of the screen, if I remember right. Again, it's been years, so I'm just going by my photographic memory. It could have changed since then. LOL

P.S. -- I should note that the "shipping tool" I'm referring to is accessed via the paypal.com/shipnow link. They've said for years that they no longer use that link, but it has always worked for me. Of course, I haven't had to use it in years since all of my payments come directly to me via PayPal now, but I had been using it for years when they said they didn't use it. I hated the multi-label tool. Tried it once...uhuh! It's so much easier to do it directly from the PayPal invoice. It plugs everything in for you.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2020 6:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe I clicked on that long ago, but for years I used endicia for shipping until they went bonkers. Now I use PP for most of eCRATER orders, and they never have the actual postage showing.
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