I quite often pop into other Folksy shops to see the lovely things on offer, especially newly opened shops and am also, quite often, rather astonished at the postal charges and wonder if the sellers have checked what Royal Mail actually charge.
Most importantly I suspect that some sellers are unaware of the size restrictions …which means that anything thicker than 2.5 cms / 1 inch will not go as letter or even large letter but will be charged at Small Package rate… Minimum for that is £2.95 2nd class
(ok may be 5p cheaper if you pay on line but I pay at the post office as I want to keep my local office in business)
It’s what I think whenever I look at people’s postage prices for magnets, Technically they may fit in a large letter or even normal letter… but they obviously haven’t read the postal restrictions because magnets are meant to be wrapped in 2cm of packaging (so the magnetic force can’t be felt outside the package and affect other packages/machinery). 2cm of packaging on each side of the item is going to put it over 2.5cm wide (if I just put my magnets in a jiffy bag they still definitely stick to things).
Of course if they sell on the other site where they’re desperately trying to make everyone offer free shipping, they may have got used to putting some of the shipping price into the item cost so it looks cheaper than it actually is.
The only things I can fit into large letter are pieces of jewellery and even then only when they are in proper postal boxes for protection as glass is a bit fragile (!) and even then I have to make sure they are really really flat.
All my other pieces, even small angels, Have to go small package because glass needs padding, well and all round and I really, really do not want to hear that any of my glass has arrived in pieces at the other end.
How anyone can possibly expect to send a big fragile ‘round thing’ for £1 is quite beyond my comprehension and I am sure, also of that of the post office !
Just hope that people may notice this and check their postage before they find their precious handiwork has been sold at a loss !
Yes I’m the same, everything except my cards has to be sent as a package (I’ve got small, medium and large packages). I could just about squeeze my mini canvases in a large letter, but I don’t think they’d be properly protected that way so I’d rather charge a bit extra and not have to worry they’ll get damaged in the post.
It’s always good to know the size restrictions and weight bands, especially if you’re sending international, or you could have a big shock when you get to the post office.
I do occasionally lose out by £2 when I underestimate the weight to send several suncatchers together.
I will have refunded back to £4.50 to cover signed for (i do use this if total value well over £20) small package (£4.45).
But when I weigh the packed box I discover it’s gone over 1kg. Oops. Did it twice last month but at least it only happens against good, multi piece orders !
Trying to get postage right is a killer! I’ve just about sussed the size thing - I have a handy supply of pip boxes which ensure most of my scarves stay within the LL band - I used to send them out in postal bags but invariable they slipped into the SP band due to movement after packaging. Weight is another issue all together and I often get caught out - sometimes just a little bit of extra packing can cause it to move into the next band…and dont get me started on additional items costs, thats where my major failures are!
I think Kim @konyskiw is right that many people put some of the postage cost into the item to make it look more attractive especially on smaller value items. A £3 item with £2 postage looks better than a £1.50 item with £3.50 postage! Unfortuately in this case the customer loses out if buying multiple items so may be discouraged from doing so. Personally I tend to keep my low cost bulky items to sell at craft fairs and in the gallery where I have space - although as I have a plus account I usually list them anyway but dont expect/rarely get any sales of them.
It would be nice if we could have postage options on Folksy - I usually send all my items 1st class because I am impatient and that is how I like to receive them but if we could offer 1st or 2nd then lower postage could be offered.
I have given up even trying to figure out the post office and their prices. If I go to my local one most of my hats go as small packet but the exact same items at other post offices are priced as a large letter which is a lot cheaper.
I have a Royal Mail letter size guard, so I know that my items will go through the dreaded slot!! There is often a difference of opinion about how easily it should go through!
I hate it when I receive something badly packed (and sometimes damaged as a result) because the seller is trying to force a “small parcel” sized item into a “large letter”. I’d rather pay the extra postage than receive a broken item.
I prefer sellers that can sort out the real parcel price, and sensible “additional” items too. If I can buy five items for the same postage as one I’m a lot more likely to buy five items
The example I looked at didn’t leave themselves enough to buy their materials after paying fees and postage.
I’m just trying to raise a little awareness here of price bands especially with regard to size.
Just to add to this conversation about postage - I want to remind everyone who goes to the post office to be sure about the postage they expect to pay.
This morning, I was expecting to pay £5.55 for posting an item to Sri Lanka, but was charged £8.50. Whilst the lady was dealing with my second parcel, I kept questioning her about the cost & finally it came about that the £8.50 was because the parcel was over 250g. I asked to weigh it again as I was sure it was under, and it was 227g. She’d registered it as 277g. Had I not questioned it, it would have put a severe dent in my already meagre profits!
Absolutely right. I took a package the other day having weighed it on my digital scales at home as 740g. On the slightly dodgy, non digital scales at the post office it came up as over 750g which made a big difference at £14+ as it was going to New Zealand and I’d charged an exact £11.65.
We shuffled it about on the scales and it dropped to under 750g. I do have a very lovely post lady who is always willing to help that helps a lot but she does trust me to know the postal rate I’m expecting to pay. It’s not rocket science to weigh things and check the price list if it’s not quite my normal size package.
I am OK with my paintings as even when packed with stiff cardboard, they fit through the large letter slot. If I sell some crochet then I put the item in a bag and sit on it to get the air out and send it vacuum packed. That way is can fit into my local post box. I no longer have a car and the post office is a mile away and a long, steep hill walk so I sometimes send items with the dreaded My Hermes. One lesson I learnt was that if someone on the Isle of Man buys from me, My Hermes charge an extra £2…there is no facility on the shipping details to mention this and of course admin take the rate as stated for Royal Mail…I then feel forced to make the trek to the post office. I know a lot of people half my age who live here and can’t do the walk involved !..
We don’t bother using the post office branch as our town branch are too understaffed and the queues are horrific. We use click and drop which takes the guess work out of pricing postage. You weigh the parcel at home and buy the postage online direct from royal mail. Works a treat for us as you can drop parcels off at the royal mail depot 7 days a week and in the week they open at 7-30 am. And you get the postage costs right every time (Well nearly)
