pinklady
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,084 
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Post by pinklady on Apr 4, 2022 17:29:24 GMT
I just went to order the April Hero Arts kit and noticed the free shipping limit was raised from $50 to $75. I'm bummed. I used to add the additional $15 in product to get the free shipping but I'm not adding another $25 on top of that. That's too much for me and I'm not paying $6.75 in shipping.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 5, 2022 1:05:48 GMT
Ugh. I think the USPS raised rates this spring, and with inflation and all that... I get it. But no, I wouldn't want to add $40 in extra product to get free shipping. Knowing how much I pay for shipping on various things $7 isn't unreasonable to me but I would have to really want the kit.
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Post by wendifful on Apr 5, 2022 7:37:53 GMT
MFT sent out an email last week announcing that their minimum free shipping threshold was increasing from $50 to $75 too. I totally get your frustration, because no one likes paying for shipping, but prices are rising and there's no such thing as true "free" shipping; someone always pays, whether it's the customer or the company. The fact that companies are making these changes that they know will be unpopular with customers means that they have figured out they literally can't afford it otherwise. I'm not sure if Hero Arts had any communication around this, but I really appreciated the email from MFT because it was great communication with their customers. It was upfront about the change, so instead of being ambushed by this increase the next time a customer places their order, at least they'll know the reasoning behind it.
I'm not trying to downplay your vent at all. Everything (not just crafty stuff) is getting so expensive everywhere that I feel like I have to consider all my purchases even more carefully now. I used to always try to hit free shipping thresholds, but anymore, I try to weigh paying shipping ($5-$10ish) against spending $40+ more to get free shipping and there's no question which one lightens my wallet less, even if feels like a worse bargain. The problem is that retail practices have conditioned us to think of money spent on shipping as "wasted" so in a time of rising prices, it's a problem without an easy solution.
ETA: this is not meant to be a lecture to anyone, it's just stuff I think about a lot and it's interesting to discuss!
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pinklady
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,084
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Post by pinklady on Apr 5, 2022 14:19:10 GMT
MFT sent out an email last week announcing that their minimum free shipping threshold was increasing from $50 to $75 too. I totally get your frustration, because no one likes paying for shipping, but prices are rising and there's no such thing as true "free" shipping; someone always pays, whether it's the customer or the company. The fact that companies are making these changes that they know will be unpopular with customers means that they have figured out they literally can't afford it otherwise. I'm not sure if Hero Arts had any communication around this, but I really appreciated the email from MFT because it was great communication with their customers. It was upfront about the change, so instead of being ambushed by this increase the next time a customer places their order, at least they'll know the reasoning behind it. I'm not trying to downplay your vent at all. Everything (not just crafty stuff) is getting so expensive everywhere that I feel like I have to consider all my purchases even more carefully now. I used to always try to hit free shipping thresholds, but anymore, I try to weigh paying shipping ($5-$10ish) against spending $40+ more to get free shipping and there's no question which one lightens my wallet less, even if feels like a worse bargain. The problem is that retail practices have conditioned us to think of money spent on shipping as "wasted" so in a time of rising prices, it's a problem without an easy solution. ETA: this is not meant to be a lecture to anyone, it's just stuff I think about a lot and it's interesting to discuss! Oh I totally get why they are doing it. You are spot on, I feel like it’s wasted money I’m spending. Funny you should mention it, I went to place an order with MFT and saw there minimum was now $75. I must have missed the email because that was a surprise too. This really will make me rethink my purchases. |
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Post by justjac on Apr 5, 2022 14:27:41 GMT
I guess being an international customer (in Canada) I'm just used to it. I just paid $14.99 shipping for a $59.97 order from Hero Arts. It's basically the same for most places I order from in the US.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 5, 2022 21:18:23 GMT
As a small business owner I also know that when I offer free shipping (which Etsy almost forces us to do) I end up pricing everything higher to make up for the fact that I'm going to pay $4-8 shipping whether someone buys one card or ten. I am reconsidering how I have that set up, knowing that it will put some people off to pay $4 to ship a greeting card even if I reduce my prices, but wondering if I will come out ahead anyway.
My attitude towards (postal) shipping cost is a little bit better when I consider whether I want the USPS to exist in the future. I do, it's really important to me, so I see those few dollars as voting with my wallet. Sometimes I will even pay more to use USPS specifically.
When I'm trying to get perspective on stuff like that it also helps me to compare what I will spend on a meal out or a fancy coffee with a friend. Those fleeting pleasures can cost a lot... And our overseas friends pay ridiculous shipping every day, as justjac said. And generally higher prices for things purchased in their own countries.
Also not intended to negate your frustration. Just the perspectives I use to help make decisions about my shopping and shipping.
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Post by wendifful on Apr 5, 2022 22:04:17 GMT
As a small business owner I also know that when I offer free shipping (which Etsy almost forces us to do) I end up pricing everything higher to make up for the fact that I'm going to pay $4-8 shipping whether someone buys one card or ten. I am reconsidering how I have that set up, knowing that it will put some people off to pay $4 to ship a greeting card even if I reduce my prices, but wondering if I will come out ahead anyway. Agree with this a lot. About a year ago, I started destashing lots of my craft supplies on Mercari. Their start-up guide for new sellers recommended offering "free shipping" (so basically I was paying for the shipping). I did this at first, but after a few months, I changed all my listings to charge the customer shipping. The reasons were that 1) Mercari allows "offers" on items, and when free shipping was included in the price, people would often send offers that meant that once I had paid the fees and shipping, I was making almost nothing and 2) Mercari has kind of a weird system where you can't buy multiple listings from one seller, you have to email them to set up a custom bundle. (It's a huge pain that sellers would very much like them to change.) So I once had a customer place 5 orders in a matter of minutes on 5 different stamp sets, because to her the shipping was "free" so it wasn't worth the time to message me to set up a bundle. Meanwhile, I had to pay for shipping (and bubble mailers!) 5 times, when if she had bundled the items, the shipping would have been more like $6 instead of $3.65*5. This is definitely a failure on Mercari's part as far as their system setup goes, but I found it to be a very illuminating experience as a seller in regards to how customers view free shipping. |
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