Suggested Shipping Charges

If you are a new member in search of curriculum, it may be hard to judge whether the books being offered are worth the shipping costs. This post is meant to help newbies as they search. It is also meant to serve as a helpful reference for new donors who may not know how much to charge for shipping.

As a potential recipient, you should always look carefully at the photo and description, and the shipping costs, to know exactly what you are asking for. If the shipping price is not expressly written when the donation is posted, it's ok to ask by giving the donor your zip code and asking them to calculate the estimated cost.

Donors are encouraged to ask what they need to as far as shipping goes, depending on their unique circumstances. HSCFFS makes it VERY EASY for donors to give, in whatever manner they wish, to whomever they wish, for whatever reason, and without questioning donors' reasonable shipping charges.

However, we have a strict rule that no "selling" is allowed - members who are obviously marking up shipping charges to make a profit should be reported to the moderators. This does not usually happen, though. Most donors are willingly trying to clean their shelves and help others, and may simply be unaware of what to ask in order to play it safe and not ask too little to cover shipping/packaging, etc.

The leadership team has found a need to clarify what is considered "acceptable" shipping costs, especially for newcomers to the Facebook group. The following is only presented as a guide for media mail shipments.

Good Rules of Thumb for Success in Clearing your Bookshelves:

Don't ask for so much shipping that it isn't worth the book's value. Try combining multiple books if your books are small, worn out, or not worth the shipping charge.
If someone PM's you and suggests that you read this article, then you may want to reconsider your shipping charges. They are only trying to help. Don't take it personally. They've just noticed you may be asking charges that are a bit higher than they normally see within the group.
Be clear in your item description if you are NOT using media mail. Most recipients are used to seeing media mail prices, and will balk at Priority Mail or other options if the price is significantly higher than they are used to seeing.
Tips for shipping items as cheaply as possible can be found here.