I don’t buy from people who are nasty in the forums. I just don’t want to deal with that type of person.

orange&yellow mentioned “no location” – It is also odd when someone lists several locations. I can see a couple if you have 2 homes, but some sellers have an absurd number

All great comments. I do have to say that I don’t always list an international shipping amount, but indicate that I will ship internationally, if they want to contact me, I will calculate the charge. I have found that there can be a fairly large difference in shipping costs to different locations.

I do answer back to those who convo me right away, and I only charge actual charges. I don’t like to list high shipping charges if I can help it.

How do others handle the variance in international shipping charges?

Thanks!

I see shipping comes up alot wish their was a way to take care of this,Have seen times when you can use the usps websight type in a location and weight and it will figure one way and when you get the item to post office its something els in price. As I sure with alot of sellers you get kind of tired of putting in the best price that you can on shipping just to find out you loose alot of profit because of shipping .And this can really be true on shipping outside of the United States.And if you sell low cost items for a few dollors,sometimes we are all human and we have more in makeing something then we plan own so we are working on alow profit to start with then someone wants to offer a lower price then you got to pay shipping also. It can get out of hand sometimes.No one wants to loose a sell and I see were some folks get crazy on their shipping charges but their is alot of us who are trying to do the best we can.

Great to know this info…very helpful to know what customers have to say! I agree with the shipping being an issue…I too have lost quite a bit.

It would be nice to have a shipping calculator built right in to Etsy, Artfire, etc.. like Ebay does…which figures it up automatically for the customer before they buy an item….just a thought

Being in the US we have the option to use flat rate international service from USPS, which works provided an item is flat or small enough to fit inside their boxes. I personally make sure to mention on my shipping policies that if there is a significant difference between my shipping price (flat rate) and what I actually pay once there I will be happy to refund the difference.

Many sellers may not be aware of options like that. I know when I first checked into shipping 1 pound item to Australia I was looking at almost $85 in shipping charges… then my friend explain the flat rate options to me.

Great information!

Cheryl, what I do for international shipping is list the shipping to Canada, Mexico, and Everywhere Else. My “Everywhere Else” price is the max it would cost for me to ship internationally. I state in my policies that I will refund shipping overcharges in excess of $1. This way, everyone can see the shipping costs and checkout without having to wait for a response from me and the final shipping everyone pays is accurate to their location.

The “in excess of $1″ part is to cover packing materials for the item.

I agree with Karen, it would be great if Etsy had a shipping calculator like eBay. And international can be an issue. I try to be fair when I ship, but I have been burned a few times. It’s a live and learn situation. I think most sellers are trying to be honest.

I realized when looking through this that I will also pass over a seller if there is no location AND if they skip their profile! I buy handmade to sort of “connect” with another artist or artisan but if I cannot get a small feeling about who they are or where they are coming from, I’m usually not interested.
Artsnark: I DO list the small towns near my small town because of the “Etsy local” feature and so I HAVE been contacted by locals that way!! To just say “Chicago area” or “Northern Illinois” isn’t helpful and few have heard of “Woodstock” (not THE Woodstock!! ha ha!) so that’s not helpful either!!
Shipping charges are difficult when it’s not the U.S….I’ve been open to sending refunds after I’ve paid postage and packing–but sometimes, I lose money, too. This has been great series, Tim!

I’m usually happy to ship internationally, but there are some countries I’ve learned not to ship to (items lost, ripped apart by customs, etc.). So I ask that international buyers convo me first. I don’t mean to put anyone off, but receiving an item that some customs agent has totally wrecked is a put off too.

I don’t like the snarky stuff in the forums either and avoid those shops.

I find that when asked a question about shipping costs from a possible buyer and they have not listed where they are from, I can’t answer and have to convo them back asking. I don’t understand why some seller or buyers are skeptical about adding their county, state, city, etc.

I alway refund any shipping charges over $1. But I most often don’t charge enough to cover PayPal and Etsy fees.

Thanks for these tips…. I will correct some of these turn offs that I am guilty of. But it’s nice to know some of them I am doing right!

This is such a useful collection of thoughts–both the article and the comments.

I’m thinking about how every single time I’ve shipped internationally I’ve lost money–and not just a little. I’ve always used the USPS online calculator, and I have a scale at home–do it the same way I do for domestic, and I’ve ended up paying double or more what the online thing says I should. I feel two ways about it–it’s really disheartening to charge a customer $11 for International Priority and then take it to the post office and find out it’s $23. But listing $23 shipping? Really? Who wants to even look at that? I would kind of rather eat that cost and keep the customer. I love buying international Etsy, but I do not want to pay a gazillion dollars in shipping either. Etsy shipping calculator would be a DREAM!

And now I’m off to update my own location :) I’ve been meaning to forever, and always forget. . .

