Postal Rate Increase

Some of you have probably already noticed the latest rate increase from the US Postal Service (USPS). This rate increase happened on January 22, 2012. Although the difference in rates isn't huge, it will certainly add up as you ship multiple packages.

New domestic retail pricing for Priority Mail Flat Rate products:

• Small box — $5.35
• Medium box — $11.35
• Large box — $15.45
• Regular envelope — $5.15

 If you haven't done it already, head over to your Etsy shop and update the shipping charges for your items. I used to use the Craftopolis website to quickly edit prices and shipping charges. They're renovating their site right now, so I'm going to have to make the edits on Etsy.

One of the easiest ways to handle your shipping amounts on Etsy is to create Shipping Profiles. Go to https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/YourShopNameHere/shipping/batch.  You can created and edit shipping profiles there. I have one for digital items (free shipping), one for very small items (1 oz or less), and one for items that are a little larger and need more packaging. You'll choose all the same options you would when listing a new item for your shop. Once you save it, you'll be able to select that shipping profile when listing or editing items in your shop. Over time, this will be a great shortcut.

On the shipping page, you can apply shipping profiles to many items at once. The only negative I've found is that changing the dollar amounts in the shipping profile doesn't change anything in the items in your shop automatically. For example, I decide to change the shipping profile for very small items. The shipping charge is now $2.25 instead of $2.00. I will now need to go in and edit the item listings to apply that shipping profile. Shipping information for items doesn't change until you apply the updated profile. That's definitely an area that Etsy could improve on.

Please share any tips on making this an easier process. Good luck!