Australia Post increases prices for the 2nd time in 6 months
Righto, in light of Australia Post's fee increase from today, I'm taking a good hard look at how I ship, what I charge and what (if anything) I can do to improve the situation for my customers.
Believe it or not, it's super complicated! I'm been wracking my brain all day long to come up with some solutions. Every time I think I've found an alternative, it ends up only being a measly .30c cheaper or something equally unhelpful.
Personally, I'm an avid on-line shopper. I buy everything from clothes to jewellery, home wares to soap (of course, I'm addicted you see :P) and shipping costs are something that has me hovering over the "buy-it-now" button too so I sympathise with my customers completely at your frustration at ever increasing postal costs.
Shipping soap isn't as easy as say, a skirt or a pair of earrings. I can't just jam them into a satchel or wrap in bubble-wrap and pop into an envelope. Soap is heavy, easily dented, high & wide. I couldn't think of anything worse then your lovely soaps arriving in a less than perfect condition. That's why I have special shipping boxes and the soaps are bubble wrapped and padded with fill to cushion against any blows. This in itself can push it up in postal costs to the next tier, it sucks but I've seen how mail can be handled and it's not always careful, especially when it's being handled multiple times by staff, drivers, baggage handlers on planes etc.
So here's my plan:
1. Reduce the shipping cost of single lip balm orders down to $1.50.
2. Adjust as best I can the amount you pay for additional items based on weight (ie, charge a little more for heavy things and a little less for lighter things instead of the blanket .50c "with another item" I currently charge.
3. Start a policy where I refund any overcharges of more than a $1 and bill any extra of more than $1, making your postal costs more exactly weight based.
To do this, I'm going to need your patience and understanding while I adjust my costs and for you not to hate me if I have to bill you any extra. I wish I didn't have to, truly I do!
Please feel free to contact me over the next few days if you are keen to buy something I've mentioned will be changing but it hasn't yet, I might have missed something so an email would be much appreciated - sailormouthsoaps at gmail dot com.
Have a great night/day/whatever my lovelies, I'm off to adjust the shipping on a gazillion listings - joy :P
Believe it or not, it's super complicated! I'm been wracking my brain all day long to come up with some solutions. Every time I think I've found an alternative, it ends up only being a measly .30c cheaper or something equally unhelpful.
Personally, I'm an avid on-line shopper. I buy everything from clothes to jewellery, home wares to soap (of course, I'm addicted you see :P) and shipping costs are something that has me hovering over the "buy-it-now" button too so I sympathise with my customers completely at your frustration at ever increasing postal costs.
Shipping soap isn't as easy as say, a skirt or a pair of earrings. I can't just jam them into a satchel or wrap in bubble-wrap and pop into an envelope. Soap is heavy, easily dented, high & wide. I couldn't think of anything worse then your lovely soaps arriving in a less than perfect condition. That's why I have special shipping boxes and the soaps are bubble wrapped and padded with fill to cushion against any blows. This in itself can push it up in postal costs to the next tier, it sucks but I've seen how mail can be handled and it's not always careful, especially when it's being handled multiple times by staff, drivers, baggage handlers on planes etc.
So here's my plan:
1. Reduce the shipping cost of single lip balm orders down to $1.50.
2. Adjust as best I can the amount you pay for additional items based on weight (ie, charge a little more for heavy things and a little less for lighter things instead of the blanket .50c "with another item" I currently charge.
3. Start a policy where I refund any overcharges of more than a $1 and bill any extra of more than $1, making your postal costs more exactly weight based.
To do this, I'm going to need your patience and understanding while I adjust my costs and for you not to hate me if I have to bill you any extra. I wish I didn't have to, truly I do!
Please feel free to contact me over the next few days if you are keen to buy something I've mentioned will be changing but it hasn't yet, I might have missed something so an email would be much appreciated - sailormouthsoaps at gmail dot com.
Have a great night/day/whatever my lovelies, I'm off to adjust the shipping on a gazillion listings - joy :P
