What shipping service are you using? I don’t get how you can have a $6 part with shipping ranging from $1-12. I use first class mail for 90% of my orders and postage is less than $3 to almost anywhere in the country for items less than $20.
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You must be printing parts that fit in an envelop and are under 13 oz.
I usually ship priority mail.
But all this is a mote point as you yourself said that your shipping could be as high as $20.00.
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Brian, if I were you I would not bother with putting in states or regions, etc.
It does not solve the issues.
Perhaps a warning to the customer that the shipping quote is that, only a estimated quote and the hub may lower or raise the shipping quote based on actual shipping costs.
I sincerely believe this would be the only solution at this time.
Peter
How big can this $6 part be
One of the big benefits of selling 3D printed parts is that they are light and you can offer low priced shipping to overcome the objections US consumers have to paying for shipping. You are also the manufacturer and can self insure pretty easily. Buy more sizes of padded envelopes, most parts go in the 6x9, but I have two larger sizes for other stuff that does not fit in the smaller one. At 25-35 cents each in low quantities they really cut down your shipping costs compared to boxes unless you are shipping truly massive volumes (You have a 40% or greater UPS discount).
You probably need to look at lower price postage options like first class for $6 prints, you are wasting a lot of money using priority mail for inexpensive items to maybe get it to the customer a single day faster. I can ship you an 8oz part from Seattle to Miami for $3.40, I can’t think of a part under $30 I couldn’t ship in a padded envelope first class.
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I would never mail a part in a padded envelope. I use small boxes from uline. Most fit in a 4x4x4 box. Part of my shipping cost is also to pay for the box, bubblewrap, and the label.
Most items can ship first class. But once in a while it needs to be priority or ups due to size of the parts or padding needed.
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Don’t be afraid of the padded envelope there is really no safety advantage to the box, in many automated facilities they are treated more harshly. I worked in logistics for almost 10 years and we tracked it, the only reason to use a box if you have a choice is to comply with insurance rules for dead space which a 4x4x4 is not going to meet anyways. Packing boxes is also much more labor intensive.
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I have a hub close to me that sells only on price. The prints are not so good, but they sell on price alone. They also do not do the standard 20% infill.
This keeps my pricing low, because I have to be competitive. So I sometimes do parts where my margin is a buck or two.
If I have to eat a half a dollar or a dollar because of a flat rate shipping situation, that hurts. So yeah, I am really not interested in offering a flat price for shipping. It will hurt my profits.
Also, this competitor charges $2.50 for shipping on all items. My average shipping cost is over $3.00.
So with the new proposed model, I am now competing on shipping costs as well as price of the model, further eroding my margins. In countries where shipping is standard pricing, I see how it would work. Or if an API determines the pricing, then yea, it would work.
But, if a prospective customer looks at the price, and now the shipping, in the quote, I am now really getting squeezed. Not only by the bad competitor, but by 3dhubs shipping mechanism.
I just ran some simple tests on stamps.com , which is where I get postage quotes. A change in a few ounces and two zip codes over changes the price of a package sometimes pretty noticeably! Try it out.
Would it be possible to update the customer’s shipping if they select the wrong option? I offer three shipping options listed on my hub page; Standard shipping if the order fits within a 5" x 3" x 3" dimension and under 13 oz, Priority Mail for orders under 13 oz and any dimension, and Priority Mail for orders over 14 oz and any dimension. So shipping prices can vary from $3.80 to $13.45 depending on weight.
Though what 3d Hubs is proposing for shipping profiles is fine by me as I only offer 3 options, my main concern would be updating shipping for the customer if needed. Is this going to be doable on my end or would I have to contact 3dhubs to update the order? Since there is no weight calculation on 3dhubs for the order, how is the customer suppose to know what shipping option of mine to select? What is to stop the customer from automatically choosing my $3.80 option no matter the size and weight for the order? After reviewing a order is when I know the exact weight of the to be printed design(s) as Simplify3d outputs a weight calculation when it slices the design(s). The software has been very accurate about weight of the final printed order and I this is what I use to determine best shipping for customers on and off 3dhubs before printing.
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Brian
June 21, 2016, 3:05pm
49
Hey Perry,
Thanks for explaining your process and details of US shipping systems, in response we’ve just released another update to the shipping feature. Which allows you to continue to use the old ‘per order’ pricing in combination with the new options. So we’re no longer requiring you to set Flat Rate shipping.
Let me know what you think of the latest version.
Brian
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Yes, this looks perfect. Thanks for listening!!! Now I don’t have to ask the customer every time if they need overnight shipping, and I can charge the customer the exact price, without overcharging the customer or losing margin.
Thanks so much!!!
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Left
June 22, 2016, 7:13am
51
@Luuk For some reason, I can’t fill in the form. It doesn’t recognise the country
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Luuk
June 22, 2016, 9:02am
52
Hey, what country are you trying to list? Some countries we unfortunately cannot ship to/do business with.
Left
June 22, 2016, 9:11am
53
Just Belgium,
Its weird, cause i would expect when i enter “B” the posibilities show up.
Luuk
June 22, 2016, 9:15am
54
Hey, i’ve set up a test shipping option that listed Belgium for you. Can you check if it shows for you?
Luuk
June 22, 2016, 9:46am
56
Hey, and what about any other country? Can you list those? Perhaps you could try using a different browser? I use Google Chrome. I also see the shipping I listed on your account. See attachment.
Left
June 22, 2016, 10:01am
57
@Luuk
Actually, I can’t see your entry, Also I cannot list other countries and nether in a different browser. Tested chrome,firefox and internet explorer. Weird. I do not have special settings of anything I am aware of that can cause any troubles
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Luuk
June 22, 2016, 11:39am
58
Let’s take the discussion offline. I’ll email you.
JF43FR
June 23, 2016, 8:00am
59
I have the exact same problem with ‘France’ or ‘Europe’. I also tried to fill in with North-america and does not get listing either. The form does not allow me to save anything. Please Help!
Note: I tried with Chrome and Firefox and deactivated all adaware plugins.
