# figuring shipping and handling costs...



## rszuba (Jan 12, 2009)

ok, hang with me on this, but how do you figure shipping and handling charges for soap?

do you reuse packaging?do you bubble wrap? do you put it straight in a manilla envelope and ship? i think i can fit 2 bars of soap in 5x7 envelope. 

how do you know where to start by charging customers?

thanks,
renee


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## digit (Jan 12, 2009)

Good question!! I have looking into this also. 

IMHO, I have managed to acquire quite a bit of clean bubble wrap and packing paper from ordering supplies. I neatly fold it up and plan to reuse it. Can't see throwing it out and buying more.

By manila envelope, do you mean the bubble lined ones? The plain ones could get torn and emptied of contents.

There are several shipping services that you can subscribe to that allow you to calculate, print postage and arrange for pick up. There are also ones that calc via different carriers. 

Digit


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## mamaT (Jan 12, 2009)

I work for the Post Office as a rural carrier, you can go online to usps.com and with the weight of the package and the destination, you can figure postage, print postage and schedule a carrier pick up of the packages.


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## Tabitha (Jan 12, 2009)

I reuse packaging when I can.

I find the least expensive reliable options to be:
For orders under 14oz I ship 1st class US Postal.
For orders 14oz to 2 pound 15oz I ship priority mail. 
For orders over 3# I ship flat rate priority.
If it's much larger than that I will ship Fed/EX.

If you have a reliable scale you can weight your items box & packing material, go to usps.com, enter in your zip, the recipients zip & the weight & it will give you all your options.


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## rszuba (Jan 13, 2009)

thanks you guys,

renee


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## rszuba (Jan 13, 2009)

if you print the label online do you need to have special paper?

renee


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## Lil Outlaws (Jan 13, 2009)

I reuse materials when possible, so no two orders are ever packed the same LOL

I calculate shipping from USPS. I use flat rate (envies and boxes) whenever possible. It's amazing how much fits in a flat rate box (9.80 domestic) or large flat rate (13.95 domestic). I MEAN TONS. (let's just say I can fit almost 20lb of laundry detergent in a FRB with room to spare)

For printing labels, no special paper needed. However when taping it on, you're supposed to tape all four sides but NOT OVER the bar code, or they can't scan it.


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## busymammaof3 (Jun 7, 2009)

I know this is an older post. But I wanted to give this a try before making a new thread.

I would like to use flat rate envelopes and boxes all the time, personally. But some of my customers don't like that. They want to go ground most of the time. Which makes my life harder...because I have to calculate off the USPS site with their address.

BUT here's where my problem lies. They don't like to wait for a seperate invoice/quote, etc...to find out how much their shipping for the order they placed earlier will be.

Is there a way to keep ground shipping price accurate or almost accurate for all customers in the US...at the time of their order (I use Etsy mostly)....or is it just not possible to be that accurate with out sending them a shipping price AFTER they place the order?

Am I making any sense? I hope so! This has been an issue for some time now. If I had this straightened out in my (so very stressed out) brain...LOL...my turn around and motivation to soap would take off...I am sure.


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## kitkat_pro (Jun 7, 2009)

Here is a soaping cost calculater I found.

http://www.ziggurat.org/soap/calculators/

it is in excel, and if you can use excel a little you can add new fields and custamise it for your needs. The first thing you have to do is check the price and size of the items you use, then tell it how much per batch and the time it took. I love this program because I can custemise it for anything I make. Eyeshadows, lotions etc....

hope it helps


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## busymammaof3 (Jun 7, 2009)

kitkat_pro said:
			
		

> Here is a soaping cost calculater I found.
> 
> http://www.ziggurat.org/soap/calculators/
> 
> ...



Thanks! I have a program for calculating the cost for my batches. I am needing help with shipping....when I list items on my etsy shop and just in general for customers. :0)


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## kitkat_pro (Jun 7, 2009)

lol, when I got my e-mail notification I sighed cause I knew I had given the wrong info  , lol, serves me right for surfing at 2am, lol.

