7 Shipping Costs You're Probably Not Counting

You think shipping costs $7 per order because that's what USPS charges. That's cute. It actually costs you $11-13 when you count everything.

Here's what you're probably not including:

• Boxes — $0.50-3.00 each. You buy 200/month. That's $100-600 you didn't budget.
• Void fill — Bubble wrap, tissue paper, crinkle paper. $0.10-0.50 per order.
• Dimensional weight — Carriers charge by volume OR weight, whichever is greater. Using a box that's too big can cost you 30% more than the actual weight rate.
• Residential delivery surcharge — $2-4 extra per package for home addresses. Most merchants don't know this exists.
• Fuel surcharge — 5-15% added to base rate. Changes monthly. You can't predict it.
• Return shipping — $5-12 per return. You pay it, not the customer.
• Labels and tape — $0.15 per order. Small but real.

Add those to your $7 carrier fee. Suddenly you're at $11-13 per order. If you're charging $5.99 for shipping, you're losing $5-7 per order. At 200 orders/month, that's $1,000-1,400 every month. See your real numbers →

The fix: audit your last 50 shipments. Write down what you actually paid (including materials) vs. what you charged. The difference is your real shipping gap. Then either raise your shipping charge or switch to Shopify Shipping for discounted rates.