Many customers have asked about shipping, so we'll try to explain how it works.
Q. I only see 2 options on the checkout page- UPS and USPS?
These are the only 2 shippers we work with.
Q. Why don't you use the flat rate services?
We do use them- we just don't display those options. For USPS (Postal) we only display the primary services, 1st class and priority mail.
Displayed services:
1st class is good up to 13 ounces and will not be displayed when the package weighs more than that.
Priority mail is good up to 60 pounds and will throw an error if the weight exceeds that.
These following services are used but not displayed to the customer.
Flat rate envelope
Zone A box (2 pound rate from FOB to Destination)
Zone B box (4 pound rate from FOB to Destination)
Flat Rate Small- Medium - Large: Each has it's own rate.
The key to using the Zone and Flat rate boxes is: if it fits and it's cheaper we will use it.
These are not displayed because of prior misuse by customers. Example: we cannot fit a 50 pound case of chocolate in a flat rate envelope, and that's the service that would be picked !
Q. When you change to a flat rate box do you adjust the shipping charge.
Of course we do. We adjust to our Commercial base charge which is 15% lower then the USPS displayed rate (post office price) then add $1.35 for packaging and handling. ($1.35 is our "average" cost for packing supplies). No packaging charges are applied for Priority Mail as supplies from USPS are cost free for us.
Q. How long does it take to get my refund for the difference in shipping.
For Credit card payment it is when we ship. At checkout your credit card payment is only authorized, (a hold is placed on the funds equal to the amount of the order total) we don't take (capture the payment) any money until the order ships, then we do the adjustment at that time, the balance that was authorized is automatically released.
For Paypal- this is a different issue, we will issue a credit in the form of a coupon. Paypal works differently than Credit Card Payments, if we do a refund paypal sends the data back to our system saying the order has been canceled, they don't have an option to only adjust the shipping. If we do a manual payment back to you then you get hit with the paypal fees.
Q. When I got my package the label said it weighed 3 pounds I weighed it it was only 2 pounds 4 ounces so why did you charge me for 3 pounds.
That's the way the carriers do things- any increment above the weight gets charged for the full weight. So a 2 pound 4 oz package gets charged the next rate which is 3 pounds. A 3 pound 1/100 ounce package will be 4 pounds and so on.
Q. Do you ever offer free shipping?
No! There really is no such thing, USPS, FedEx and UPS have never offered this they charge for shipping so someone somewhere is actually paying for it. The free shipping statements are a sales gimmick, and most times are incorporated into having to purchase a minimum quantity at an inflated cost.
We have looked into this as an option (gimmick) by comparing our products to similar sites that have the free shipping and discovered overall our exclusion from the gimmick saved the customer money in the long run.
One company we reviewed offered free shipping on orders over $75.00 excluding chocolate. Using his chocolate mold price of $2.45 each. You would have to buy 31 molds to meet the quota. Comparing cost per mold our price being $1.95 ea means you just paid them $14.55 in shipping fees.
65% of our products / stock is shipped in- so we are well aware of the costs for shipping, so we do everything we can to keep the out going costs to the customer as low as possible.
A suggestion:( Examples only and not intended to be accurate actual rates/quotes) Shipping starts with a base rate, and is based on weight, so the more that's ordered the less the shipping per item will be. To better explain this: If you buy a single cookie cutter for 99 cents then the shipping base rate will be approx $3.50 so you're paying $3.50 per item in shipping, but if you buy 10 and the weight increases the shipping costs to $4.50 you're now only paying 45 cents shipping per item.