What is your actual cost of shipping
and how can you incorporate this into your business...
Do you include shipping in your product listing and offer free or a small amount for shipping? Or, do you keep your product pricing lower and charge postage in addition?
Ask yourself what you feel like when you go to purchase online and the shipping doesn't appear reasonable to you. Do you reluctantly go ahead or do you choose another business or product that offers a more suitable shipping rate?
Postage & Shipping is an unavoidable cost of running an online handmade business and whilst you want to ensure you are covering this cost you also need to consider the expectations of your customers.
3 ways to look at your shipping costs:
- are you charging $10 for a product and then adding $10 for shipping. The customer may see this as unreasonable. What would you do? Would it seem more reasonable to the customer that they purchase the item for $15 with $5 for postage.
- is your shipping more than the purchase price of your product? $8.95 for the product + $10.60 for postage. How would you feel at the checkout? How can you change this to make the customer not feel like they're purchasing shipping with a side of product?
- Do you have a higher priced item, say $100, and charging shipping in addition? Consider listing the product for $115 or $120 and have free shipping. What feels more enticing to you?
There is not only the actual shipping costs but the extra things that make up the postage expenses like boxes & bags, wrapping, fillers, cards and the other pretty things you like to include in the postage experience for your customer.
Check out Australia Post for postage prices so you can start with the basic postage costs and then add the extras. This will give you a baseline of what your shipping expenses are expected to be.
So, now you have your baseline postage costs, what do you do next?
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Research other makers both in the Madeit community and other marketplaces. What makes you proceed (or not proceed) to the checkout?Know your baseline shipping costs including the extras - can you make savings here? See our tip below.
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Consider your product price points including shipping. What would help your customers hit the Buy Now button?
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Determine your method of charging shipping - will you offer free, flat rate or different prices based on different products?
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Consider what you're discounting. Would you happily discount your product but not your postage? What would the customer see as more beneficial to them?
đBoost your business: Did you know you can apply for a MyPost Business Account and start saving on postage costs with as little as $50 spent on postage.
 
Written by: Bec Arthur
Madeit Collaborator & Owner & Maker of Becreates
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