I know most of you are based here in the US so this will apply to most of you. Ever since the major rate increase for USPS shipping I have lost about 1/3 of my sales. I did not lose any of my US sales but it would seem my international sales have screeched to a stand still.
When the rate increase happened items that would normally cost around $4 to ship became $8. I have yet to come up with a great solution to remedy this. I may end up raising my prices slightly and lowering my shipping. This seems to be the only option. I am not sure what it is but when people see $8 shipping they move on.
So, I have a few questions today and I would like a lot of answers either as comments or as emails. Has your Etsy income dropped since the postal rate increase? Have you done anything to make it better? If So, what? And for those of you readers that are not in the US: How has the rate increase hurt your business? Did your postal rates increase? Did it affect your business? Have you come up with a plan to make it better? If so, what?
On another note, I am almost done with my Twitter eBook and wanted to know what type of eBook you would be interested in seeing in my Etsy shop? Let me know by leaving a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com
I ship about 4-5 a week international to Canada and Australia.
ReplyDeleteI think international buyers are used to higher postage costs. I've not had a complaint or really seen a drop in international sales.
I am struggling more with domestic. I ship priority mail for most of my orders, rolled in a tube. I can't decide whether to raise shipping prices or switch to first class at a lower cost.
I really wish Etsy would allow shipping options, so I could offer a nice low first class rate and them mark up the priority to cover my costs better.
I've never had tons of international sales on Etsy, but I have had a few. I think the last one I received was about a week AFTER the most recent USPS increase. The item cost $20 and the buyer paid $13 postage (First Class International). I had international shipping set up, so they knew the total when they made their purchase!
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