Shipping, Packaging, and Handling Costs
a.k.a. The Mysterious World of the US Postal Service
The following list breaks down the costs of shipping.
Envelopes are 30 - 40 cents each.
"Handling" always seemed silly to me as a consumer, but now that I see Mom walking each package to the post office, or driving the big orders to UPS, I see the reason to charge for it. So I made it $1.00, plus or minus a little bit to get round numbers.
Media mail in the U.S. = $2.77.
Priority mail to Hawaii or Alaska = $8.25? (I need to check this) (includes envelope).
We ship to Canada with Priority Mail, $10.95 (includes envelope). For awhile, we thought we'd discovered something dubiously called "First Class International" that is cheaper; but it turns out, it only works for packages less than 3/4 inch thick. The book is just over so Mom's post office won't let her ship with this method.
International Priority Mail = $12.95 (includes envelope).