I was talking with Amy from Surlyramics on Twitter last night about the new Priority Mail price increase. I'm not planning to change my shipping prices right away and she's lowering them and switching from Priority to First Class on a trial basis.
So I decided to throw the question out there for readers: As a customer (not as a seller), do you want faster but more expensive shipping or cheaper and slower? Please vote in the poll and/or weigh in with a comment.
Edit: I forgot to add that I'll be writing the results post for this poll next Wednesday, January 13, so please pass this post along so we can get a larger sample size.
is it possible to give buyers the option to choose either option themself, rather than just dictate the one service?
ReplyDeleteTho in my experience it's usually the ones not willing to pay for a faster service the ones that are more likely to be impatient!
That depends *entirely* upon what's being shipped. If it's fragile, I'd want it faster, so that it's more likely to arrive in one piece (less handling by the carrier). If it's a book, I might choose the cheaper option.
ReplyDeleteTotally unhelpful, I know!
Roo: Unfortunately none of the major selling venues allow for you to give options. You can put "contact me for other shipping options" but still have to have a default. That default is what we're discussing.
ReplyDeleteI'll ask my mom about this. She works for the post office and says certain different shipping options just get shipped in the same time anyway. I can't remember for sure which option vs which other option she talked about.
ReplyDeleteActually, now that I think about it, I think it also had to do with how far the mail was going. But I'll still ask her to be sure.
ReplyDeleteI would want free shipping (the lower shipping price added to the price of the item) and then an option to add on an extra charge for faster shipping.
ReplyDeleteI generally go for lower shipping. (I'm a penny pincher.) But there are rare times when I need something ASAP.
ReplyDeleteIdeally, I'd like the option to chose at the point of sale.
ReplyDeleteI have only ever offered first class on small items on Etsy. The only time First Class takes more than three days to arrive is in New Jersey, for some reason, but it may have been a rural post office mix-up.
ReplyDeleteOn eBay I often give surprise upgrades to priority for multiple items and people seem to perceive it as a free gift. When I offer media mail/priority/parcel post/first class only about one in 50 people have picked something besides the cheapest default so it turns out not to be worth it to do endless shipping calculations.
I stopped offering free shipping with option to upgrade years ago because it leads to complaints and haggling with people who feel they are entitled to a multiple item discount, but that culture seems to be the norm on eBay. I suspect on Etsy things would be different but I haven't tried it.
BTW, I tried a flat per package rate first class deal last year that charged for packaging, gas in the case of international, and the first ounce, with additional ounce prices incorporated into the item prices. It seemed to result in more multiple orders per package internationally but not in the US.
PS-- And as a customer, I'm with the 49 out of 50 that pick the cheapest.
ReplyDeleteI would choose the cheapest option. That is why I do USPS First Class on my pens. For larger items I do Priority.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the second comment. If the item is fragile/expensive then I would like it shipped faster because it is more likely to arrive in one piece, but if it is not so expensive/not fragile then I prefer slower cheaper shipping.
ReplyDeleteI experimented with first class mail after the last priority mail price increase. I found that in most cases first class is as fast as priority mail. The folks at my post office said that priority used to be batched with express, but now it is batched with the first class.
ReplyDeleteI choose slower and here is why:
ReplyDeleteThe items I make need to be shipped in a box, so I was shipping priority. Now, they don't weigh very much, they just need those sturdy walls to protect them.
Last year, when priority just kept going up and up and up it started to become stupid to charge SO MUCH to be shipping something that eight 3oz.
So i went on Uline, discovered I could purchase nice study boxes for about 50c a piece, and ship first class, including the weight of the box, for half the price i was paying for priority.
Once i got these boxes I did a few tests. I shipped a few of these boxes to the same location, at the same time, one priority, one first class. They got there at exactly the same time.
I did a survey like this before I changed shipping, and the overwhelming percentage cheaper/slower. I was nervous to do so at first, but I have noticed ZERO changes in the speed that my items are getting to the buyer. My etsy feedback has lots of "very fast shipping" type comments since the change.
I do think it helps that i ship in boxes rather than envelopes, as I believe they are treated with a little more respect and priority than bubble mailers.