USPS is raising prices AGAIN! But what does that mean for customers at the Wild Menagerie?
The Shipping Update:
If you're shopping on my website, for now there will be NO CHANGES. I will still use calculated shipping. Free shipping is holding steady at $75 for all domestic orders.
If you're shopping on Etsy, unfortunately there will be a shipping increase AND an overall price increase. I do my best to keep the prices on my figures as stable as possible. That means for the last three rate hikes this year, I have absorbed the corresponding fee increase. With Etsy's fee structure, there does come a time where I can't keep absorbing those costs and am forced to raise prices.
The Rant:
The frustrating part? With Etsy, I've already had so many issues with shipping. I keep adjusting weights on listings to the correct item weight. Etsy continues to revert to the old weights or final packaged weight. Etsy also often charges shipping for each item, rather than combining them all in one package.
Just this weekend, I had a customer getting charged $24 for one small item going to New Jersey. It showed when he added to cart $5.70. It showed on my end $5.70. Etsy's AI support kept blaming me. The worst part is there was literally nothing I could do to fix it.
If you're thinking "Ryn, why don't you just charge a flat rate on Etsy to avoid that problem?" Great idea! I would love to do that. However, rates vary so much now. A standard <4oz package will cost about $6 to ship to most locations. Packages to rural routes and certain zones will be $8-$9 with the new rates. I have no way to add a surcharge for certain zones or states or for rural routes.
As a small business, I can't justify a $3 hit to my profits on an $8 figure. And that's before any fees come into play!
To add to the frustration, Etsy lowers visibility for shops charging more than $6 with flat rate shipping. In my experience, they also lower visibility for those that do not match their free shipping guarantee--which is still locked in at $35.
Could I raise my prices to make the math on that work? Sure, I could. At the end of the day, I want to give my customers the best possible price on my items. I don't want to overcharge simply to fit in with Etsy's business practices and the way they think things should be run. It also feels icky to me to charge everyone more when the shipping rate only effects certain routes.
I know this has turned in to a bit of rant, and I apologize. I'm frustrated. I'm tired. I'm a one person operation. I'm trying to run my business with a worsening chronic health condition.
I've raised prices and adjusted shipping more in the last 18 months than I have in the six years I've been running my business.
I'd love to better manage other shops on different marketplaces, get caught up on old listings, or improve things around the website. Yet here I am, staring down a spreadsheet on a Sunday. Again.
If you've stuck around this long, thank you! Now go tell everyone to stop shopping on Etsy and shop directly with me so I can finally close that shop!