Why we no longer offer free shipping on dry goods.
One thing many folks don't realize is that the cost of shipping anything, especially items that weigh over two pounds, has increased significantly over the last decade.
Add to that any special handling, packing materials, and expedited service for perishables, and it can often feel overwhelmingly like the cards are stacked against us.
Before we get into details, I want to pose these questions to you:
When was the last time you mailed someone a package?
How much did it weigh?
Were you able to re-use the packing materials you had on-hand?
How far was the receiving zip code from your own?
How much time did it take you to pack it (and possibly bring it to the post office or shipping center)?
If you've attempted to mail a slightly heavy package on your own, not just applied a prepaid label and returned an item, you'll be a lot better informed about what the true cost of shipping is today.
And, no, small businesses like mine don't enjoy massive shipping discounts like large corporations do.
But, if you're not someone who does the above, don't worry, I'll detail these costs to you here in this post.
The true cost of shipping packages for small businesses.
Before we get to the actual postage or package delivery fees, there is first a time and materials cost.
Pick & pack fees
For us to send any order, we pay a pick & pack fee.
This is very standard, and while those fees may vary with the size of a company and how many packages they send/how complex they are, we pay $2.95/box for our dry goods to be packaged up.
Could we try to negotiate a lower rate for this? Possibly. But am I going to nickel and dime about what people say they need to be paid for their labor? Nope, I am not.
If this becomes excessive, I'll certainly address it, but the time and effort it takes to pick, pack, weigh, and label each box is real – and it is done real people.
The packing materials also cost money!
Some packages may go by USPS Priority mail or by another flat rate option, which saves a bit on the box itself (USPS provides boxes for some service rates), but this doesn't apply to all orders.
Further, internal padding / packing materials are also used. We don't reuse materials like you might at home (and like I often do from the shop) since our warehouse cannot do this.
Postage for dry goods (USPS or UPS)
Here are some examples of packages that were sent from Chicago, IL (where our dry goods warehouse is located) when our shipping rates included a flat rate of $7 for shipping on orders over $75, so these were all for packages where the customer paid something for shipping:
| # of items |
package weight | what customer paid for S&H | actual postage fee paid by BB | postage net | packing fee paid by BB | actual S&H fee paid by BB |
net S&H |
| 7 | 4 lb 7.84 oz | $7.00 | $13.55 | -$6.55 | $2.95 | $16.50 | -$9.50 |
| 7 | 4 lb 13.12 oz | $7.00 | $13.55 | -$6.55 | $2.95 | $16.50 | -$9.50 |
| 7 | 4 lb 8.32 oz | $7.00 | $12.89 | -$5.89 | $2.95 | $15.84 | -$8.84 |
| 6 | 2 lb 10.56 oz | $7.00 | $11.63 | -$4.63 | $2.95 | $14.58 | -$7.58 |
| 7 | 9 lb 13.76 oz | $7.00 | $11.10 | -$4.10 | $2.95 | $14.05 | -$7.05 |
| 8 | 3 lb 4.16 oz | $7.00 | $10.98 | -$3.98 | $2.95 | $13.93 | -$6.93 |
| 8 | 4 lb 0.48 oz | $7.00 | $9.68 | -$2.68 | $2.95 | $12.63 | -$5.63 |
| 12 | 6 lb 0.64 oz | $7.00 | $9.56 | -$2.56 | $2.95 | $12.51 | -$5.51 |
| 2 | 1 lb 14.72 oz | $8.95 | $11.35 | -$2.40 | $2.95 | $14.30 | -$5.35 |
| 5 | 2 lb 12.16 oz | $7.00 | $9.01 | -$2.01 | $2.95 | $11.96 | -$4.96 |
| 3 | 1 lb 8 oz | $8.95 | $10.70 | -$1.75 | $2.95 | $13.65 | -$4.70 |
| 4 | 2 lb 7.36 oz | $7.00 | $8.72 | -$1.72 | $2.95 | $11.67 | -$4.67 |
| 7 | 1 lb 7.36 oz | $7.00 | $8.34 | -$1.34 | $2.95 | $11.29 | -$4.29 |
| 2 | 1 lb 12.8 oz | $8.95 | $8.85 | $0.10 | $2.95 | $11.80 | -$2.85 |
| 4 | 1 lb 6.56 oz | $8.95 | $8.85 | $0.10 | $2.95 | $11.80 | -$2.85 |
| 3 | 2 lb 6.72 oz | $8.95 | $8.34 | $0.61 | $2.95 | $11.29 | -$2.34 |
| 2 | 1 lb 13.12 oz | $8.95 | $8.24 | $0.71 | $2.95 | $11.19 | -$2.24 |
| 4 | 2 lb 13.76 oz | $10.95 | $9.01 | $1.94 | $2.95 | $11.96 | -$1.01 |
| 5 | 2 lb 4 oz | $10.95 | $9.01 | $1.94 | $2.95 | $11.96 | -$1.01 |
| 1 | 12.32 oz | $8.95 | $5.42 | $3.53 | $2.95 | $8.37 | $0.58 |
|
Average per package
|
$8.08 | $9.94 | -$1.86 | $2.95 | $12.89 | -$4.81 |
As a small business, we don't enjoy the mass-scale shipping discounts that large companies do.
In fact, we've completed the above shipping cost analysis a few times over the last several months.
And, knowing that shipping rates will soon increase for the holiday surge period and likely beyond, we will once again need to re-assess what we charge for shipping & handling and look to raise our rates.
As much as I've enjoyed offering a lower flat rate over a certain threshold, as you can see, that approach is really not a good idea for us.
Ultimately, selling small, high quality real food items like we do doesn't leave much margin to buffer additional losses on shipping and handling.
