I know this is going to sound a little crazy, but I am rethinking my shipping policies. I have been a fan, and promoter of flat rate shipping, but I have started to notice that a large percentage of my sales go to the west, and east coast. I don't make as much profit when the items ship to the coasts as I am located in the Midwest. I have noticed that those located closer to me over pay greatly with this flat rate policy, and it makes me wonder how many sales I lose because the price is too high for those closer by. So I am running a trial on one of my stores to change some of my listings to Calculated shipping, with a $1 Handling Fee. This will save buyers money on nearly everywhere I ship to. Only very small increase to some of the coast lines. I would not make as much money off of shipping, but will I increase sales because items are more affordable to more buyers? Let me know what you think about the plan.
Added Note: I have changed my calculated shipping to allow buyer to pay my eBay discounted rate plus the $1 handling.