Pricing Your ShippingWritten by Chris Malta
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The first remedy I tried was to enter a central Zip of Origin in site software, hoping that shipping losses and gains would even out. I chose Billings, Montana, figuring that it was north-central US. Nope again. Turns out that Billings is TOO central a location. It's too easy for UPS to ship from there, so rates are lower, and you still lose money. Then I realized that we were talking about UPS ground. If I was shipping from Miami, UPS ground has to travel entire length of State of Florida just to begin to get anywhere else! I entered a Zip of Origin in Miami, and shipping came into line. Yes, a customer who lives in California and orders a product that is distributed in California pays more for shipping, because site thinks product is coming from Miami. It only comes out to a small amount, though, and it offsets some of losses you'd suffer because of shipping situations that go other way. (A product that ships from California to a customer in Miami...you lose on that one). Is your customer being cheated? No. Internet customers will virtually always check their total (product plus shipping) price before completing an order, and they'll go elsewhere if they can get a better deal. Your site may work differently, and you may be able to use your site software to come up with a better solution. I hope this gives you a little insight by showing you how I've handled problem in past. There are other shipping problems I'll reserve for another time, such as Motor Freight (heavy items) and including varying drop ship handling charges you pay. Please check back in near future to read about how I've handled those. Chris Malta WorldWide Brands, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.YouCanDropship.com
Chris Malta is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. He has worked with computer Systems for 18 years. He's been involved in eCommerce systems, networking and site design for more than 6 years. He's taught college-level computer courses in Western NY. He developed The Drop Ship Source Directory, and he and his partners at Worldwide Brands, Inc., publish the Directory and run eCommerce sites of their own using Drop Shipping as their only business method.
| | 'Set' Your Products to SellWritten by Chris Malta
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Some parents will think ahead and buy some extra darts from you when they order Set in first place. Most will not. Ok, someone comes back to your site and wants to order another set of three plastic Velcro darts. You sell them for $5. The shipping cost is $7. $12 for three plastic Velcro-tipped darts? Guess what…Johnny’s Mom or Dad is going to decide to spend some time convincing Johnny that Dart Set was never any fun anyway. It won’t be easy, and Mom or Dad will probably blame YOU for that, whether they should or not. :o) So what can you do about that? It’s very simple. You can "group" those little accessory packages of darts, and sell them as "sets". For example, group FOUR of those $5 packages of darts together as a single product on your site, and call it a “Complete 4-player Dart Set” (each player uses three darts while playing, so 4 sets covers 4 players.) That way, you have something you can charge $20 for (or a little less, since you’re moving them in bulk), and $7 shipping charge suddenly doesn’t seem like so much to little Johnny’s Mom or Dad. Think about how happy THEY’LL be with idea too…EXTRA sets of darts for NEXT time Johnny’s darts skip off into Twilight Zone of Lost Toys! Stretching it a bit? Sure I am! It’s a story, for sake of illustration, but there’s a solid truth at core: When you sell products that require accessories from time to time, you should also be able to supply accessories in a manner that will be comfortable for customer. Think about this too: products don’t HAVE to be accessories. This works for ANY individual products that just happen to be very low priced to begin with. Be creative! Grouping products into “Sets” can’t be done with every product, but you should be able to think of a way to do it for most! Chris Malta WorldWide Brands, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.YouCanDropship.com
Chris Malta is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. He has worked with computer Systems for 18 years. He's been involved in eCommerce systems, networking and site design for more than 6 years. He's taught college-level computer courses in Western NY. He developed The Drop Ship Source Directory, and he and his partners at Worldwide Brands, Inc., publish the Directory and run eCommerce sites of their own using Drop Shipping as their only business method.
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