Wish you luck on figuring out your shipping charges


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## studioalamode (Jun 7, 2009)

Since you prefer flat rate boxes and if you have a small order, perhaps you could let them know that if there is a small order that in your judgment would qualify for a much less shipping cost, you will refund the balance.  That way, you can charge the flat rate box charge for payment purposes and get the transaction completed.  I would think there are some customers who prefer the box, even if it costs a little more, because they are so sturdy and the soap won't be damaged.  (you could even put this in your shipping profile... something like "for the protection of your purchase I prefer...."

I do business with a lot of etsy jewelry component suppliers and many times they will refund part of their shipping costs to me.  It just comes to me via paypal.  I appreciate that they are looking out for me when they clearly know that my item didn't cost $4.95 to ship.

Just an idea.  Depending on volume and frequency of small orders, this might be a pain for you.


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## busymammaof3 (Jun 7, 2009)

studioalamode said:
			
		

> Since you prefer flat rate boxes and if you have a small order, perhaps you could let them know that if there is a small order that in your judgment would qualify for a much less shipping cost, you will refund the balance.  That way, you can charge the flat rate box charge for payment purposes and get the transaction completed.  I would think there are some customers who prefer the box, even if it costs a little more, because they are so sturdy and the soap won't be damaged.  (you could even put this in your shipping profile... something like "for the protection of your purchase I prefer...."
> 
> I do business with a lot of etsy jewelry component suppliers and many times they will refund part of their shipping costs to me.  It just comes to me via paypal.  I appreciate that they are looking out for me when they clearly know that my item didn't cost $4.95 to ship.
> 
> Just an idea.  Depending on volume and frequency of small orders, this might be a pain for you.



Thanks for the suggestion, studioalamode. Yeah, that would probably help occassionally. But that's kind of what I'm wanting to avoid.  I'd like for it to be accurate, so I don't have to take the extra time to do all that. But that may be my best bet for now. I agree with you. When suppliers do that for me...it shows care and concern for their customers. :0)

I guess, I just need to start keeping track of the custom orders I do...when they're shipped 1st class by USPS. If I document/keep record (on Excel or something) of each shipment made...the zip code, weight of the package and type of method they chose...eventually this issue would be easier. Like list all items with chipping for 1st class by USPS (according to the past records I kept). Of course...I'd still have to take extra steps if they don't want 1st class...charge them for the difference (for faster/different methods). Ugh. Looks like there's going to be a bit more work in this department than I'd like...no matter what. LOL

Thank for the suggestion. It did help! And hopefully, "talking it out" will lead me to some final light bulb moment. LOL


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## busymammaof3 (Jun 7, 2009)

kitkat_pro said:
			
		

> lol, when I got my e-mail notification I sighed cause I knew I had given the wrong info  , lol, serves me right for surfing at 2am, lol.
> 
> Wish you luck on figuring out your shipping charges



LOL That's ok, Kitkat.  Lord knows I've made that mistake in the wee hours of the morning. 

But the excel suggestion was still a great one. It got me thinking of record keeping. *See the brainstorming begin below* LOL 

Thanks!


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## Tabitha (Jun 7, 2009)

I have my shop set up so it is $3.00 for the 1st bar & $1.00 for every bar after that with the following notes:

►MAX SHIPPING: Never pay over $10.00 for US shipping (wholesale excluded).

►SHIPPING REFUNDS: Excessive shipping overages will be refunded when your product ships.

I saw lots of messages like these at ETSY:

Ship up to 8 bars of soap for $5 US, $11 Canada, $13 for Worldwide. Excess shipping charges will be refunded when your items ships.

To keep our shipping low, we ship 3 to 8 bars in a Flat Rate Envelope:
$5.00 US,  $10.00 Canada & Mexico,  $12.00 Everywhere Else

SAVE ON SHIPPING: Mix and match your soaps!
Just pay  $5 for flat rate to ship 5 - 8 soaps in the USA, $10 to Canada and Mexico. Excessive overages will be refunded at time of shipping.

I like the word "excessive". That way you can decide case by case if you want to refund & not be locked into and exact penny amount.


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## busymammaof3 (Jun 9, 2009)

Tabitha said:
			
		

> I have my shop set up so it is $3.00 for the 1st bar & $1.00 for every bar after that with the following notes:
> 
> ►MAX SHIPPING: Never pay over $10.00 for US shipping (wholesale excluded).
> 
> ...



Great information! Thanks so much, Tabitha for being so helpful!


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