When I first started selling online, I made so many mistakes – from under-pricing to forgetting to factor in my time and fuel expenses. By the time I had a couple hundred sales under my belt, shipping was second nature and I barely had to think about it.
Here are 15 helpful tips for turning shipping into smooth sailing (and thanks, Studio Petite, for the sailboat image above):
Proper Set-up
1. Set up a shipping area in your office or house to ensure you can quickly package and ship out any sold items. If you have a dedicated space, you will feel less overwhelmed when you get a few orders at once.
2. Keep your important tools in that area.
They include:
- Tape measure
- Shipping scale
- Exacto knife
- Tape and adhesives
- Pens and note cards
- Tissue paper and bubble wrap
- Cards, labels and other branding supplies
Shipping Costs
3. Use an online calculator. Your local post office will have a website where you can enter a product's weight and dimensions in an online calculator to help you get a quick quote based on your buyer's area.
- Even without a buyer lined up, you can change the destination to get a good idea of how much it will cost for many different locations. It's important to include worldwide shipping quotes in your online shop or website, because international buyers make up a large percentage of sales for North America-based vendors.
4. Invest in a shipping scale. If you are serious about your online business, it's time to invest in something that will save you time and headaches. Bathroom scales are not accurate and could cause further costs down the line with returned packages or post office delays.
- To keep your costs low, choose a shipping scale without the bells and whistles. Choose one with good reviews that will accommodate your product's weight ranges.
5. Ask another seller how they calculate shipping costs. The creative community is very helpful, so reach out to another shop with similar items and ask for tips. Often you will learn tricks that directly relate to what you sell.
6. Consider including shipping costs in your prices. Some sellers sell more because they offer "free shipping", but they have just built the charge into their product price. Think about it: Would you rather buy an item for $40 with free shipping or $30 with a shipping charge of $10? Free shipping appeals to customers and you have nothing to lose by including it in your costs.
7. Using flat-rate shipping charges will encourage buyers to purchase more than one item. If, for example, you can fit 10 of your necklaces into an $8 flat-rate box, let customers know; they may decide to stock up on your product for gifts. You can check with your local postal service to see what price range is available for their flat rate boxes and envelopes. Another option is to give a maximum shipping price if orders are over a certain price point.
- When I sold jewelry, I offered $10 shipping on orders over $100 and free shipping on orders over $200. This meant that anytime a bride or gift-giver needed to buy a lot of pieces, they could shop to their heart's content without worrying about the weight of their package. Many of your competitors may only offer standard quotes on larger orders, so you can really seal the deal with this type of offer.
Policies
8. Keep them short but sweet. While you want to protect yourself when writing your shipping policies, you always want to make the information short and to the point. This will ensure buyers actually read the information and absorb it.
9. Avoid confusion. Custom fees are charged in most destinations, depending on the package value and contents. Be sure to let customers know that you will not be responsible for any customs charges associated with their package. If you forget to make a note of this, a hostile buyer may expect you to pay their fees later.
- Remember, it's against the law to mark a purchased item as a gift. Regardless of the situation, making a note of that when defining your policies will ensure you avoid buyers looking for special treatment.
10. Insurance woes. How and if you insure a package is completely up to you. Many sellers will include insurance with a higher-priced shipping cost or allow the buyer to make the call.
- Treat your customers and business professionally. That means you are responsible should a package not arrive. Even if you let buyers know that insurance is a separate fee, you may have to replace or refund the item should a problem occur.
Packaging
11. Freebies are available. If you are in the U.S., shipping with USPS allows you to gain access to free supplies, which is a huge benefit. Other ways to get free supplies would be to ask your employer if they have materials around or check with a local business who may be throwing away excess packages.
12. Recycle. If you source your materials or shop online, you will receive many bubble envelopes and boxes that you can reuse. Friends and family will often save their own packaging supplies, which will save you loads of money over time.
13. Buy in bulk. You will at some point need to purchase some of your materials from a store. Look for the best prices by buying in bulk online or choosing a discount store.
- You can also offer a recycle incentive program by asking buyers to send back their packages and offer them a discount or free gift with their next purchase.
14. Pretty it up. If possible, make your packages into works of art, whether they are boxes or flat. How you dress up and tag your sold items will really make a great first impression for buyers. Little touches, like handmade thank-you notes, which enhance a customer's experience often mean more referrals through blog posts, social media and word-of-mouth mentions.
Save Time
15. You can save tons of time by:
- Writing thank-you notes ahead of time
- Taking all supplies (like bubble envelopes) out of their store packaging
- Adding labels and tags to your products after photographing them
- Printing your shipping labels online (no post-office lineups!)
