Lostn51

If your doing this from a website just incorporate a Shipping calculator from USPS on it. That way they can see what the actual shipping will be. You will have to set up the perimeters of the shipping information but it will hold accurate to their zip code. If you know that a yard of fabric weighs in at 8 oz. and you already know roughly the size boxes you use then your golden.

When I ran my graphics business online I had a shipping calculator and it was always within pennies of the actual shipping cost.

Billy

QKO

Thanks for the advice, but I've been running an online cart for four years and have shipped many thousands of orders, so I'm not exactly new at the game. I also do all my own cart modifications and programming, so I do know my way around the USPS shipping API's.

Our cart incorporates the USPS shipping calculators, and they are, as you stated, accurate, but that's provided one of two conditions exist; you're either only shipping one or two items at a time, or you're charging a handling charge that takes care of all your additional packaging and paperwork weights.

Let me give you an example: We know exactly what our fabrics weigh; batiks weigh less, heavy fabrics more, and we put those weights into our product records, then they go into the shipping calculator at sale time. We also know what our packaging materials weigh, so we need to add that to our product weights, since our customers prefer we don't add handling charges.

So, let's say one yard of fabric weighs 8 ounces, and the packaging material for that weighs 3 ounces (you have to pay to ship the envelope, paperwork, internal packaging, etc too.)

So, you set your weight at 11 ounces for a yard. Now, someone orders two yards. You give the estimator the total weight, now 22 ounces, when actually you only have one set of shipping materials, so you're off by 3 ounces. Now multiply that by 10, for ten different one-yard cuts ordered. Now your shipping estimate is off by 30 ounces from actual weight (probably about 24 ounces because you have heavier packaging) and your USPS shipping estimator has overestimated shipping costs by several dollars or more, depending on destination.

See the problem? No way around it, because you still need to estimate packaging accurately for small orders. So you're not exactly "golden."

We have customers that order lots of small amounts of different items, for instance, 20 half-yard cuts. Their actual shipping cost can be many dollars below the estimate, particularly on international orders where the estimate can exceed the 4 pound limit for International First Class parcel, where the actual weight does not.

Our regular customers know how our system works, and that we adjust the charges down to actual when we ship. But a first-time customer doesn't, and often abandons her cart during checkout when the shipping charges are overestimated.

If you can come up with a solution to this problem that doesn't involve a separate package-weight charge (i.e. a handling charge) the entire online selling world, at least the people who sell multiple items shipped together, wants to know about it.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking seriously about going to flat rate shipping, at least for USA orders...

annette1952

I normally shop the free shipping stores($35.00 & $50.00 ) I do order from other stores too but only if I think it is reasonable shipping. I have deleted orders many times over the years, at stores that take advantage of shipping costs.( Like add to the actual shipping cost ) Gougers like that don't get my business.

dgmoby

Me, too. I will, and have many times, walked away from an order when I find out the shipping. I simply will not pay higher shipping costs - and I don't have too. There are too many sites with free/small/reasonable shipping, and if I can't find what I want - then I wait.

Also, if I'm not careful, the shipping adding onto the order makes the total price higher than if I run up to the fabric store myself!

Rainy Day

I check first if the company ships to Australia - I have gotten really excited, spent hours working out an order, then URK! they don't ship to here. I accept that if I am buying fabric from the US, I will pay for shipping, but I will save a lot of money, when we pay AUD$20 - $30 per metre for fabric. I do but from Book Depository, as they ship for free, and their customer service is amazing.
Cheers
Rain

Rebecca VLQ

I refuse to buy from places that do that. It makes me feel like they could charge my credit card no matter what. And they're trying to be sneaky and make the customer commit...as in, "Well I'm already THIS far..."

I like free shipping deals, even though I know it's not really free. With Fabric.com, the $35 = free shipping is the perfect price point. $50 is kinda a deal breaker, even though I've been known to drop that much in one shopping trip. I laugh at shops that say $75 or $100 = free shipping.

I also like the ones that do flat rate up to so many yards. I usually max out the flat-rate on that, but that could also max out how big of an order you get. Like $5 flat rate shipping for up to 10 yards, for example. I'd get the 10 yards, but if I normally will buy up to 13 yards, I'd probably not get the extra 3 yards because it would result in an extra $5-6 in shipping, kwim?

ckcowl

i love to shop at the shops which offer free shipping after $35 i can always find at least that much to spend. if the shipping is flat rate i've been known to just delete the cart, especially if i'm ordering a book and the shipping shows up at some crazy price like $5.95...when i know it's going to cost them much less. if the shop does not offer any reduced shipping costs or free after $100 i really have to want/need an item and am not able to find it anywhere else.
i always do the math too...so if i'm ordering 2 yards of fabric for say $7.95 and the shipping for it is $6.95...that puts the fabric over $11 a yard...nope, i will look elsewhere.

EagarBeez

With the rates going up. I just made 2 purchases online and in one I paid more shipping then I did the item. The other, the cost for shipping was about the same cost as the item.
I will go with either free shipping or flat rate

jcrilley

I have lots of local options for shopping so I don't usually order anything online unless shipping is FREE or super low!

martha jo

I take advantage of the free shipping most of the time but if I need a small item I consider what it would cost me to drive to the nearest large town to get it and usually shipping is less.