Hi all,
I have been searching around on shipping for my hub but thought I would also ask what you guys are doing.
Do customers prefer flat rate or specific to order?
How are you guys determining a rate ahead of time or are you estimating it?
I have mainly been pick up but want to make sure I do shipping costs correctly so it is easy for the customer.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Hi,
Based on my short experience.
- Customers always prefer flat rates, they don’t like surprises, they will always prefer someone with flat rates as they save some time rather than waiting for an unknown price.
- All my rates are flat assuming the package will never exceed 500g (claealy mentioned in the shipping option description), this includes packaging weight and cost. If a specific order exceeds the rate the customer has selected, I can always add extra shipping costs during order review based on estimated weight (from my slicer) or change to a more convenient shipping option (if the printed object exceeds the package size required by the shipping service/carrier)
If you need to change the shipping option at some point, do it during order review, otherwise it’s too late and there’s a risk that customers will reject the proposal after printing the order.
3DHubs are not supposed to take 12.5% from the shipping costs so no need to add that to your costs.
Like ejalal said - my customers seem to like flat rates, with no surprises.
Even when a quoted shipping rate came in way too high (e.g. for a tiny part that can be shipped like a letter) most understand that this is not an ecommerce store or a bulk shipping service - shipping is almost part of the part cost, so going over on shipping has never bothered them. I often offer a manual postage discount on their next order to entice a future order.
Just spell it all out in your description and offer flat rates, and spell out that you are flexible too. 3D Printing is a manual and flexible technology, and 3D Hubs is a manual and flexible service too.
Steve
Unsure on US postal, but here in the UK we can get standard Royal Mail (translate - USPS) tariffs for package size and weight. In the UK it boils down to a couple of sizes and a couple of weights, so I can offer a couple of simple known services, one being next day delivered. Best look up what your local shipping firm can offer, and offer those to your customers as is.
Steve
Thanks guys for the great advice. This gives me a clear direction to take shipping!
