angied Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Hi folks, My friend and I are thinking about doing a website, mainly for bath and body items. And mainly using bases for most stuff. My question is how do you determine shipping costs? I mean if someone buys a lip balm well that wouldnt cost the same to ship as say 3 things of lotion would it? We have a site that we are playing with right now...we are using a paypal cart and you can do shipping thru them but if I am understanding it right, it would basically be the same shipping for both of the items mentioned above. So how do you all do it? Hopefully I am making sense:rolleyes2 Thanks for any help!!Angie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Take a look at the online shops you like to shop from. Not for supplies and ingredients, but for the fun stuff like candles, bath and body items, and clothing. How does each of them structure their shipping? What do you like or dislike about the way each one determines the shipping cost? Make a list and then use it to decide how you want it done. Unless you choose some very complex method, most likely your shopping cart can handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angied Posted April 21, 2006 Author Share Posted April 21, 2006 Thanks suds, I just checked out your site....very nice by the way:highfive: and I see that you do a flat rate price no matter what they order. So I assume that is working for you? So like I said before no matter if they buy one small item or a few big items it is still the same cost....right? I am sorry this is the one thing that is confusing to me:rolleyes2 Thanks so much for responding though:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Yes, I do a flat rate, for the simplicity of it. One of the shops I liked shopping from, Old Navy, does that too. I didn't like shops where shipping is based on the dollar amount spent - because if you buy an expensive item that is very light (e.g. a watch) you'll end up paying a lot more in shipping than the actual postage. I also didn't like the ones where I didn't know how much shipping was going to cost until I have provided my credit card number, because I like to know right from the beginning how much it's going to cost. These are my personal preferences, and others' may have different ideas on what they like and dislike. Although the flat rate method is simple, be aware that you won't always come up even. A lot of times you will have to pay extra. But usually these are larger orders so it's okay, because a lot of places would even have free shipping if the order total meets a certain level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angied Posted April 21, 2006 Author Share Posted April 21, 2006 Suds, you have really been a help to me thank you. I agree that the simplicity of doing that way is a good thing. That may be the route we take. Like you said if someone orders alot it may be real heavy and cost more to ship, but they are ordering more stuff so it kinda balances out in my opinion. Thanks again!!!Angie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorrie Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 I charge actual shipping by the weight of the item. This works for me. The only problem is with cases of wax. My cart for some reason doesn't calculate it right. So sometimes I have to send another invoice for the shipping charges. No one has complained yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Shipping sucks, there's just no way around it. I charge actual shipping as well - my cart get close most of the time unless I've got my weights input wrong, but sometimes it can be less. I've had people buy one lip balm - if it goes the normal way, it costs $4.10 to ship! But I usually ask if they're in a hurry - if not, I'll ship small things like that, and soap samples, regular mail. But it's also a marketing tool as well. It costs the same to ship 3 soaps as it does to ship 1 soap. Most people buying on the web seem to know how to maximize their shipping costs, and will buy the 3 bars instead of just one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angied Posted April 22, 2006 Author Share Posted April 22, 2006 Thanks for the responses!!! Ok next question, how do you go about doing real shipping? Can the paypal cart do that or would we have to go with something different?Thanks again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted April 22, 2006 Share Posted April 22, 2006 I took a look at paypal shopping cart's manual and they gave two examples of how to set up shipping. One was for fixed dollar amounts based on total purchase (e.g. $3 for up to $20, $4 for $21-35), the other was for a percentage of the purchase total. I'm not sure if that means doing by weight is not an option. You could ask your question in a new thread entitled "question for paypal shopping cart users" so that those who use this cart type would notice it more and maybe you can get your answer quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angied Posted April 22, 2006 Author Share Posted April 22, 2006 Suds...duh why didnt I think of that:rolleyes2 ....LOL once again great advise!!! OK off to make a new thread. Thanks again to everyone who answered my questions!!!! Once again proves why I love this site:highfive: Angie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnS Posted April 22, 2006 Share Posted April 22, 2006 I am also getting flipped out on the shipping end.Starting my site and at that part.My smallest thing is the car air fresheners and I charge $2.00.I really hate to charge shipping for that but have thought for that item only FREE shipping.Send it USPS.Maybe go up a little on price because the envelpes are high for one item.I don't know.Just hate to charge $5.00 for a $2.00 item.Sure you feel the same for 1 lip balm.Thora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angied Posted April 23, 2006 Author Share Posted April 23, 2006 I agree Lynn, that is what had me concerned. But then again part of me thinks surely no one would just buy 1 lip tube balm or for you one air freshener would they? I mean if they are going to order I would think that it would be more than that. So maybe we are a little too worried about it. And I hate to be mean but if you state shipping is the same no matter what maybe that will persuade them into ordering more???? I dont know:undecided Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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