Free Shipping, is it Really Free?

Thanks to Amazon and Etsy many consumers now expect free shipping when making online purchases.

This is a tough one for small businesses and craftspeople like myself. Shipping prices and shipping supplies have gone up, just like everything else the past few years, and it needs to be paid at one end of the transaction. In the past the buyer has always expected to pay for shipping. Maybe some people still do expect it, but most would rather see it rolled into the price and not have shipping shock when they get to the checkout page.

I wrote a blog post back in 2019, “Free Shipping Isn't Free” In this blog post I was pretty much dead set against free shipping. You can read it here…https://www.lucyfagella.com/blog/free-shipping-isnt-free .

Since that time a lot has happened, and prices have gone up on everything, including my pottery! I’m still not so sure about rolling the shipping cost into my prices and call it “free shipping”, but I am going to try it out here in my online shop. https://www.lucyfagella.com/shop. It means my online prices will be higher, but hopefully it will simplify the shopping experience.

How does this effect my in-person studio prices?

When you visit the studio you can definitely expect the prices to be 10 - 20% less than the online price! Your visit to the studio saves the shipping/packing time price, and the time it takes to photograph, edit and upload at least three photos for each piece, write a description, and take measurements for each piece. (I want the customer to have a good idea of what they are getting when they can’t actually hold it in their hands). This takes a lot of time! It is so much easier for me to sell my work at the studio, and it’s so nice to meet my customer. It also gives you a chance to see how the pottery is made.