Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello all - I am looking to start an internet retail site.   Some of the products I plan to sell have a wholesale price of appox. $6 (retail $12).  However due to the weight of the items, cost to ship them is $6, thus bringing the retail price to $18 which is more than what the product can be purchased in a normal brick and mortar store. 

Question:  How do internet sites handle shipping costs so that it doesn't so drastically impact the retail price?   How does amazon, for example,  not charge shipping on any order over $25? 

Thanks for the help

Mike

The cost of shipping is a big deal for the potential buyer and the seller. Buyers do not like to be surprised when purchasing online.

If possible, it's a good idea to offer free shipping (by including shipping in the price). At a minimum any shipping costs should be clearly identified up front. If the item being sold is heavy, the buyer would likely expect there to be a cost for shipping.

On the seller's side... you need to se what you can do to minimize shipping costs.. no matter if you charge for them or not.

Amazon DOES charge for shipping. The free shipping for orders over $25 is ONLY if you join their super saver shipping (at a cost of $75 per year).

 

~Roland

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Hi Mike, 

I would charge a flat fee for shipping.  Or you could do something like Amazon all oders over say $25.00 free shipping.  This would incourage the buyer to buy more and still include the shipping cost in the product like Roland mentioned.

You could have higher fees for the heavy items.

A lot of sellers online make additional money from shipping and handling unfortunately, I guess its just a part of the business.

To your success,

Wanda