Well, I blew it again! Estimating shipping costs is very tricky and an inexact science. Sure, I could take dummy boxes to the PO and get weights and prices but that's not terribly practical when you may be selling items of multiple sizes and weights. My things range from a light bookmark
to a heavy clock like this one.
I had a package go out to Norway a few weeks ago that I had 'guessed' would be $32 and it was $33...not bad. Today I had to mail a clock to England and my guess was $10 but in fact it was $14...ooops. You certainly don't ask the customer for more money.
That coupled with the upcoming postage increase in the US forced me to revisit all 98 items in my shop and re-guess the shipping costs. A slow process at best. I'd rather err on the high side and refund money when it is a substantial amount. Most of all, I'd rather make sales and have this be my problem!
3 comments:
It'll be cheaper for you in the long run if you buy a postal scale.. or least a well made kitchen scale.
With such varying weights, you probably would be better off with a scale! Hopefully the sales will keep coming and you'll keep having this "problem"!
I don't know how sellers without scales manage. It's impossible to guess. When I first started out, I made the mistake of guessing. It cost me enough to start shopping for scales. You can get one from ebay for less than $20. Here is a link for scales on ebay. You'll be glad you did it.
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