I'm dumb at shipping, HALP! (seriously, REALLY dumb)

[poxabomination]

This is probably going to sound really stupid of me (no, it definitely sounds really stupid I'm sure), but I've found a bunch of clothes that I no longer wear that I wanted to try and sell, but I have absolutely no idea how to go about shipping them, I've never shipped a single item before besides an exchange and they kind of took care of everything for me as far as a label, and just had to bring the box back to the post office..
I was looking through the USPS website and it shows how to calculate the price and stuff but its different depending on where you send it and what type of service and how big the package is and so many variables. How do people know for a fact what the shipping is going to be for a given item if they don't even know where in the world its going yet? I'm really, really bad at anything to do with the internet so the whole 'calculate shipping cost" is really confusing to me, it seems like way more work than its supposed to be... then theres the 'flat rate' ones which I'm assuming are the ones people usually use, but theres so many different kinds... I'm overwhelmed! And then, once I figure out what the shipping is gonna be, do I just go to the post office with the item and will they pack it for me, or do I have to buy the packages and make a label and pack it myself? Can anyone walk me through what they do when they're shipping stuff? I'm only gonna ever be shipping lightweight, non-solid stuff like clothes and maybe dreads one day.

[corpseesproc]

When I send clothes I wrap them up in a bag then another black bag with parcel tape (you can get special posting bags though) once it's like that I weigh it/ guess the weight and then from that most postal sites will give you a price estimate, then I list the price if it's going to the same country as me(uk) and if I'm willing to post somewhere else I say that and when someone asks I'll check the shipping to that specific country based on the weight. Clothes usually fold down to a similar size so I find it's mainly the weight. But here they won't pack it for you at the post office, I know you can get special posting bags/ boxes in America but I don't know much about them sorry. Hope this helps a bit!

[MrsEss]

I just guess. I'm being serious though. Er, little items like skirts, tops etc are about £1.50 to send. Trousers maybe £3, as are dreads. Quite a lot of the time I just absorb it in to the cost. I post quite a bit with free P&P unless it's overseas.

[VixenSingsBlack]

I did a long, long study of the USPS system and came up with my two charts. Before I sell anything, I weigh it. With my charts, I can calculate shipping or the purchaser can pick their shipping. I can't show them to you currently, because my website is down. BUT, they are really nifty charts.

[poxabomination]

I did a long, long study of the USPS system and came up with my two charts. Before I sell anything, I weigh it. With my charts, I can calculate shipping or the purchaser can pick their shipping. I can't show them to you currently, because my website is down. BUT, they are really nifty charts.

bahahhaa, "i have these wonderful amazing life saving charts. Wanna see them? Too bad."

Well thanks everyone, for real, this kind of stuff just confuses the hell out of me

edit: also, if theres anyone in the US that can walk me through it, that would be grand1

[iddylove]

im in the US. with my post office, basically i just bring the stuff in, tell them where its going nd they figure averything out for me.lol. its worth a trip in there just to ask and see how they do it

[poxabomination]

im in the US. with my post office, basically i just bring the stuff in, tell them where its going nd they figure averything out for me.lol. its worth a trip in there just to ask and see how they do it

haha yeah I think I need to take a visit and ask.. though not at my local one, they're impatient jerks there. Once i figure it out I can drop them off there no problem, but they definitely won't answer my questions.

[VixenSingsBlack]

OKAY! here's the chart I use.



Now, there's a trick to this. The price of postage is determined by how far the package must go. The country is split up into zones mostly by the first number of the zipcode. My first number is 7, and you can see by this chart under 4lbs that shipping from 7 to 7, 2, 3, or 4 is cheapest because they're close to me. If you give me your zipcode in a PM, I can make a chart for your zipcode to other zipcodes just like this one. No charge, just a friendly service, and I get to label it at the bottom with "created by VixenSingsBlack.com" I can also tell you about the Priority Flat Rate shipping boxes and envelopes at your disposal too.

PS I bought a postal scale at Office Depot for about $40 which has made everything SO MUCH EASIER! I can calculate the exact weight of a package by putting the hair, my business card, and instructions into the box/envelope I ship in to determine precise weight. Save up some money and buy a scale if you don't already have one. You'll notice on my Advertising and Promotions posts that I don't give prices on my hair items, just weights, and I attach both charts at the bottom. That way I spend less time explaining the different shipping methods and prices to people. Here's my latest AnP post: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=14926&p=260839#p260839

PSS My website is finally feeling better, which is why I was able to pop the chart up now!

[VixenSingsBlack]

Now this is my UK chart, which you need not make any modifications to at all. Just slap it up.



Just keep in mind the post office does boost their prices from time to time, usually during the spring. So if you go to the post and suddenly your estimation is lower than the real cost, I probably need to provide you with a new chart.

