Most of my customers order two pieces at a time; how do I spread shipping across the price per piece?

The one-piece assumption

The Selling-price calculator states that the calculation is for one order holding one product. If every order has one piece, no problem. But if customers usually order two or three, loading the full shipping onto each piece prices you higher than you need to be, because you pay shipping once for the whole order.

The calculation

1. Look at past orders and find the usual number of pieces per order.
2. Divide the order's shipping cost by that number: 20 ÷ 2 = 10.
3. Do the same with any fixed fee per order, such as packaging or a transaction fee.
4. Enter each piece's share in the shipping and fixed fees fields, then solve.

What happens to a one-piece order?

This is the part many people miss. Price the piece at 57.14 and then receive an order for a single piece, and you still pay the full 20 in shipping. Fees are 2.86 and profit only 4.29, a margin of 7.5% instead of 25%. A two-piece order at 114.28, on the other hand, hits the 25% margin as planned.

In other words, spreading is only right on average. The larger the share of single-piece orders, the lower your average margin.

How to protect yourself

• Have the customer pay shipping below a set order value and make it free above, which encourages two-piece orders and protects single-piece ones.
• Or spread shipping over fewer pieces than you expect, say 1.5 instead of 2, to leave a safety margin.
• Check that a two-piece parcel really ships for the same price. It may cross a size threshold and cost more, which the Volumetric shipping-weight calculator will show.