Home› General

Anyone doing flat rate shipping? Any opinions?

figbitsfigbits
in General Vote Up0Vote Down
I am considering changing the shipping rates in my store to a flat rate. Has anyone here tried both flat and variable rates, and have you found a difference in the types and volume of orders you get?

As a buyer, would you be more likely to place a larger order if the store had a flat rate shipping cost? Would you notice?


Here is what I am considering:

Canada: $2
USA: $4
Worldwide: $6


--
Marc.

Comments

  • 8 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • johnsma2000johnsma2000
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    For Worldwide at $6 and Canada at $2 - you'd be essentially giving each customer $7 in free parts. Why do all the work to loose money?

    For USA, $4... If the order is under 8 ounces the customer pays more than the new higher rate of $2.60. I'd shop elsewhere if I were a US Customer.
    Melissa
  • figbitsfigbits
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    I am shipping from Canada. Those prices are essentially my cost for small orders. On larger orders, the postage would be more, but the excess would be covered by the extra profit from the larger order.

    --
    Marc.
  • OvertheBrickOvertheBrick
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Very anecdotal for now but since the USPS rate changes the shipping price is the same for package all the way to 8oz. We are seeing more orders gravitating close to the limit (so bigger than before).
  • DagsBricksDagsBricks
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    I'd pay $4 for an order from Canada.
  • StragusStragus
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Canada Post's cheapest rate to the U.S. is the Light Packet 200g (maximum thickness 20mm) for 5.70 CAD, meaning 3.93 USD. Then add Paypal's 3% plus $0.30, the bubble mailer...

    If you are subsiding the shipping rates, then supposedly you have to raise the price of the parts to compensate.

    Customers surely notice the price of the parts. They probably notice the base shipping rate... Will they notice that the shipping rate is constant for any order size? Even so, can they be made aware of that fact clearly enough when browsing/shopping around?

    I'm not entirely convinced, but feel free to try it out. :)
  • figbitsfigbits
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Canada Post's cheapest rate to the U.S. is the Light Packet 200g (maximum thickness 20mm) for 5.70 CAD, meaning 3.93 USD. Then add Paypal's 3% plus $0.30, the bubble mailer...

    If you are subsiding the shipping rates, then supposedly you have to raise the price of the parts to compensate.
    Well, I'm glad you said "supposedly" have to raise the price of parts ... because I'm not. My prices get synced between the two sites (with just a handful of exceptions), and I am only planning to try the flat-rate shipping here. No price changes.

    You're right that there is mathematically a small loss on the US shipping. However, that would easily be recovered through higher order volume, assuming that the low shipping attracts more buyers. (Quick back-of-the envelope calculation, I would need one additional $10 order for every 12 orders that I would normally get.)

    Customers surely notice the price of the parts. They probably notice the base shipping rate... Will they notice that the shipping rate is constant for any order size? Even so, can they be made aware of that fact clearly enough when browsing/shopping around?
    Yeah... that's the part that I'm not sure about, either. Meh -- I think I'll give it a go and see how I feel about it.


    --
    Marc.
  • figbitsfigbits
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Alrighty -- I've updated my shipping methods!

    $2 Canada
    $4 USA
    $6 World


    http://monochrome.brickowl.com/
  • DagsBricksDagsBricks
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    8 - who do we appreciate? Marc!
Sign In or Register to comment.