Go To Great Panes

Go To Great Panes, Kathryn Maloney ©2009
(This post is copyrighted–you do not have permission to repost this content elsewhere but you are welcome to link to it if you’d like to share the information.)

I get lots of requests for help with getting sellers’ website items up on Google’s Shopping search. Some websites & shopping carts have feeds you can use to supply your goods to Google Merchant Center, but if yours doesn’t you can use a file you upload to your website to submit your products.

For a nominal fee I’ll provide a digital file I’ve created that should help get your started and basic instructions for getting your feed up.

If you are interested in receiving the file and directions by email please use the Paypal button below and I’ll get it to you as soon as possible, usually within 48 hours.

You’ll need Microsoft Excel to open it, or something like Open Office–a free-ware program that can open & edit Microsoft Excel files.

These are my original documents, I have put my time and effort into creating and providing them for you. When purchasing, you agree not to share or sell the file or the accompanying instructions with others.

Order the Sample Google Merchant Data Feed File & Instructions:

$5.00 delivery service charge Pay with Paypal

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Shipping Service Choices

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You need to choose what service works best for your business, I can only speak to what works for us. We use First Class whenever possible–it’s fast and inexpensive.

When a domestic package is over 13 oz (the First Class rate cut-off), we generally ship Priority Mail. International First Class goes up to 4 lbs, we rarely have an international package that goes over that, but when it does the package has to go Priority.

First Class is generally handled the same as Priority Mail, except during the busiest seasons when Priority Mail is put on the truck first, and if they run out of room for slower service packages, the non-Priority packages have to wait for the next truck. The only other time I hear that Priority is handled better than first class is when it is being shipped to APO/FPO addresses, Alaska and Hawaii.

If you don’t ask for First Class at the post office, the clerks are supposed to just give your Priority Mail, so be sure to ask about your options.

First Class Mail Domestic: Up to 13 oz
The rate is the same across the US no matter how far the destination. It is the least expensive you can ship, even less than Parcel post–and yet the service is much faster than Parcel Post.

First Class Mail International: Up to 4 pounds
The rates are variable but they don’t change much except for Canada and Mexico being much less expensive than anywhere else–we’re neighbors after all. See here for more: International Shipping

Priority Mail for domestic shipping is covered here: Priority Mail
You can get boxes free when using Priority Mail, but we can still ship most items cheaper in our recycled boxes or in bubble mailers using First Class Mail. They have great “flat rate” boxes–same price no matter what shipping US zone your package is going to but it’s only a good deal for heavier items, that’s covered in the link above. There are different prices for the Priority International Flat Rates, though you use the same boxes.

Parcel Post
We don’t often use Parcel Post because it is significantly slower, and usually not much less expensive than Priority Mail–especially if you pay for postage online.

Once you’ve got your items shipping figured out, you’ll probably want to use shipping labels you print from home–once you start you’ll wonder how you ever did without it! See the “Shipping” page for links to posts for help with printing labels and even more shipping help.

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We’ve just added a Shipping page to the Pages links on the right. There you’ll find all the main shipping help posts I’ve put on the blog. I’ll update the new Shipping page with future shipping help posts too, so you can find them all in one spot.

Occasional updates about shipping info–like postal rate changes–can be found using the “sort by topic” link just below the Pages links or get notified when messages are posted by subscribing to our blog–see the links on the left.

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To figure your shipping rates you need to find out what your items weigh in packaging and then you can use the USPS shipping calculator for shipping rates (if you are in the USA):

I recommend weighing several packages, writing down the weight and then taking the packages to the Post Office and having the clerk there weigh them too. Compare the weight your scale read to the post office’s scale so you know if your scale is off & how to adjust.

Using the Shipping Calculator

When you use the USPS Shipping Calculator it will ask for zip code. We use a zip code from the farthest zone so that we’ll know the highest rate the shipping can be if we are using a service other than First Class. To find out what zone is the farthest from you, see here:

Click the little question mark links on the USPS calculator pages if you need more info as you go.

Be sure to click the “First-Class Mail Package rates” link (it’s red) when you get to the results page if any of the following apply and you want to ship First Class:

(If you’ll be shipping using labels you print online, you need the package to be 3/4″ thick or rigid to qualify for Delivery Confirmation which is automatically added (and you cannot opt out.))

If the box dimensions are large there’s some variation in pricing:

Domestic: http://ircalc.usps.gov/PopUps/pop_up16.htm
International: http://ircalc.usps.gov/popups/FCMI_Parcel_help.htm

You can also use these rate charts if you prefer–the links on the left side of the page linked below take you to the different services available:

I like the charts, but it’s good to be familiar with shipping rules before just using them & not the shipping calculator. (You’ll be there in no time!)

The USPS website’s shipping calculator has a drop-down menu to select the country you are shipping to–please note that when you change it to a country other than the US it auto-fills the information selecting “package” and giving it a weight of 1 pound. I don’t know why it does this, but it does and it can throw your quotes shipping off. Be sure to click the radio button that describes your item (a bubble mailer is a “large envelope”, a box is a package), and change the weight to match your package weight.

Go To Great Panes, Kathryn Maloney ©2009
(This post is copyrighted–you do not have permission to repost this content elsewhere but you are welcome to link to it if you’d like to share the information.)

I’ve just updated our Thank You page with a few new shops that have generously sent donations for the help they received on our blog–please go check them out:

Figuring Out Your Secondary Shipping

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One of the trickiest things for new sellers–now made super easy:

It’s not a perfect science, but it should get you close.

Visit our Etsy shop: GoTo

The highest shipping charge is always the base shipping.

It doesn’t matter what order the items are added to the shopping cart, the item with the highest primary shipping rate will set the base shipping for the order.

The secondary shipping cost is if you add that item to a package.

“With another item” should generally be less than the first shipping price. (In some cases items can’t be shipped with other items, or the cost of shipping won’t go down when it is shipped with another item, so the shipping will stay the same for primary and secondary shipping.)

Every item after the one that sets the base shipping will add its secondary rate to the package.

An example:

If someone buys all three, Item A’s shipping is primary–because it is highest, and Item B & Item C will have the secondary rate added:

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Seems lots of folks have received a letter from Google about their data feed images being too small:

“We’ve noticed that in many cases you’re submitting images that are smaller than 220 pixels X 220 pixels….”

If you received one for your Etsy shop, don’t worry–the admin are working on it! They will be setting up the larger images when they start doing the feed for us:

Read sean11’s post here in the forums

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Here’s what’s up:

Thank You Page: Thanks for the donations–just updated with new shop links from our donating blog readers!
Shipping Page: Coming Soon!
Ft Tryon Medieval Festival: Take a peek at our booth!

Thank You Page:

I’ve just updated the links to the shops of folks who have been kind enough to send a donation for the help they found in my blog posts. Please check out their shops: Thank You for Your Donation Page

Shipping Page:

I’m working on getting all my shipping posts onto the blog so I can create a page that acts as one handy reference point for all the main tips I’ve posted in the “US Sellers: Shipping Basics–domestic & international” thread I started last year in the Etsy forums. I’ll let you know when the page goes live, posts on the topic will be coming in the next few weeks to help fill out the page!

Ft Tryon Medieval Festival: Take a peek at our booth!

In the mean time, I thought I’d share a photo of our booth from the Fort Tryon Medieval Festival where we sold our stained glass at on October 4th, 2009. It was a lovely day and a pleasant crowd! So busy we didn’t have a clear path to take a pic until the end of the day.

Go To Great Panes at the Ft Tryon Medieval Festival, 2009
Click the pic for a larger view!