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Postage
Hi. I’m still not sure if I have set up this correctly. I’ve tried to decipher it and put in different numbers. I’m shipping out of CA. Knowing how touchy people can be about shipping, I didn’t want to get this wrong. Please send any advice. Thank you.
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I'm a bit concerned looking at this about your weight band - it appears to charge the one rate for up to two pounds (30 oz) and the prices you are showing are way below even commercial shipping rates when you hit 16 oz and over - USPS only allows First Class Packages for up to 16 oz, then you have to shift to Parcel Select Ground. USPS will not allow you to use generic First Class Mail for LEGO parts, though you can likely get away with it for a few tiles, etc. Otherwise, they will Return To Sender in many cases.
Also remember to accommodate your packaging weight in your calcs, e.g., if someone buys 3/4 oz of parts, your shipping table should charge them a 1 1/4 oz rate (which is really 2 oz, there are no fractions in USPS costs) to accommodate your packing materials, invoice (if adding), etc.
I've previously shared all my shipping options here in BO and have been pretty public that my tables and rates are set up to accommodate 1/2 oz over the BO-determined weight (to accommodate outer package weight and internal baggies, invoice weight, etc.) at actual commercial rates plus $0.50 (to cover packaging costs, fees, etc.). So you can look at the shared Shipping Tables if you wanted to leverage mine.
I offer a ton of options, ranging from First Class Package (up to 16 oz), Parcel Select Ground (16 oz and over), Priority Mail, Express Mail, etc. I only ship in the US and to APOs.
You can certainly charge a single rate and a single method across the board, but I have noticed shipping rates are a big influence into whether someone buys from you or not - so even if your pricing is a bit high compared to other stores, if someone is just looking for a couple of rarer items (or common items), if your rate is lower - and the catalog DOES show a part price + shipping rate column - in aggregate, you may very well get the order. :-) You may want to seriously consider breaking down by multiple weights - it's more work going in, but once it's done it's DONE. :-)
So there are definitely some items to consider with shipping.
If you print your postage via PayPal (that is what I do), you can get the Commercial Base Rate, which is really nice - and you don't have to have a postage (e.g., a thermal) printer - you can print on regular paper and tape it to the package if you want (just don't tape over the bar codes).
I hope some of this helps a bit as items for consideration!
I’ll get right on your information. I really didn’t understand that page. We are excited to be doing this. Thank you!