I have tried many avenues to determining shipping costs. There are lots of variables that are ever changing. Shopping carts also have programming limits. Methods of determining and charging shipping costs are forever debated in newsgroups and business circles. We do care that the consumer is getting the best value, but we must make a profit to remain in business also. While consumers clamor for the most completive pricing on products, we must also cover all our expenses somewhere. We work to shift our shipping carrier to avoid oversized box charges or weight charges or residential (additional) charges usually added by UPS. USPS priority and insured mail has been very reliable for us.

Either it's in the price or in the shipping/handling charges. Everyone, whether manufacturer or distributor cannot carry all the products in all the leagues and all the teams effectively with no limitations. In order to accommodate more people, some items may be stocked and others drop shipped. This also add to product diversity and selection.

If you would like a variety of products that may not be readily available at your local mall (all in one place), then there are costs involved. Yours is the individual decision to receive the convenience of at home delivery and share the burden of these costs. In the mall you share the burden of overhead costs in original prices.

Licensing fees for licensed logo merchandise are applicable also. If you are not in the seller state then you save your local state and local sales tax charges.

Drop shipping also saves the double shipping charges of products shipping to multi locations in the process. Then, companies with employee time to process orders individually must have a drop ship fee.

Presently, the most accurate method of combining all factors from programming to postage, is to have set a standard minimum charge of $7.50 in my shopping cart and calculate 10% of the total sale from there. Most merchants would rather charge by weight which is not programmed without great cost, expertise, and continuous changes by shipping providers. That is why you will see many charging a percentage of the total order value. It just happens to work out the most accurately. It is not the first choice. Currently items with more shipping weight are adding to the shopping cart at 12.00 per item for shipping. Some items such as heavy game room items (including lamps) may cost more for shipping than 12.00 per item. Jewelry price increases (metal prices) may be reflected in shipping charges for jewelry if we have not updated individual pricing per piece.