News

All about shipping costs

It remains a tricky issue for every online store: how do I calculate shipping costs so that the customer doesn't overpay, but the store doesn't have to pay too much either? We sometimes get questions about this and we thought it would be nice to list it neatly. What exactly do the shipping costs consist of and why do I pay them if I only order a lucky charm for €0.25? It goes like this; First of all, the tax authorities charge 21% of the amount you pay, which is more than 0.69 for letterbox mail (so we receive €3.26) and €1.21 for letterbox packages or parcels (so we receive €5.49). We don't get this back because there's no tax on stamps. We always try to package our items, which we offer at the lowest possible prices, as sensibly as possible, for example, in a cellophane bag. This is placed in a bubble envelope or box, sealed with wide tape or a large sealing sticker to prevent it from being opened, which often happened in the past. We then put a lucky charm sticker on it so the postal staff and employees can see that it contains lucky charms and not expensive items, as those too have often "disappeared" in the past. This "disappearance" has become much less frequent since the sticker was introduced. A name and address sticker must be printed, so this costs the sticker and printer usage. The payment transaction fee is 0.45 excluding VAT for an iDEAL payment and 0.48 excluding VAT for a debit card payment, regardless of the transfer amount. For a standard bank transfer, we charge 0.14 cents. Also the electricity for the computer and in winter the lighting and heating of the room in which the packing work is being done. The person who packs, processes the orders, and takes them to the post office would like a small contribution for the work, which we find logical because everyone who works deserves a salary. We'd love for even our "small" customers to be able to use our services, but if we were to charge for one stamp to send one lucky charm, that would mean adding extra money, which is obviously not the intention. That would mean we'd have to impose a minimum order amount, and we don't think that's good for our "small" customers. By the way, did you know that 1 stamp already costs € 1.31 cents (when I started it was € 0.44!!) and that if an order weighs more than 50 grams we already add a surcharge? If the site automatically switches to parcel post or letterbox parcel costs, it means that the order either doesn't fit through the letterbox (or the risk of damage is too great through the letterbox with an envelope, so a more expensive box must be used), or the (original) price of the items is around or above 15 euros. There's a good chance that everything in an order will fall to one side of the envelope, and then you'll receive a fine from PostNL because it won't fit through the letterbox. In that case, we'll also use a more expensive box. The costs for a letterbox package are covered exactly by €6.95 - 21% VAT = €5.49 (postage €4.25 + box + tape + label + payment costs + energy surcharge) and that we already have to add to the price for parcel post. If it is automatically sent to parcel post, we know from experience that a fine may be imposed on the shipment with letterbox post, as the items in the packaging can slide over each other, making it even more expensive for you, which we would like to avoid. If you have added a free item to your order, your shipment will automatically be sent to parcel post or letterbox package. that we have to pay an energy surcharge of 9 cents excluding VAT as a company for every package sent And did you know that from mid-November to January 1st we pay a €0.25 peak surcharge for PostNL parcels? Therefore we consider this a reasonable amount for shipping costs. We feel fortunate to be able to package everything for our happiness spreaders and also believe that we should be transparent about the costs for the customer. So here it is. Hopefully, this will give you some confidence and understanding in shipping all our lucky charms and lucky charm items, because we consider it a privilege to be able to do all this for our lucky spreaders!