Help calculating freight? HELP!

[jpstephens]

I am about to start listing my items on my ebay store. I have a question though...I am using a dropshipper out of Berlin, CT to ship the products, they use FedEX and ebay calculates freight as UPS or USPS... To even complicate it further, if the dropshipper is sold out of the product it is then shipped straight from the manufacturer.

OY VEY!

Whats the best way to make sure I have a good buffer for shipping? I dont wanna lose profit or have to go thru every combination of shipping for 1500 products, any tips???

Thanks

[TimW]

One thing you could do is set flat-rates for your shipping. Some folks will subsidize, other get a deal. Figure the average cost for an Xlb package from CT to CA, figure what an average sale would be, etc. Many ways to to it.

Currently for me, domestic orders up to
$100 cost $5 for shipping
$200 cost $7
$300 cost 10
$300+ is $17
$1,000 is $25

Most of this is based on what I guess a package will weigh based on 4 years of experience shipping stuff for my business. Sometimes I get burned (15 pounds of goods costs them $17 in shipping ($480 worth), but costs me $25.00). However, a backpack which costs $150 costs them $7.00 in shipping and costs me $6-8. An assault vest + some pouches can cost me $10 in shipping but be charged $17

Internatonal orders are a different affair.

Does the drop-shipper ONLY use FedEx?

[jpstephens]

Hey Tim,

I really like the idea of flat fee cause it makes my life much easier as the different shipping combinations could be daunting.

Not to sound too annoying or too green, but can you walk me through this step by step? I am at the last step before launch and I freaked out last night when I couldn't figure this out. haha

So everyones help is MUCH appreciated!

[TimW]

Sorry, I can't walk you through this because I have no idea what products you sell, what their average weight is, what your average order/weight is, etc.

In order to create a flat-rate matrix, you need to understand or have an idea of what weight is associated with an order of $x.xx

As I pointed out, some of my items might have an actual shipping cost of $4.60 if sent through USPS, or $6.50-ish if via UPS, but if the order is less than $100, they get charged $5.00 flat-rate.

I've also eaten it the other way, with a $500/16# order costing $25 in actual shipping charges, but only $17 to the customer. However on those particular items, I have a nearly 100% markup so I can afford it.