# Sold my first item, but..



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

After making a few of the pallet wine racks my fiance had me make an etsy store. Less than a week on there I've sold my first one, was pretty darn happy yesterday. Well got her wine rack made and after looking through etsy at the other shipping prices of the racks, i put a price that was around the others which most averaged like $23. I called the ups store last night with the weight and diminsions, it's an awkward shape and pretty heavy but last night she told me $22 which i was pretty happy with. Well today i went over to the store to ship it. Well after the boxes taped together and peanuts, it would of cost more than what i sold it for with the shipping and the price i had got quoted for last night had doubled. Wanted to get it shipped today but have to figure out what to do. Any insight on shipping would be greatly appreciated, feel like an ultimate rookie like i am.


----------



## Alongiron (Jan 10, 2011)

Now that you know the price of shipping, you will either need to increase your price or state that the buyer will pay for shipping. Check on those 1 rate type boxes also you can go to Costco or Sam's Club and get packing stuff a lot cheaper.
One other thing to check, if you are going to sell a lot is to check into one of those home mailing systems.

Good Luck


----------



## cooksmtn (Feb 7, 2014)

You didn't mention the actual weight or size, but my experience has been that USPS Parcel Select has better pricing than UPS. Parcel Select is only available to commercial users, but I'm pretty sure if you purchase and print your shipping label through Etsy, it is an option.

I ship mirrors, and I've had UPS and USPS both damage them (packed in plywood crates). Big difference between the two. UPS delivered one that the recipient said looked like it had been run over by a truck. UPS refused to let me even initiate a claim, even though I had insured it, and only wanted to be re-imbursed for glass replacement, which the recipient said he would do. They ran me around for a month….no pay.

USPS damaged a mirror, I filed a claim, with documentation of original packing and photos of damaged article. claim paid within days.

Check out Parcel Select, and also pay attention to dimensions. I had one mirror order that by reducing one dimension of the mirror by a very small amount, the shipping cost was half.

I won't ship UPS unless its made of cast iron, and then they might lose it.


----------



## CrazeeTxn (Jan 22, 2013)

Congrats on the sale. My wife's been hounding me to etsy stuff, but I can't see selling/shipping a shelf or something and someone actually be willing to pay for it. I thought about a "some assembly required" thing to make it more manageable to fit into boxes.


----------



## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I had a similar experience so now I only use USPS. I go here to find out the cost: http://postcalc.usps.gov/


----------



## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Shipping sucks. I tried selling on Etsy, but the shipping was just too much.


----------



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Well it weighs right at 17 lbs, the dimensions are 40×16x6. I went to Walmart and found some boxes and bubble wrap and combined the boxes, cost like $7. Still got to get it shipped though and the box is now 40×16x16. Gonna go see what FedEx will charge and then the usps but figured they were more expensive. Well might break even but will def learn. As long as the woman is happy then I'll be fine.


----------



## TheBoxWhisperer (Sep 24, 2012)

Congrats on the sale. Ive almost been there, but managed to catch my mistake before it happened. In my opinion, because you've made the sale you have to make good even if it's a loss. You were 100% correct when you said as long as the woman is happy you'll be fine. Especially just starting out, the customer is almost always right. As you build a clientele, develop experience and business savvy, eventually you can get away with being a cranky ol stinker like me.


----------



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Yea I'm just gonna learn from it, was my mistake so nothing i can do, but it didn't cost me anything to build it except time and some screws because i get pallets for free from work. Took it to fedex and their scale said it weighed 10lbs which i know isn't right but it still was gonna be $48 to ship but i wont lose money doing that. I did that usps calculator and for standard post it says it'll be $30 which ill be happy with if that were to be true, guess I'll find out tomorrow. Here's another kicker, I've been running around all evening after getting off work late and was gonna get home and change my shipping to put more on it to at least not cut into the cost of it. I had relisted it last night, well I sold another one… I don't know whether to be happy or say $%$# haha. It is what it is I guess, this one is going 200 miles away while the other is 900, so it should be cheaper.


----------



## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

My rates (which are nothing special) for a 40×6x16 @ 17 lbs, shipped from NC to CA
FedEx ground ~$20
USPS standard ~$28


----------



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

How are they that low? Does taking them to the distribution center make it any cheaper, I went to the ups store and the FedEx office store. I found some boxes online that would fit it perfect but it wouldn't let me order them, would have to call to order I think, probably will call later today.


----------



## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Those are the online rates using my own shipping materials which I tend to scrounge and save because boxes and packing material add up fast if you have to buy it. I box, buy and print a shipping label from home, then drop it off at the nearest place.

Generally smaller boxes are cheaper through USPS, bigger boxes are cheaper through FedEx ground. UPS closed my account because I rarely used it; FedEx has been threatening the same for years but never bothered to actually do it.


----------



## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

shipping charges are ridiculous these days.


----------



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

I got some cardboard from work and was gonna make my boxes, might try the online thing and see what happens, thanks for the info


----------



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

But yea shipping is ridiculous, I used to work at FedEx in college and unloaded trucks, and at the price I was quoted with as many boxes come on a trailer, they must make hundreds of thousands of dollars per trailer.


----------



## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

One of the steps that I have learned in making a product, is to take into account packaging. I try to design my products so that they will fit into standard size boxes and / or box size I already utilize in my operation.

Talk with the people at the shipping stores to see if the size was a little smaller, how much would the shipping cost change. Another think to look at is what level of service that you were quoted on. Ground to businesses is the cheapest. The home delivery is like the ground but has a surcharge for residential. A newer option available for small light weight packages (under 9 lbs) is where FedEx or UPS ships it to the closest post office and then USPS delivers it to the house. Obviously, 3 day, 2 day and next day delivery options are much more expensive.

I wonder if they were quoting a 2 or 3 day service.


----------



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Is there longer than the 3 day service? I asked whatever the cheapest was and that's what they said and it was 3 day service


----------



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Ended up going through usps, was $30, so wasn't as bad as the others. What sucks is I don't believe etsy has a thing where you can put the shipping depending on location. That second one is gonna be what I asked or a little less to ship. I'll have to check on the options on the site.


----------



## TiggerWood (Jan 1, 2014)

I always found USPS to be cheapest and, like cooksmtn said, they pay for their damages without hesitation. As for location, with USPS it almost never matters where within the borders you ship, same price.


----------



## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Well, here comes the part that sucks more than shipping; you have to report your sales quarterly or annually as capital gains for tax purposes (some of which is +30%).


----------



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Well according to their online calculator it was different, I'd how there would be a price difference between 200 and 900 miles. Still got a lot to learn


----------



## cooksmtn (Feb 7, 2014)

Shipping USPS Parcel Select doesvary by distance. I'm in Oregon, and when estimating my shipping, I use a zip code in NJ. I recently shipped a package to New Mexico, and the actual shipping cost was about 35% cheaper than the NJ price. The package was 14 X 14 X 7, and weighed about 7 pounds.


----------

