Shipping and handling

I like using UPS to ship my portraits for several reasons.

The customer service I am able to give my clients, by being able to get a package to them on a particular day that fits best into their schedule (if required); Being able to tell the customer when to expect the package, and being able to give them a tracking number gives peace of mind.

USPS has some shipping options like Priority Mail, and that is cheaper than UPS. You can get some tracking, but the tracking is extremely weak...almost non-existent. So I stick with UPS.

I spoke to my UPS Store guy today - and in my opinion, he is THE MAN to talk to about shipping anything. I noticed some packages I shipped today were a little higher than usual. He said UPS raises their prices only once a year, in January...and that there are fluctuations in the prices all through the year, based on transportation costs that are variable (the price of fuel for instance).

He advised that since the prices are going up, to consider charging customers $20 for shipping...shipping AND HANDLING. He said the 'and handling' is key - because of all the time involved in buying the materials to pack and ship, not just the shipping. We are also spending time to nicely pack and prepare shipments.

Good point. I know I buy some really nice clear sleeves for my artwork, I have to buy the styrofoam 'peanuts,' I buy my boxes, I buy my tape, I drive the boxes to the UPS Store. All that time and effort has a price to it, so $20 is quite reasonable, when I put that all together in my head.

And, as my teenage daughter pointed out to me one day, "Mom, if they don't have any money, or money's a huge issue, why are they buying custom artwork?!? Think about it!"