Nearly all my sales go through Stripe now. I get a little surprise these days when I get a Paypal transaction. (I really should get out more!)
I don’t think free postage should be given. Just in the last couple of weeks I have paid, £6.99, £3.99, and £1.99 postage for different items. All were well packaged, so damage didn’t occur. I don’t expect free postage and will not offer it either. For small value items it would be stupid. When Folksy offer free listing or selling fees, then I will offer free postage.
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Hi Marg. We honestly don’t expect anyone to offer free postage and would never insist on it. I just wanted to let sellers know that research has found postage costs are the biggest single reason that people abandon a sale, so sellers have the information and can then decide what’s best for them based on that. The article I’ve shared explains more and also says that you should only ever offer free postage to customers if you can afford it.
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It probably wouldn’t make much difference to me as most of my stuff is small and light, but anyone who needs to charge higher postage and includes the cost in the price of the item would be having to pay Folksy commission on the postage…
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I’ve just added Stripe (it seemed easier than last time I tried) now I’m waiting for the sales to come rolling in! 
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How about sweets…placing wrapped sweets or polo mints near them to show their size…oh mind you if you’re anything like me you’ll have to eat them all afterwards 
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I don’t and won’t offer free postage. I do however refund if the combined totals come to more than the postal cost paid. I thought about the comm cost as well and will stick to what I am happy with.
Postage does not put me off if I want something.
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Hmm… Now you’re talking 
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Good idea but agree they would be eaten 
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Postage is displayed anyway before you need to add to basket.
I charge whatever I costs. Most times I get the rate right. I lost out on a bit to one to the U. S recently, I can’t figure out the extra? This was where I went wrong as the buyer had 2 items.
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Hi I think I have had more sales to None Folksy members than other Folksy shops
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Ooh yes I never thought of that…my dolls are large and cost £6 to post…I am keeping mine as they are and adding postage on as an extra cost.
I remember the whole free postage promotion thing with Etsy…it was the final push for me to leave.
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Oh that is good to hear as people I speak to have not heard of Folksy! Hopefully google will pick up on my shop soon. Thanks for getting back to me. Carol
I changed my listings on Etsy to postage free- it made no difference! (and I hardly bother with Etsy now) 
I’m glad you’re doing well here, Debby, your dolls and bears are adorable!..
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Thank you Christine, I’ve not sold many bears or dolls through Folksy, they seem to sell locally, it’s the embroidered pincushions that seem to sell on here. I’ve only had 19 sales I think in around 15 months but it is picking up (I hope lol)…could do with a few more but I think i have sold more to none Folksy sellers so maybe we are getting found at last. I’m hoping to do some slightly cheaper dolls next year to see if that makes a difference, perhaps smaller ones.
I did that I let my Etsy shop run down then when the free postage issue came up to the USA I spat my dummy out lol and closed it…too many cheap imported goods as well on there now it is sadly no longer all handcrafted.
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I agree about the cheap imported goods on Etsy and how it favours the US market but it has taken me a couple of years to see an increase in my sales (and many, many hours of changing tags, etc) so I am sticking with it for the time being. I wonder whether it will take a couple of years to build up sales here on Folksy!
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Interesting facts and research, thanks for sharing. I’ve found unpaid sales are no longer the issue they used to be and Stripe has been really good. I’ll look at maybe incorporating postage into the price of my more expensive items - makes sense as I assume most shoppers search by item (not appreciating they may be from different shops) and then get a shock at checkout. On lower priced items I hope that combined postage helps make multiple purchases from my shop more attractive - wondering though if this is always clear to customers when they’re shopping and if I maybe need to spell this out on my listings.
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There’s been some interesting research on more expensive items Debby, which suggests that free postage is less important on high-value items or orders where the customer needs something urgently.
From our blog post about shipping costs:
“A UPS report found that the importance of free postage “declines dramatically” on high-value items or when the buyer needs the item urgently – for example, a last-minute present. In these cases, how quickly you can deliver an item – and whether it can be tracked – has a significant impact on whether or not a shopper goes through with their order.”
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Hi Camilla, Interesting - do you happen to know if the research specified the average price points they classified as ‘high’ and ‘low’ price? As someone who hates paying separately for postage myself I totally get the psychology at play here, so I’ll consider reviewing more of my items to incorporate postage in pricing - just not sure how well it would work on items under a pound.
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Hi Camilla. I’d be interested to know what is classed as a high-value item too!
Also, are Folksy looking at putting a ‘free delivery’ icon next to the prices, so that customers can see at a glance what products come with free delivery? If so, I think that would be a very positive move
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