Selling from the Netherlands I have a problem listing a shipping fee for countries in Europe apart my own. I’d have to list them all seperately, which is impossible, but the point is it will be cheaper than the ‘everywhere else’ one, so I clearly state in my shop intro and shop policies people should convo me.
I’ve been wondering if that’s the reason I’ve had so few orders from Europe so far… But those who did order for most part didn’t mind paying the everywhere else rate!

I’m always concerned about my shipping charges. Pottery can be heavier that other items that are sold on etsy. And packing for shippingAt one point, I had in my shop announcement that I ship internationally but I would need to calculate the shipping fees. I have been bitten and lost money on shipping. However, I now have international fees. To me my international shipping fees feels excessive….I do state in my listings that anything over $1.00 will be refunded to the buyer. I’m not trying to make a killing….I just don’t want to lose out again on the cost of shipping.

Oh darn…didn’t finish a sentence. Sorry.

I’m always concerned about my shipping charges. Pottery can be heavier that other items that are sold on etsy. Packing pottery for shipping can be extensive due to the nature of pottery. Not to mention the size and shape of the box/boxes needed. At one point, I had in my shop announcement that I ship internationally but I would need to calculate the shipping fees. I have been bitten and lost money on shipping.

However, I now have international fees. To me, my international shipping fees feels excessive….I do state in my listings that anything over $1.00 will be refunded to the buyer. I’m not trying to make a killing….I just don’t want to lose out again on the cost of shipping and I’m hoping this will cover expenses.

Thanks for the feedback from buyers

These things make me close the shop and look elsewhere:

- blurry photos
- dark photos
- lack of scale in photo, especially for jewelry and stamps
- bad spelling (I feel like if they can’t take a couple minutes to spell check, what are they not going to double check with the order)
- using UpPeRcAsE and LoWeRcAsE in everything
- no profile info (I want more than “I’m a sahm”)
- high shipping costs with no mention of refunding overages
- dirty hands in photos (DISGUSTING)
- LONG announcements (when I open a shop, I want to see images of whats for sale)

When I search for items, I usually search using the “Ship To” option. I just don’t have the time to sift through hundreds of listings to find out that 3/4 of them won’t ship to Australia, or want me to convo them. You might think your buyers have time to do that, but I certainly don’t. (and don’t even get me started on sellers who just don’t respond to convos…seriously)

I am a seller too, and Australia Post charges pretty high rates for shipping internationally, so I know what it’s like. However I take the time to carefully research what shipping will cost for most countries, and make sure to list them on each item, to make it easier for my buyers. I feel that if other sellers can’t be bothered, then I’ll just move on to ones than can. =)

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Concerning international shipping: to research the cost of shipping each item in my store to anywhere in the world would be incredibly time-consuming. I personally would rather put that time into designing and creating, and I think my customers’ money is better spent that way :)

Excellent comments and observations! Shipping can be a tough nut to crack, especially since the entries available on Etsy regarding shipping options, are limited.

The USPS has extremely high rates for International shipping, and this worries me greatly. Although I always reimburse any overage and pay out of pocket if my guesstimate is wrong, it would help greatly if there were a better shipping calculator on the site, as well as entry for insurance.

I know this is a strange one, but I will NOT buy from somebody that spells Crafty Creations – Krafty Kreationz, or similar, you know the onez

I use recycled packaging for my shipping so I only charge $2 except for $3 for heavier items. I think that people that use new shipping materials shouldn’t be criticised for trying to recoup the boxes or the envelopes. Those envelopes can cost almost $2 a piece. Not everyone gets good deals. I know some boxes can cost almost a dollar. It all depends on where you shop. If your source runs out you have to shop somewhere else! I don’t have a wholesale license so all my stuff is purchased retail.
By the way did you know that you can recycle tissue paper? I do from all gifts and purchases. You can squeeze it tight for a very crinkled look or iron it back to flat. You can put a nice scent in your hand before you touch it and it will smell nice.
I recycle all bubble wrap unless it smells funny. I recycle all bubble envelopes and my customers often tell me that they don’t mind that they prefer it. I do it for all packages unless I am forwarding the purchase to someone else’s address for a gift. Then it gets new everything.

Shipping is frustrating. By the time you’re done with a sale, between what etsy absorbs, what paypal takes, what packaging materials cost (even when making the effort to reuse as much as possible), and the time to pack it all up….there is NO way that my shipping prices are equal to what it actually costs me to ship.

I most definitely lose money on shipping/handling but it seems that buyers who are not also artisans don’t have a very real idea of what it costs in time, materials and postage so yeah, listing the real price would totally turn people away.

It often seems, also as if people have a skewed idea of what is fair payment for labor. Looking at a price and thinking to oneself, at $10/hour (and that’s pretty skint to begin with) with no cost of materials, is this a fair price? Now add in materials. Then shipping.

