USPS is raising their rates on Sunday, May 31, 2015. I ship through the post office, which means shipping and handling costs for my Etsy shop are also affected.
Since I was going to have to modify my shipping charges in any case, I decided to join Etsy’s new calculated shipping program for U.S. sellers. It means that shipping charges are automatically calculated based on 1) a buyer’s actual location, 2) the seller’s actual location, and 3) the size and weight of the item(s) being shipped.
Changes for buyers are minimal. When viewing an item, buyers enter a U.S. ZIP code (or a non-US country) on the Shipping & Policies tab to generate shipping costs. The price shown will be for the least expensive shipping method offered by the seller that is eligible for the total weight and dimensions of the item(s).

For me, calculated shipping means I’m both able to give shoppers more accurate shipping costs and save time myself with the new back end settings. Previously, it took a lot of work for me to to determine shipping costs.
I spent last weekend weighing and measuring every item in my inventory, creating new shipping profiles, entering the figures into my shop interface on Etsy, and making sure all t:s were crossed and i:s dotted.
The new settings are now in effect. I have checked my data entry, and everything should be in order, but if you see anything odd, please don’t hesitate to drop me a note.
Happy weekend!