Free Shipping Isn't Free, and Lucy's Interview on the Potters Cast
There has been a bit of a change in the past couple of years with e-commerce since Amazon has taken over the online shopping market.
Free shipping is something that many shoppers are getting used to… but do we ever question this? Being the ever so practical person that I am, I have always questioned it. I always thought, well obviously they are raising the price in order to give free shipping. As a potter who ships pottery all over the country I raise my online prices ever so slightly. For example a mug online may be $46 rather than $42 in the studio, but this still doesn’t cover the shipping cost to ship that mug. It only helps to subsidize the shipping, shipping insurance, time to package the shipment, website fees, and credit cards fees. The actual cost to ship that mug to the Northeast United States may be $9. The cost to ship that same mug to the west coast would be $15. So the $4 extra dollars that I tack on to the online price of the mug maybe helps me pay myself for the time to pack it and packing materials. As you can figure out from these numbers I am going to lose out on shipping if I include it in the price. In order for me to cover my shipping cost I have to tack on $15 plus the $4 to cover costs to the west coast, which would make the price of my mug $61.
Free shipping is not actually free, it just means the price of the item is higher.
So now on to Etsy and the new free shipping policy.
(For those of you not familiar with Etsy, it is a online marketplace that connects makers of handmade objects to buyers who are looking for handcrafted work. It is an easy platform for artists and craftspeople to have an online shop). I sell my work on my own websites, and also on Etsy.
Etsy in it’s humble beginnings was a refuge from mass produced products. It was the antithesis of Amazon. But sadly as Etsy grew the company it sold out and went public. Things started to change soon after. They allowed some mass produced artistically made items into this community of makers. Then things started coming in from China and Pakistan… shops that oddly had hundreds or more of the same item. If you searched the internet you could also find these items on Ebay, or Amazon. It is no longer 100% handmade.
Companies have to compete with each other to stay in business. Etsy is a company, and all of these companies are figuring out ways to lure in more sales. It seems that offering free shipping is the way to go.
So all of this has me questioning why I want to be a pawn for Etsy. I am a self employed artist/solopreneur… meaning I like to be my own boss. I do not want to work for a company dictating my schedule, creativity, and the way I do business. So even though Etsy has been a good place (in the past) to sell my work, I may just eventually close my two shops there.
Below is my open letter to Etsy.
You can also listen to an interview on the Potters Cast, which aired today 10/22/19. Take a listen, just click on the link below.
You can also visit both of my website shops. https://www.lucyfagella.com/shop and https://www.luciaurns.com/shop-online/ There are a few new items in the shops as you can see from the photos below!
Dear Etsy,
I have two shops on Etsy, since 2010 and 2012. I am writing about the new "free" shipping policy.
It is unfair to ask makers to offer free shipping. My items can cost as much as $45 to ship. I cannot in good conscience "roll" that into the price of an item, because that $45 shipping cost to CA, could be $15 for a customer in MA.
I am not Amazon. I am not a warehouse selling cheap manufactured goods. I am an honest maker, who is transparent in the way I do business.
It is unconscionable that you are now giving priority “in search” to makers who offer free shipping! Why am I being penalized because I do not offer free shipping?
I will not take part in your so called "free" shipping policy! I have hope that you will change this coercive policy, and be the Etsy you started as... a place to connect artisans to customers who want to find handmade beauty in a world of mass produced clutter.