Not complaining, just noting that since we aren’t exploited children in sweat shops, handmade work actually costs something closer to a fair price – something to keep in mind :)

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Well I’m very pleased to say that after reading both parts, I don’t do anything that puts people off! Go me!

Great info!!!!! Thanks for this article!

Its great to hear from our customers. I DEFINATELY agree with having an International Shipping Calculator on Etsy!

Thanks so much for sharing this information!

Yup, cutesy names don’t do it for me either. Neither does the ultra-long title including every possible search word! I’d like to see the title length shortened to something more reasonable — even 100 characters would be PLENTY!!! That other “e” site only allows 55? characters in the title and that’s been enough for sellers there for 15 years now!

Likewise, cutesy locations don’t appeal to me. Don’t say you live under a mushroom or across the river and through the woods, or whatever. Those “locations” don’t work with the GeoLocator.

Poor photos do turn me off, but c’mon now, we’re not all professional photogs! What realllllly annoys me in photos is stuff like what I saw a few weeks ago … the handmade item was being held in someone’s hand — the hand model had VERY chipped nail polish (that may be the hot style somewhere, I guess!) — but worse yet, there was a NASTY cuticle on that hand that really needed to be trimmed!

Personally, I am delighted to ship internationally on 99% of my items (only things I won’t are ones with dried flowers, bay garlands, etc. since I’m worried about the “agricultural police” in Customs). I refund overpayment of shipping when it’s more than $1, and I’m glad to hear others use this number too!

Time to get ready for the day job …

Tim
Thanks again great tips!!!

Thank, Tim for these reminders!
Cluttered photos (with messy backgrounds or too many other objects) are annoying and make it hard to see the features of a product.
As for International Shipping, I do! I sat down with a postal scale (purchased 2nd hand from a business) and weighed one of every typed of item I sell. Then I weighed the packaging and inserts (business cards, invoice, freebies, wrapping paper, etc.) I would use to mail each one. From this information I created a shipping chart that I use when creating a new product listing. My ship to locations are US, Canada, Mexico and Everywhere Else. If the actual shipping to Everywhere Else is less, I refund shipping when it’s more than $1. I use both Priority and First Class International.

I think one thing to remember about shipping is there is handling also, the cost of your shipping supplies and the time to take to the post office you shouldn’t expect to pay just the actual shipping cost.

p.s. would love to see an article on turn offs after the sale, I just had two bad experiences w/ two Etsy purchases and the sellers do not seem to care that I wasn’t happy. Both said they would ship items in 10-14 days and I am going on a month and haven’t received my items… no communication either very unprofessional.

I bought a food scale that has ounces and grams. I can use it for Weight Watchers and the Post Office! I use USPS first class shipping and priority flat rate, exclusively.

I’m lucky, because I sell notebooks and they all have the same weight. I spent only about an hour on the USPS shipping calculator, randomly looking up every continent and many many countries. Shipping costs more than than the little notebook, so I felt it important to charge only exact shipping costs and eat the packaging.

I am selling internationally on a regular basis and considered it a vital part of my business!

Thanks for the tips on the adding metric. We don’t use metric in the US except 2 liter CocaCola bottles, so we don’t think about it!

Thanks Tim!

One more thing.
I use GreaseMonkey Hacks bulk shipping profile. So I can create a profile, and then add it with ridiculous ease to all of my listings, if I want!

If you don’t have Etsy Hacks, Google it and get some today!

These part 1&2 articles are definitely very useful to all the seller. Thank you for posting.

Very interesting reading! Thank you Tim and everyone who has commented.

I’m one who is guilty of not giving measurements in both metric and imperial. I’ll work on that as it makes total sense.

Shipping? Don’t get me started! As a Canadian seller shipping is the most frustrating part of selling online. We pay so much more here than our neighbors in the US that we end up loosing money just to stay competitive. It’s ridiculous and we have an ongoing fight with Canada Post to try to get reasonable pricing.

Photography – I once saw a listing where the item was shot on a hardwood floor that was dirty. Yuk! Really, unless you’re selling something like furniture or rugs, why in the world would you shoot something on a floor? Even if it’s clean I still think it’s kinda gross.

I also do the 1$ thing, however, my shipping charges include a set shipping and handling charge and so that’s not seen on the shipping label.

So basically, my 1$ thing is after all that’s taken into account.

I love shipping internationally. I occsionally lose some money but it’s not really that much and in the long run shipping internationally is well worth it. I calculate my shipping based on what USPS has listed on their website. First class international is inexpensive but you can not use paypal and you do not get tracking info. This can be risky but I have not had any lost international packages yet and I have shipped to many countries with scketchy reputations.

My shipping charges are for just shipping any handling charges are added to the cost of the product. I slao refund and shipping overcharges over $1.

