naturalnegeste
Member
So I'm new to the business world and I'm trying to calculate the cost of shipping for a 4.9oz bar of soap ... Any tips???
shipping cost
- Thread starter naturalnegeste
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USPS is going to give you your lowest rates. Go on a site like pirate ship and input the weight of your soap plus packing materials and put in different zipcodes across the country. I recommend finding zip codes locally and across the regions, like WA, AK, HI, NY, IL....to get an idea of the highest and lowest you would have to pay. First class will be the most cost effective, but only up to 13 oz. Then you will have to go to priority. At some point it will make sense to use padded flat rate envelopes, or even flat rate boxes (but is usually not the case until you have 5 or six items in your order).
naturalnegeste
Member
ok thank you that's exactly what I've been doing so I'm on the right track.. follow up question is this reasonable my soaps are $5.00 and shipping is $4.50 and I've seen shipping cost for priority shipping flat rate envelope for 7.75 to Jersey and AZ
You need to try to use cubic rate for the cheapest rates. If you can use Regional Flate Rate boxes it is a cheaper flat rate, but you can only get the boxes online. If you are only going to be sending one bar you will want to order small padded shipping envelopes from a company such as Papermart and keep your rate at first-class, check on first-class weight it tends to change. Wholesale Packaging Supplies and Products | Paper Mart we used a lot of the 6x9 size. These work well too if you do not need padding Wholesale Packaging Supplies and Products | Paper Mart
I am betting you will send one bar in a little box cheaper with cubic rate. Granted you have to buy boxes but staples usually have a deal if you buy more than one. Flat Rate shipping varies considerably depending on what zone (coast) you are sending to. Pirate Ship will figure cubic rate it is a great service. But if cubic does not work it is worth checking Regional A and B rates with USPS. In order for Regional to come up you have to use Click N Ship and use the option on the right using box weight, otherwise Regional options will not come up.
The last couple of months I spent a lot of time shipping and doing everything I could to save everyone money. Somedays I spent most of the day cutting down boxes, packing and re-packing.
I am betting you will send one bar in a little box cheaper with cubic rate. Granted you have to buy boxes but staples usually have a deal if you buy more than one. Flat Rate shipping varies considerably depending on what zone (coast) you are sending to. Pirate Ship will figure cubic rate it is a great service. But if cubic does not work it is worth checking Regional A and B rates with USPS. In order for Regional to come up you have to use Click N Ship and use the option on the right using box weight, otherwise Regional options will not come up.
The last couple of months I spent a lot of time shipping and doing everything I could to save everyone money. Somedays I spent most of the day cutting down boxes, packing and re-packing.
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Is cubic really cheaper than first class for one bar? I'm reading $6+ on the chart and my soaps in a small box generally are around $4 first class to send. Looks like I have more research to do.
@naturalnegeste In my opinion, you are underpricing your soap. $5 for a 5 oz bar is very cheap...are you making a decent profit at this price?
@naturalnegeste In my opinion, you are underpricing your soap. $5 for a 5 oz bar is very cheap...are you making a decent profit at this price?
I have sent small cubic as cheap as $3.00. You just have to put in measurements and addresses to get the rates. To save on shipping takes a lot of work today and Pirate shipping is a good starting point, but as I mentioned above they do not give you regional rates. Regional Rates can easily save 9.00 per flat rate Lg box. But you need to get your order into USPS immediately, they take a few days to ship the boxes. If you want padded flat rate envelopes you should also order a pack of them, they are hard to get from the post office.
naturalnegeste
Member
I haven't started selling yet so I can still change the pricing of my soaps... Do you think $6 is reasonable for a 4.9oz?
And thank you so much I'll definitely look in to that
And thank you so much I'll definitely look in to that
Most people I've seen price their products based on raw material costs. (some people also have to account for other overhead, and the time it takes to do everything, etc. )
I've found that what my market can handle is essentially my raw material cost x4...and this is a fairly standard way to price based on what I've read in the industry.
For reference, my 5 oz soap goes for $8....and that is a reasonable price in my area based on what I've seen.
$8 never would fly in my area and I am in So Cal. I got $7 per bar which average 5.5 oz bars. How much competition in an area will have to do a lot with pricing. Even in our tourist beachy areas, it was hard to get much more than $7 per bar. Wow, and I just noticed one of our oldest well known Venice Beach stores is gone. Soaptopia.
naturalnegeste
Member
I saw thinking around $6.50 for them because 8 in this area will be a bit much. And the great thing about my area is that there isn't a lot of competition. And since I'm actually using some amazing recipes I think I'll do well... I'm not in this for money alone I really want to make a difference for the better.
A
amd
Depends on cost to make. I sell my 5.5 oz for $5.50 or $5 with multiple bar purchases at shows. I've had to do a lot of careful planning to keep my costs low (I typically try to have my costs right around $1 or $1.10 per bar including packaging). This leaves me some cushion room in the 4x cost = retail price to account for hidden expenses like sales tax, credit card fees, etc.
I will give you a little clue, people really do not pay much attention to expensive ingredients. They pay attention to the feel of soap, smell, and the longevity of the soap. In a couple of my main markets, I outsold the soapmakers that used the expensive oils, all organic with my much less expensive to make soaps, which is why I stayed around for over 10 yrs. This may sound like bragging but it is really a fact, do not get hung up on expensive recipes. Expensive to make does not always make a nice soap. Take the time to learn what constitutes a good bar of soap.
AMD is correct with the price of $1-1.10 being a good price to produce per bar. With some fo's it is hard and you have to buy in bulk to keep those prices, but to make money that is where you need to be in cost. My most expensive bar to produce was my high shea facial bar which I still charged $7 but it was a smaller bar.
Back in my selling on eBay day, I'm in the Pacific Northwest so I would find a zip code in northern Maine and southern Florida and calculate First Class Postage from there. Priority Mail is a Flat Rate or you can do 'regional' mail.
"Reasonable" is subjective...I don't know what your ingredient costs are (base oils, additives, scent and colorant), what your package and labeling costs are, what your overhead and labor is. To determine your overhead, add your household expenses (mortgage/rent, homeowner or renter insurance, real estate taxes (if a homeowner) electric, gas, water/sewer, garbage and telephone. Take the total square footage of your house and divide by the square footage of where you soap/cure and you'll get a percentage. You then multiply the percentage and your household expenses and that will give you a base overhead. When calculating your ingredients, don't forget to including shipping/handling cost and/or fuel costs. Last is labor...how much would it cost you to hire someone to make soap? I pay myself $25.00/hour which includes taxes. Oh...and don't forget Income Tax. General Rule of Thumb is to double your total costs for Wholesale and Triple for Retail.
For Friends and Family...it's $5.00 a bar. For people I don't like...it's $8.00. For everyone else...the price is between $6.00 and $7.00 depending on the cost of scent.
