How are shipping rates figured out?
Shipping rates are probably the hardest part of the business to set up. Books come in many different sizes and weights. Buyers want their books at different speeds and costs. I start with the US Postal Service rates for destination and speed. For domestic US shipping, the major categories are Media Mail (the old Book Rate) and the faster Priority (Air Mail). I start with a basic rate of $4.00 (Media Mail) to cover the basic costs of shipping a book. I then add the weight and speed factors if I have to adjust upward. The Post Office has gone to a zone system with Priority rates so this makes a flat rate harder to figure out. All of these rates are available to consumers at the Post Office website www.usps.com. For International shipping rates, I use the Post Office’s Publication 51 and try to set my rates based on a weight of a two pound book. The basic catgories are surface (or Sea Mail) and Global Priority. Air Mail is available but usually expensive. When you go to check out, you wil