As for refunds I will work with people on a case by case situation but in general I trust people and am always willing to give a refund or partial refund for anyone who is unhappy with something.

Photos that look like they didn’t even try bother me. . . and out-of-whack shipping.

Once again, I see no mention of USPS home pickup. Go to their website and look it up. I very rarely have to go to the post office. The post office usually comes to me. When I do have to go, (usually because I forgot to schedule a pickup) most of our post offices here have the new huge drop boxes that take a wide range of box sizes. Most of the time, I just pile my packages up by my door and the postal carrier picks them up.

If you’re using PayPal’s postage service, that’s good, but you don’t have to go to the PO for that all the time, either. When I can’t cover a package’s postage on PayPal, I go to the USPS site and buy the postage there – but it is limited to Priority and up (price wise). The only thing I can’t do online is International postage, because I’m not going to pay the $20 a month subscription for a service that covers Intl. PayPal is not cost effective for most international packages, either. This is why I’m reluctant to offer international shipping (although many of my baskets are available to ship anywhere). Call me lazy, I don’t really care – I absolutely hate visiting the post office.

Not having to drive to the post office and/or stand in line is a big time saver and energy saver. It’s not a big secret and really surprises me that I see so little about these services in these discussions. I see constant mention of “charging for your time to go to the post office” and just shake my head.

great great great info everyone.. thanks !

I agree with Aimee, I think we should charge for shipping what it costs us, because most of us are already underpricing our work in order to try to get more sales, and not only does that not work the way we expect but it’s not fair to us. It would be better if shoppers did a little research about the work or the shipping costs before deciding it’s not reasonable, and in the meantime we shouldn’t blame ourselves if they think the costs aren’t right for them. A lot of shoppers don’t seem to have a problem researching shipping when they find an item that’s $5 with $30 shipping, but when it’s a $50 item with $7 shipping they just say no thanks and move on.

I also would like to see shipping calculators on Etsy especially for international. There are so many location options on USPS website for calculating the shipping, unless you have individual requests or people saying “there needs to be more shipping to such-and-such country”, it’s hard to even know where to start; and then you have to learn about customs and everything. It takes a lot of time to get it all going, and in the meantime we’re still trying to make things and list things and promote our shops and take care of all the legal business stuff and taxes and everything.

Thanks, Tim, for taking the time to equip us with helpful information that improves our stores ;) and congrats on your little one!!!

I just don’t understand why Etsy doesn’t have a shipping calculator. I have such a huge variety of weights and sizes so it would take weeks to determine shipping costs for everything to everywhere. My priorities lie elsewhere. When someone has contacted me asking for shipping of a specific item to their country I am more than happy to do the work required to figure out shipping. It’s always a bummer to spend a ton of time figuring out packaging, weighing, researching and then they don’t purchase, but at least it’s a learning experience for me.

Great info – thanks everyone!

ArtSnark – again about location – having a bunch of towns listed is the only way for people to really know where I am – If people shopped local for me – my location only listed as Paeonian Springs (350 people) – they would never find me! I need to list all of the other little towns in my county so people know where I actually am.

Thanks for reminders. Great to know what the buyers think. I have to say, as both a buyer and seller on Etsy, when I am buying something, if someone does not bother to respond when I convo them first, I move to the next seller of that item. I think responding to convos is such an important part of customer service too.

Be careful with the EVERYWHERE ELSE SHIPPING option. I ended up losing all of my profit shipping to Japan. I now ask international buyers to contact me with their location for an exact shipping quote. I understand that people don’t want to bother to ask but I’m done with losing money on shipping.

A shipping calculator would be ideal. Hopefully soon.

What puts me off buying the most (Etsy or anywhere else) is if I can not find measurements in the description. Also, I won't buy from someone who doesn't have postage quated to my country.

As a UK seller I find its essential to offer International shipping, with Etsy being a US based site.
However, I couldn’t possibly list every country with their exact shipping price – so I’ve opted to offer a one price for all international customers.
It is a low rate, so I know at times I am going to lose out, but to me that seems the fairest way of doing it.
To think that approach may deter customers from purchasing from my shop is so disheartening.
As a seller you do your best to be competitive and fair. As an artist we want to spend more time creating more beautiful wares, than spending endless hours on the ‘paper work’ stuff.

For me I’ve created policies that should be fair to all, and so that if anyone should lose out it is only me! Etsy is so hard to be competitive on as a UK jewellery seller, as our base items already cost more, I try my hardest to be an affordable option for all – even though as an international buyer myself I frequently lose out financially.

Also – it is sometimes impossible to reply promptly when you live in a completely different time zone!
I’ve lost out on several potential sales, because they asked a question, when I was fast asleep.. No matter how much I will want to respond promptly, it cant be helped if we are both on very different time zones!

Cool site. Best Regardss xxx

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