[poxabomination]

You're.. like... like an angel ;-;

[IKickShins]

First Class International and Parcel Post are both going up on the 17th, so those parts of the charts won't be accurate beginning next week. Also, the domestic Priority rates only apply to packages that are 12x12x12" or smaller; anything larger than that uses dimensional weight.

[VixenSingsBlack]

First Class International and Parcel Post are both going up on the 17th, so those parts of the charts won't be accurate beginning next week. Also, the domestic Priority rates only apply to packages that are 12x12x12" or smaller; anything larger than that uses dimensional weight.

Of course they're raising prices X-O

[Gromidez]

I just use flatrate Priority for shipping within the US.

They have large envelopes, small boxes, medium boxes and large boxes, All flat rate.
AND all the boxes have two shapes. So there is a small box that is kinda flat and long or one that is more deep, etc. The boxes are FREE.

There's a couple ways to ship. Some post offices have the automated machines in which you enter the zip code you're shipping to and any services you want and you can just run your credit card, slap the label it prints on the box, and drop it in the slot to send. Or you can go through one of the people and they'll do all of that by asking you questions and you pay them. Either way, YOU pack and wrap the boxes/envelopes and write the address on it. You can only send priority boxes priority. So don't try to use a free priority box and send it first class 'cause it's cheaper. They'll make angry faces at you. Like this

My shipping prices on etsy are made based on whether the item requires an envelope, small, medium or large box to send. So as to protect myself, I also require the item ship with delivery notification (so no one can say they didn't get the package and file a return claim) and that's between $.70-$.80 so I charge an extra $1. That offsets the cost of shipping and the tissue paper and ribbon i nicely wrap stuff in to send it. (I also hate dealing in cents).

I like priority because it's fast, pretty inexpensive, and easy to calculate with flat rate. For international I always calculate individually.

[VixenSingsBlack]

I've always found Priority flat rate boxes to be a rip off for mailing hair, myself. Hair is so light yet voluminous. My items typically need a Priority Flat Rate medium box because of their volume, but the shipping on that costs $10 or so. Instead, I use Tyvek envelopes I buy for cheap (.48¢ per envelope) and send those Priority. None of my hair items I sell a lot of are over 1lb.

[Gromidez]

I've always found Priority flat rate boxes to be a rip off for mailing hair, myself. Hair is so light yet voluminous. My items typically need a Priority Flat Rate medium box because of their volume, but the shipping on that costs $10 or so. Instead, I use Tyvek envelopes I buy for cheap (.48¢ per envelope) and send those Priority. None of my hair items I sell a lot of are over 1lb.

I've occasionally found that flat rate is more than what the actual weight would ship for, but it's impossible for me to calculate what every item weighs without going to the post office and bugging them to weigh everything. Most of what I sell is very light as well.

But, I've come across a number of situations. One where I sent an item that was less than the flat rate due to weight, so I sent it by weight. The next time I went to ship the same item it turned out that because of the location I was shipping it to, it would be MORE than flat rate. There's so much involved in the shipping cost even if you know the exact weight of everything.. it's just easier for me right now to do flat rate.

[IKickShins]

Small flat rate, flat rate envelope, and flat rate bubble mailers are all a better deal then the lowest rate for variable weight Priority Mail if you've got stuff that's small enough to fit into them. It's also cheaper to take a small flat rate box and put it inside of the flat rate bubble mailer than to mail it on its own -- the bubble mailers cost less to ship than the boxes.

The medium flat rate boxes don't start to be a good deal until the package weighs over 2-3 pounds and is being shipped 1-2 or more zones away (it's still cheaper to go variable weight in your own zone and sometimes the next zone over).

Not sure where the weight starts to be a good deal with the large flat rate boxes off the top of my head. I want to say somewhere around 5 pounds.

[VixenSingsBlack]

Small flat rate, flat rate envelope, and flat rate bubble mailers are all a better deal then the lowest rate for variable weight Priority Mail if you've got stuff that's small enough to fit into them. It's also cheaper to take a small flat rate box and put it inside of the flat rate bubble mailer than to mail it on its own -- the bubble mailers cost less to ship than the boxes.

The medium flat rate boxes don't start to be a good deal until the package weighs over 2-3 pounds and is being shipped 1-2 or more zones away (it's still cheaper to go variable weight in your own zone and sometimes the next zone over).

Not sure where the weight starts to be a good deal with the large flat rate boxes off the top of my head. I want to say somewhere around 5 pounds.

The small flat rate boxes are great, if what I've got is small enough to fit inside, but I can't fit any more than 40 short dreads or 20 long dreads inside those itsy-bitsy boxes. I dislike the cardboardiness of the flat rate envelope for dreads. I do use the flat rate envelope for Fringes though, since they're flat. But I just found out about the bubble mailers! My local post doesn't have them, so I'm getting the free ones from USPS.com. Maybe I can fit lots of dreadsies on those. My biggest shipping pain has always been faux-roving; it's so freaking MASSIVE but weighs next to nothing. :-/