Advice - Shipping Estimates
Feb. 19th, 2013 12:37 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
paradedemon.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
artists_bewareI don't know if this is me just being paranoid, as I'm new to the business world for items needing to be shipped, and quite worried about messing up and possibly getting negative reputation.
I ship with USPS and will provide the express and priority mail shipping rate from their online price calculator when the shipping price is requested, but I'm a bit confused for when shipping is more expensive than the estimate from online I normally pay out-of-pocket with money from the sale itself, but what do I do when I accidentally overcharge the customer? (I luckily haven't done this yet, I have accidentally undercharged) Also, how can I make sure my shipping estimates are fully accurate?
I'm just really worried about keeping a good reputation for when I sell more / offer commissions more, and I want my reputation to be correct. (As I've seen overcharging on shipping being a problem in some bewares, but not the main point normally.)
I purchase the boxes at the post office when going out to ship, if that makes a difference.
Thank you in advance for any responses!
I ship with USPS and will provide the express and priority mail shipping rate from their online price calculator when the shipping price is requested, but I'm a bit confused for when shipping is more expensive than the estimate from online I normally pay out-of-pocket with money from the sale itself, but what do I do when I accidentally overcharge the customer? (I luckily haven't done this yet, I have accidentally undercharged) Also, how can I make sure my shipping estimates are fully accurate?
I'm just really worried about keeping a good reputation for when I sell more / offer commissions more, and I want my reputation to be correct. (As I've seen overcharging on shipping being a problem in some bewares, but not the main point normally.)
I purchase the boxes at the post office when going out to ship, if that makes a difference.
Thank you in advance for any responses!
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Date: 2013-02-20 12:48 am (UTC)I have found that getting boxes ahead of time and having a scale on hand has greatly increased the accuracy of my quotes. Even more awesome, is that by having a scale on hand, I can print postage from USPS.com from home, for less than it costs me at the post office. A package I sent today cost me $2 less to ship from home via Priority-- that really adds up! It also automatically ties in a tracking/delivery confirm number with the transaction and so it's very easy to look up shipments and to troubleshoot when things go awry.
Anyhow, you can get a scale off of eBay for pretty cheap. Just get one that is known to be fairly accurate and can display lbs/oz. I think mine was around $18 and the brand is 'digiweigh'.
I cannot begin to tell you how much time and money that little scale has saved me on gas to and from the Post office, and electronic shipping rates are nearly always lower. Probably hundreds of dollars over the last few years. Just something to keep in mind!
On the occasion that my online shop overcharges shipping for my customer, I always refund the difference with an apology. Most people are actually very thankful for the honesty!