The increase in shipping costs is going to do me in. I have a baby listed (9 pound package) that is going to cost $53.60 to ship-$46.60 + $7 for insurance + signature confirmation. I can’t afford to just eat that amount of money. I ship through USPS because UPS is an hour and a half round trip for me. I have no credit cards so I can’t do online pickups. I may have to start doing only babies that will fit in a flat rate box. Most of the newborns and larger don’t.
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You shouldn’t be paying for shipping and you are not expected to. If someone offers free shipping it is because the cost is built into the price of the doll.
I charge a flat 35.oo for domestic shipping, USPS Priority. I eat the rest, I don’t usually have to but if I do it isn’t much. I do this because time is money and I don’t have a lot of time to be giving shipping quotes to people. I averaged out my shipping and came up with this number.
Your customers are buying the doll, they need to pay to have it shipped. USPS is cheaper than UPS for me.
If someone complains about the price of shipping, send it standard ground, it cuts the price but they will have to wait more than a week to get the baby!
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Why are you paying for shipping? I would never do that. No profit. The buyer no matter where they live, pays for shipping.
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I don’t pay for shipping either. I charge a $35 flat fee and eat the rest, occasionally, like when I have to ship to the West Coast (I’m on the East). Sometimes it’s a little less, which offsets the cost of me paying extra, so it seems to balance.
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I guess I wasn’t clear. My customers always pay for shipping. I charge actual shipping cost but that’s getting really pricey and I can’t afford to eat any of it. I’m just a little concerned that people may not buy a doll because of the cost of shipping it. Standard ground might be a good option.
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I’ve started working the cost of shipping into the doll’s price and saying “free shipping”! Then if it doesn’t sell, I can “drop the price” and add shipping separately to see if that makes a difference before I have to actually drop the real price at all.
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That’s a good idea.
Yeah, I use UPS to mail packages to the grandkids because it’s so much cheaper usually. Found out that each UPS office is independently owned and can charge whatever rate they chose. Lol, needless to say, there is one I avoid. The only other option I can think of is to see if the customer wants to go ground rate. Also check to see if a business in the area has UPS pickup where you could pre-print a label and send it that way. Used to be able to do that at our local hardware in our tiny town until the owner retired.
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Yes, UPS is much less expensive than USPS. I’ve read the article and posted here in the past also that USPS is only better when it less than 2 lb.
I like UPS. My last baby went from GA to PA - 8 lb, insurance and signature confirmation for $25.08 in 1B4 size box. USPS would never get me that price.
In addition if you do your own ‘work’ like inputting weight, address, box dimensions, print the label, etc. on their site they are offering UP to 40% discount. I’ve created account, but didn’t try it yet, so cannot comment if it’s really that much less.
But I know that not everyone likes UPS and in your case it so far to drive.
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What’s a 1B4 size box and where do you get them?
It’s Amazon box, size 17.75 x 14.25 x 8.25
19-20" baby in a blanket and bubble wrap fits comfortably in it. You can fit even bigger ones 22-24" but legs would be slightly bent.
I reuse Amazon boxes and collect them from my co-workers, but I guess you can order them from Amazon or buy similar sized boxes in the Office supply stores.
I recycle boxes, too. I get some of my boxes at Safeway, early in the morning when they’re stocking. They’ve got all kinds of sizes with no ink on the inside. I just cruise the store looking for sizes I can use. They’re more than happy to give them to me. My neighbors save all their packing materials-bubble wrap, air pillows and packing peanuts for me. I almost never have to buy any of that stuff which is why I charge my customers actual shipping cost.
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What size box are you using?
It varies. I don’t use the same size every time. Sometimes I cut a large box down to make it smaller. I don’t mind curving the baby a little but I don’t want them squashed. I usually send a decent sized box opening as well.
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I order my boxes, 20x8x6 from amazon for 19 and over babies, I use the large Priority box for smaller babies and the flat rate large box for preemies. They are the perfect size and they get me the better rate at USPS. My UPS store is so expensive, maybe I need to shop around for a different UPS? I usually ship two day, priority and I get free insurance. I rarely go over the 35.00 domestic unless I have a really heavy baby.
Any of my babies that will fit go in a flat rate box. I’m not sure my newborns and 22 inchers will fit in that size box once they’re wrapped in a blanket and I add the layette and accessories but they have some that are a little bigger that I’m going to try.
Do you have a direct link for these boxes…I can’t find them 
Just go to Amazon and type 20 X 8 X 6 shipping boxes in the search bar and they’ll come up. They have 20 X 10 X 8 also.
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