Getting Started with Etsy Day 4 - How to Estimate Shipping Costs

Today's topic is how to estimate shipping costs before listing items on Etsy. This is an important topic, because if the shipping costs are set too high, people will be reluctant to purchase otherwise inexpensive items. However, if the shipping costs are set too low, the Etsy seller may end up paying for part of the shipping and eating into his or her precious profits!

Here is what I did to estimate my shipping costs.

Step 1: Purchasing My Shipping Containers

My first three Etsy items are all Humbug bags. The medium size bags measure 7.5in x 5.5in and the small size bags measure 5.5in x 4.5in. Luckily, these bags are constructed out of sturdy quilted fabric, so they can be safely flattened for shipping.

Because shipping in the United States is priced based on weight, shape, and size, I wanted to purchase the smallest, lightest shipping container possible that would also keep my item safe during shipping.

I visited Staples and purchased some 8.5 x 11 inch bubble mailers. 

A package of 12 bubble mailers cost me $13.56.  This means that each envelope costs $1.13. I made a note of this price, so that I could add it into to my overall shipping cost estimate.

Step 2: Estimating the Weight of My Etsy Shipments

To estimate the weight of my Etsy shipments, I put together a sample package to weigh on my shipping scale. I placed one item inside one of my bubble envelopes. I also included three sheets of plain white printer paper.  When I ship my Etsy items, I will be including a printed letter-sized receipt.  I also assume that I will be making return address labels on my printer to make my Etsy shipments look more professional.  The three sheets of paper serve to estimate the added weight of a receipt and a shipping label.

I weighed one sample package with a small size humbug bag and one sample package with a medium sized humbug bag and took note of their weights.

Step 3: Estimating Etsy Shipping Costs

Next, I visited the website of the United States Postal Service (http://postcalc.usps.com) to find out how much it would cost to mail my packages both domestically and internationally. 

As of September 16th, 2014 it costs $1.19 to mail a 2 ounce, large-sized envelope from Boston, Massachusetts to San Diego, California through standard Priority Mail. I took this number and added it to the cost of a single bubble envelope. This resulted in a total shipping cost of $2.32. I rounded this number up to the nearest dollar amount, and I was left with a domestic shipping cost of $3.00. 

I repeated this same procedure with international destinations and came up with an international shipping cost of $8.00. 

Now, when Etsy asks me how much I will be charging my customers to ship an item, I have an accurate number to give that is fair to my Etsy customers and my own profit margin! 

I hope this tutorial was helpful! Tomorrow's topics include opening an Etsy shop and listing items on Etsy. In the meantime, please check out my new shop at www.etsy.com/shop/PearTreeStitches! Thanks for reading!