I have had a few problems in the last few days, regarding postage of items to USA. When I sell anything, whether it be from Ebay or Etsy, I am always so careful not to overcharge on the postage. I was asked by one of my american buyers if I was doing this. It's a shame, because many buyers from USA don't realize what our actual costs are - they assume its similar to the rest of Europe, and it is not. It is very expensive to post anything from UK these days, as we all know, but this problem can lead to misunderstandings. I have spoken to other UK sellers who are in the same position as me (random selection, not my friends) and they all say the same - they hide the true cost of postage in the cost of the item. The trouble is then that the UK buyers end up paying more for the item, to subsidise the American buyers. It's a catch 22 situation. I am still thinking about this one.....
What would you do?
Veronica
4 comments:
When I was a powerseller on ebay, I used to charge postage at cost plus the cost of packaging - and I broke it all down in a little table at the bottom of my standard sales template - current UK postage charges by weight band - along with a link to the Royal Mail site.
I never had a single complaint (and sold in excess of 4000 items mainly to the US)
Having said that - my p&p - because it genuinely was at cost plus a tiny amount for the polybag - was lower than most of my competitors so I guess it would have been difficult for them to complain.
Once your buyer receives the package they will see the p&p amount clearly on the parcel, so that should reassure them that there is no ripping off going on.
Sarah's advice is great - I'm from the US - but have traveled extensively through the U.K. and European Union with many relatives living there - so I realize how expensive postage is - if it's posted clearly - you don't leave anything to chance. I don't believe in upping your price to absorb the shipping for your UK customers as well. It is what it is - and you don't want to alienate any of your regulars ♥
Your work is GORGEOUS - I'm adding you to my blogspot list of faves!
Ditto would clearly state postage cost and maybe even quote from royal mail site?
Just send anybody a link to the Royal Mail site, with a polite explanation about UK postage costs. I don't tend to have this problem as my patterns are sold as pdfs, so postage is free.
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