Tips for Shipping Specific Types of Products
►Small items like jewelry:
"I used to ship my jewelry in baggies, but when a piece arrived to a customer broken I switched to jewelry gift boxes," says Christa Smith from BeAdorned. "I think it is worth the added expense to make sure pieces get to their destination in one piece. I place the jewelry piece in the box with folded tissue paper over top to help hold it in place (another option is to put it in a baggie then into the box), add pretty ribbon then place it in a bubble bag with an invoice and my business card."
►Small and Heavy items like soap:
"The USPS offers flat rate boxes so I use those," says Lisa from Savor. "They fit quite a lot of goods for little cost. Even the gigantic box is relatively cheap at about $50 to anywhere outside of the US and Canada. It holds a massive amount of soap."
►Fragile items like those with glass:
"Don't skimp on costs for top quality materials, and insure every package," says John from Feral Glass. "Priority Mail is handled fewer times than Parcel Post, and arrives quicker, which means less "time at risk". I use huge amounts of packing peanuts and bubble wrap. Try to get at least 2 inches of peanuts on each side between your item and the box. For large, flat panels, I put in extra stiffening inserts to keep the package from torquing or flexing."
John explains exactly how he packs his works of art in this short, helpful video.
►Large and Heavy items like paintings:
"Construct your own custom box to fit the dimensions of the painting exactly out of large cardboard boxes," says Grace Wieber from Wieber Art. "I've even purchased the science fair display trifolds from Wal-Mart and cut and shaped them into boxes, too."
Main image courtesy of Studio Petite, which sells artwork in the form of prints and greeting cards.
Justine Smith is an Etsy success story who used her experience selling online and turned it into a full-time wholesale business. Her real passion is helping handmade sellers find success marketing their craft products. She offers tips on advertising, branding, social media and growth via email through her blog Handmade Marketer.
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10 Comments
In my policies I also state that any postage over charge of $1.00 or more will be refunded through Paypal. I think this assures customers that I’m not trying to make money on the shipping. Of course, if I have undercharged it’s my dinner!
wow, thank you so much, I am glad I get to learn from your experience and don’t have to learn as I go…thank you so much for sharing and educating!!!
You couldn’t ask for a more thorough article.
Thanks so much for these useful shipping tips. I also ship artwork, and love the science fair board idea for boxing up paintings!
This is a great artical with alot of helpful tips. Thank you:)
I think packaging is so important for your brand! I have bought things a few times from Etsy and it seems like I always just get the item wrapped in a scrap of newspaper or a bit of bubble wrap but nothing else… No thank you, or even a business card in a few of them.
My pen packages consist of the pen, in a reusable hard pen case, with an info/care card. That is tied with a bit of ribbon (seasonal) and then I put a couple business cards on the bottom and a business card magnet on top (free from VistaPrint.com). And I always include a handwritten thank you!
Patrick
This article was most helpful. I offer free shipping to US buyers with my shop. I’m fearful of worldwide shipping, due to being confused on how to calculate it. At present time, I state for International buyers to email me and I’ll quote them a rate. I need to change this ASAP and will use the above mentioned as a guideline. THANKS!!!
Great ideas! Thanks for the sharing your expertise. I’m taking one step every day to get it “all together” with my business
This is a great site, and I’m really glad for the information, I’m just starting a new business, and have found that this has made me more aware of other people who are trying to get a better life for themselves. please contact me anytime you come across other things that can help and I will do the same for you too, Thank’s lot’s Darrell
You missed something. As professional as you are, do you still haul your packages into the post office and wait in line to pay for postage?
Are you aware that you don’t have to do this? I probably have to stand in line about 2 or 3 times a year, when there’s a rare need for something I couldn’t find at the USPS website. I buy my postage online – usually through PayPal, occasionally at the post office website (there has to be at least one package going Priority, but the rest can be any rate). Both of these are free services. I set up a pick up for the next day. In the morning, I put all my packages out to be picked up. This works for me, because I work from home and live in an area where I’m not likely to get my pkgs ripped off. It would probably work for a lot of people and saves you a trip to the PO, saves you that time you stood in line and makes you feel more professional. If you don’t do it this way, how do people get their pkgs through the post office lines if they have a number of them? I found that the personnel at the PO often didn’t appreciate me showing up with a lot of pkgs and the whole experience was usually negative. That was several years ago. If you forget to schedule a pickup, many post offices are now equipped with huge drop off boxes that have gigantic drums that take your package and drop it into the post office – often available 24 hrs. a day. If you have many packages and couldn’t arrange a pickup, most post offices have a loading dock around back where you can drop off packages. Sometimes the dock workers are rude, but it is still an option unless they order you to deliver your pkgs around front (hopefully by dropping them off in The Drum).