Drop shipped Products - Does the Buyer pay for shipping?

[forgotten_4580]

I’m trying to decide pricing for these athletic shoes I sell through drop shipping. I know about what they go for from other competitors, but I don’t know whether or not I should sell them with the customer paying the shipping costs. What’s the standard for paying the shipping when it’s through drop shipping?

[Andrewdennis]

I was wondering the same thing. I sell my stuff on ebay personally. There’s this whole thing I’ve heard of where people put all the cost on the shipping end and the buy it now price to avoid ebay fees. I believe that’s against ebay rules or some such thing, but it makes me wonder what is a reasonable amount to charge for shipping?

[gamerfan]

It’s definitely a good thing to get a handle on. The standard with drop shipped items is that the customer covers the cost of shipping. You should list your items with the increased price you’re selling from the distributors wholesale cost, plus the shipping costs separately.


I was wondering the same thing. I sell my stuff on ebay personally. There’s this whole thing I’ve heard of where people put all the cost on the shipping end and the buy it now price to avoid ebay fees. I believe that’s against ebay rules or some such thing, but it makes me wonder what is a reasonable amount to charge for shipping?

Yes it is definitely against Ebay’s rules to put all of the cost on the shipping in order to avoid fees and it can lead to the loss of your account with Ebay. To answer your other question, there are a few ways to determine the appropriate shipping cost:

 First, you can offer a fixed shipping price. This is the most straight forward option and makes sense if you sell basically the same thing over and over. For instance, if all you sell is a certain type of cell phone (the weight is unlikely to vary enough to make a difference in shipping costs) than a flat rate is a good way to go.

 Second, you can take a look at the US Postal Service (http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm?from=home_header&page=calculatepostage) or FedEx (http://www.fedex.com/ratetools/RateToolsMain.do?link=2)pricing by weight and charge accordingly based on the weight of the individual item. (For FedEx you will need to disable your popup blocker in order to download the rate listings based on your choices.)

 Third, and this makes the most sense for a drop shipped product, find out the amount your particular distributor charges to ship the items you buy from them and charge the customer that amount.

Generally, it is a good idea to let people know up front if there are any additional costs, such as shipping or fees due to shipping items overseas.

[kelvyblack]

Thanks for sharing the information about the shipping cost.

Shipping Insurance (https://www.insureship.com/)

[Importexportbusiness]

I’m trying to decide pricing for these athletic shoes I sell through drop shipping. I know about what they go for from other competitors, but I don’t know whether or not I should sell them with the customer paying the shipping costs. What’s the standard for paying the shipping when it’s through drop shipping?

Hi,

Usually you have two options you can charge them for shipping separately as shipping differed based on the country they are from (shipping charges fluctuate) ... This way you are not out of pocket.

The other option is to build it in to your price, just charge a standard rate of $10-$20 for domestic and $30 for international ... Some orders you make money and some orders you lose some, assuming its the same product you sell and it's the same weight and size.


Alex C Ryan
Managing Director
Import Export Exposed
www.startimportingnow.com.au