I am in that same situation. I sell media (lettermail), and then a mix of larger parcel items.
I originally created two shipping policies, one for "lettermail" items, and one for "parcel" items.
- Parcel items were changed to calculated UPS rates.
- Lettermail items were originally changed to a flat rate similar to UniUni from Stallion and USPS Ground Advantage from Chit Chats. Both of which are about $7-$8.
Why that approach failed:
What I found was that I couldn't use Stallion because the market for common non-collectors edition physical media skews largely to buyers in remote areas. I assume this is due to a lack of accessibility to reasonably priced high speed internet for streaming movies. Every four orders, I would get someone who wasn't eligible for Stallion shipping.
Stallion is not integrated with eBay, so there is no way for me to prevent those transactions. While I would be in my right to cancel them due to problem with address if I advertise that I ship with UniUni, the volume of Lettermail orders I do these days is low, and the profit margins are also low. So it's not worth the additional time spent on customer service to have to smooth over a cancellation with every fourth customer.
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What I did in response to that failing (prior to the strike, when we knew we would have 72 hour window):
Prior to the full strike, my short term response was to switch to Tracked Packet+Expedited Lite because in most cases items would be delivered in less than 72 hours. Additionally, I was originally charging Lettermail rates for those items, so my sales with Expedited Lite were going to be lower. Meaning, the risk of having outstanding packages not arrive before a possible INR could be opened was going to be low with me only shipping a few a week. Only one package was left in limbo.
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With a full strike announced, these were my shipping/handling options for Canadian and USA Lettermail orders if I did not want to remove the lettermail sized items entirely.
- Offer lettermail rates with a ridiculously long shipping window (20 day handling, longest Economy shipping window), let buyers know their item won't ship until the strike is over, and continue to accept orders with the lowest possible shipping price.
- Offer Stallion/Chit Chats rates ($8) with a 5 day handling window because it's not worth it to take the time to drop off at Stallion or Chit Chats multiple times a week for low profit orders.
- Use calculated UPS rates. These will be close to Stallion/Chit Chats rates for people regionally close to me, but exceedingly expensive for everybody else. The bonus of doing this is that I can offer same-day shipping with my items advertised to arrive in 3 days or less to some areas.
What I chose to do:
I opted for UPS. The logic is, it's a soft cancellation of my listings, but I'm still going to move a handful of lettermail items a week. The customers who choose to pay a premium for shipping will get a great outcome (their item arriving in 1 day in some cases), unlike with Stallion or Chit Chats where it could take 10 days due to the handling time needed.
Additionally, it's the least possible work for me because all I have to do is put it in a pile with my UPS stuff that gets picked up each day. I am paying about $2 a week on average for UPS pickups, because so many places are shipping with them and if I know I have a delivery coming my local guy will take my pickups without one scheduled. Otherwise, it would be about $5.
If I did not have a mix of parcel and lettermail, using UPS might not be appealing for the lettermail sized orders. But most days I have a few parcels going out UPS already. So if I have a single lettermail sized sale per day, it's not like I have to make a pickup just for one lettermail package. It's a sunk cost in both time and the financial cost of pickups.
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The "Not everybody has access to UPS, Stallion, etc" disclaimer:
Sharing the above is not an indication that this will work for everybody who has a similar part parcel, part lettermail type spread of items. I'm just sharing how I approached it, what problems I had, and how I chose to resolve those problems because it might save someone else the time spent with trial and error that I went through. I understand that UPS and other carriers available are area-specific and it won't be viable for everybody. That I am spoiled with a wealth of shpping options because I am central in a major Ontario city. The point isn't to dictate that switching to UPS calculated rates would work for everybody.
