I have spent a lot of time working on my shop, cultivating customers, and marketing. None of it is easy and as a small business owner sometimes things like "Free shipping" can really take a chunk of my out of pocket expenses.
After careful consideration, I can now offer free shipping on orders over $35 (In shop only does not count toward VIP group on Facebook)
While big businesses have a lot more they can do for customers, as a small business owner every small thing adds up. The things that go into shipping, and I have kept it as simple as possible, are listed below. I want you to know what goes in, so you can see why I couldn't until this point. I had to build things up before I could offer something like this.
So here is a break down but keep in mind not all products are created equal and my out of pocket pricing goes up if I have to change brands because one is out of stock- so many variables sometimes...
$56 for 4 packages of 25 Plain brown 4x4x4 shipping boxes (I send out weekly orders usually 10 or more packages at a time this can really add up) I buy 4 of these for 1.5 month supply.
$58 Plain brown Crinkle paper 10lbs (It's hard to tell you exact amounts as it depends on how much is being shipped, if I'm using other materials etc... but I buy this every couple of months or so -give or take-)
$11 200 shipping labels (break this down if I do say 15 shipments a week I buy labels every few months)
$7 for a roll of FRAGILE stickers
I recycle tissue paper and bubble wrap as much as I possibly can... friends even give me their bubble wrap lol.
Basically when someone orders something from me- I get out of pocket expenses for everything including just to buy from me. Paypal and other payment methods charge me a percentage of each sale too.
So I really had to weigh my pros and cons and offering free shipping needed to be in my shops best interest.