shipping pricing strategy (internal use only)
Internal · Logistics Planning
Shipping Cost Analysis
Domestic & international postage across all Australia Post zones, sent as untracked letters — our cheapest viable lane for flat, lightweight stickers. Every figure is all-in: AusPost postage + $0.20 cardboard mailer.
Cost per order — postage + $0.20 mailer
| Destination | UntrackedSmall letter | UntrackedLarge letter | Trackedwith proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| AustraliaDomestic | $1.90 | $3.60 | $5.40 |
| New ZealandZone 1 | $3.20 | $10.50 |
≈ $22flat to any zone |
| Asia PacificZone 2 | $3.70 | $11.95 | |
| US & CanadaZone 3 | $4.30 | $14.45 | |
| UK & EuropeZone 4 | $4.55 | $15.25 | |
| Rest of WorldZone 5 | $5.00 | $16.75 |
- Letters carry no tracking at any price — AusPost doesn’t sell tracking-without-signature on letters, so “tracked” means a different product entirely.
- Domestic tracked $5.40 = prepaid tracked envelope (no signature). Registered Post with signature ≈ $6.00.
- International tracked ≈ $22 = Express prepaid envelope (signature included), roughly flat to any zone. In-store US quote was ~$22.30 — confirm exact figures at the counter.
- Rates current 2026; AusPost has flagged further increases mid–late 2026.
Domestic Home turf
Cheap, fast, reliable. Free shipping is a clean conversion lever here.
- Months 1–3: free domestic shipping, framed as a launch offer. Time-bound and deliberate, not just absorbed cost — gives a real reason to push urgency.
- From month 4: keep “free domestic,” bake the ~$3.60 large-letter cost into pricing. Most orders cost $1.90–$3.60 to fulfil, so small stickers over-recover. StickerApp does free standard shipping in its core markets.
- Offer tracked as a paid checkout upgrade (~$5.40). Anxious buyers self-select and pay for their own peace of mind — we stop eating tracking on every order.
- Keep stickers flat where possible to hit the $1.90 small-letter rate instead of $3.60.
International Worldwide
Untracked letters only. The whole game is packs, not singles.
- Ship untracked Economy Air letter. Tracked is ~4–6× the cost and kills conversion on a low-value item.
- Price around packs, not singles. Envelope cost is fixed, so 1 sticker + $14 looks insane while a 4-pack + $14 looks fine. Steer everyone to bundles.
- Flat rate per zone bucket — the spread’s too wide for one global rate: NZ ~$6 · US/UK/EU ~$9 · Rest of World ~$11. Robinhood uses flat international; Sticker Mule calculates at checkout.
- Free international over a threshold (~1.4× single-item price) to lift AOV ~18–28% and make the fixed envelope pay off.
- Build a 3–5% reship buffer into pricing — untracked means no dispute defence, so price in the rare lost order.
Before we switch international on
- US import fees: confirm current US de-minimis treatment before opening US shipping — surprise import charges on a $10 order wreck the buyer experience.
- AusPost rule: economy overseas letters are officially for items of no commercial value; merchandise technically needs a parcel/customs label. Confirm our approach with AusPost.
- These are starting points. Tighten the zone rates once we’ve got a few weeks of real order data — actual destinations, singles vs packs.