When you open your Etsy shop, you will have to choose a shipping provider. Then, you'll want to outline a clear policy with respect to shipping so your customers know what to expect. As you develop your shipping policy, consider these areas:
What shipping carrier you'll use: Do you plan to ship via USPS? FedEx? UPS? DHL? Pony Express? Delivery owl?
Which delivery option you'll select from your shipping carrier: Say that you've opted to ship via USPS. Will you choose first class? Priority Mail? Media Mail?
Whether you'll include delivery confirmation or insurance: Smart money has you providing both — especially for higher-priced items. That way, if a package gets lost en route, you're covered.
Whether you're willing to ship internationally: If you are, decide whether you or the buyer will be responsible for any Customs fees incurred.
How you'll handle combined shipping: Many sellers discount shipping when buyers purchase multiple items from their Etsy shop at once. Although you're certainly not obligated to do so, adopting this practice can be a good way to increase sales.
How quickly you'll ship the item: Some sellers promise to ship items within 48 hours of receiving payment. Other sellers plan weekly trips to the post office, mailing all the items they've sold in the past seven days in one fell swoop.
If you make custom items, you want to account for the time it takes to make the item when estimating how quickly you'll ship it.
Your willingness to upgrade: Sometimes buyers need their items quickly. To accommodate those buyers, consider offering expedited shipping — for example, overnighting the item.
How you'll package items you ship: Will you send your piece in a padded envelope or a box? Do you recycle packaging materials? Is gift wrapping available?
After you decide on your basic policies, you can add them to your shop's Shop Policies page.
Suppose that you plan to stock your shop with items of a similar size — say, jewelry, magnets, greeting cards, or stuffed patchwork wiener dogs. In that case, it may behoove you to create a shipping profile. A shipping profile is simply a collection of shipping-related settings that you can apply to an item listing in one fell swoop instead of entering them one by one.
Before you create a shipping profile, you want to sort out how much it costs to ship your item based on its size, weight, and shipping method. If you plan to ship internationally, you need to get a handle on how much that method will cost as well. For help, contact your shipping provider. Note that you want to factor in any costs associated with packaging your item when calculating your shipping charges.
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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-to-include-in-your-etsy-shipping-policies.html
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