Ohhh Etsy...why do you have a non existent shipping calculator? It makes everything so EXTREMELY difficult to determine shipping costs ESPECIALLY since the post office is constantly changing their rates and shipping restrictions.
I can remember when I first started on Ebay and it cost no more than $5.45 to send anything anywhere. International was cheap, Canada and Mexico were considered to be part of the US, there were fewer zones, you could send MASSIVE boxes with little extra cost, anything under 16 ounces you could send with stamps, yadda, yadda, yadda. Fast forward to today and every, single, thing is taken into account with shipping and it is costing an arm and a leg. Furthermore, prices vary WIDELY depending on the zone, which used to only fluctuate $0.20 or so now can command a $20 difference.
Take the picture at the top for example. That thin dress only weighs 12 ounces inside an envelope. Because of this I can mail it First Class Mail for under $5.00 within the Continental US. If it weighed 13.1 ounces or more, it must then go Priority Mail or Parcel Select which can be between $7-$8. This is if it fits into a pre-made and distributed Priority Box...BUT if it is going to Alaska or Hawaii it would cost $12-$13 because they no longer send "Parcel" packages there.
If that same item (the dress above), weighing 12 ounces, had to go into a box 1 inch larger than 12X12X12 it would cost $33.00 to send it to California! WHAAAAAAAAAAT! Yes, I am serious.
I got into a pickle on Etsy selling hats. The hats weigh virtually nothing, but I had to make my own boxes so that they would not be bent or curled. Not knowing that the Post Office changed their box rule to 12X12X12 - it used to be a 106 inch total of all sides and it would ship for the normal price, I only charged someone $10 to ship a hat. If the hat had gone within my own zone, it would have cost the normal rate (less than $10). The one going to California cost almost $37.00! I was livid! I had to send the hat Parcel Select to avoid losing money on the sale, and now I have to charge triple the cost to send the hats. How is this fair?
Because of stuff like this, it is beyond my comprehension as to why Etsy does not have a shipping calculator like Ebay has. Below are some examples of recent costs to send to certain zip codes: PLEASE LOOK at Chicago - Chicago is in the SAME shipping zone as me and as you can see, the differences are DRAMATIC.
California 90210
12 ounces - $6.45 Priority. 1 pound 8 ounces - $10.25 Priority. 12X12X13 Box 12 Ounces - $41.95.
New York 10019
12 ounces - $6.00 Priority. 1 pound 8 ounces - $8.75 Priority. 12X12X13 Box 12 Ounces - $34.65.
Alaska/Hawaii 99546/96727
12 ounces - $6.95 Priority. 1 pound 8 ounces - $11.25 Priority. 12X12X13 Box 12 Ounces - $48.15.
Florida/Texas 33040/79821
12 ounces - $6.20 Priority. 1 pound 8 ounces - $9.50 Priority. 12X12X13 Box 12 Ounces - $38.80.
CHICAGO 60018
12 ounces - $5.60 Priority. 1 pound 8 ounces - $5.80 Priority. 12X12X13 Box 12 Ounces - $6.60.
Isn't this ridiculous!?
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