Start here for smarter shipping - with SAMOS
The hidden shipping costs of low-priced arts, crafts, games, and hobby items can be huge — especially if you're selling custom or fragile pieces like beads, accessories, vinyl, miniatures or DIY kits. If your shipping expenses are squeezing your profits, read on to discover real, practical solutions for craft sellers, hobbyists, and small arts and crafts businesses.
If you sell low-cost arts, crafts, games, or hobby materials online, you've probably faced this frustrating issue:
• Shipping costs more than the product itself
• Customers abandon carts at the checkout
• You're losing margin — or worse, absorbing the cost.
Whether you're a small e-commerce art brand, a niche hobby or game creator, or a growing craft supply store, shipping to the EU or Worldwide, you're not alone. Many sellers in the creative space struggle with high delivery costs for lightweight, low-value items — and it can impact their profits.
The good news? You can fix this — and we’ll show you how.
The BIG shipping problem facing arts, games, crafts & hobby sellers if you’re selling things like:
• Yarn, fabric, and crafting accessories
• Miniatures, collectibles, games or model kits
• Paint sets, DIY craft kits, decorating tools, or stamps
• Paper, card, vinyl, or print materials
• Pens, pencils, custom stationery, or jewellery-making supplies
• Any other creative tool or material
… then you’ve likely had to make a tough choice:
• Pass the high shipping cost to your customer and risk losing the sale
or
• Absorb the cost yourself and watch your margins disappear.
Example
Anika sells macramé cord for £5.94 per unit. But to ship it overseas? It can cost £10 or more — nearly double the item’s price.
What’s causing the problem?
This is what we call a disproportionate cost-to-value ratio — when shipping costs are out of balance with product value. It’s especially common in e-commerce categories like arts, crafts and niche hobbies.
Why?
Because even small, light products are impacted by:
• Minimum parcel sizes and postal restrictions
• Packaging inefficiencies
• Lack of volume-based shipping discounts
• Cross-border duties and taxes
• Dimensional (volumetric) pricing, not just weight
#Shipping shouldn’t cost more than your product
At SAMOS, we specialise in helping small to mid-sized ecommerce sellers — particularly in the creative sector — find cost-effective, flexible and scalable shipping solutions. We’ve worked with hundreds of craft-based businesses, so we know this isn’t just a logistics issue — it’s a margin protection issue.
Let’s fix this. Here’s how to ship smarter without sacrificing service or profits:
1. Optimise packaging to cut costs
• Use custom-sized packaging to avoid unnecessary dimensional weight.
• Swap bulky boxes for padded mailers or eco-friendly flat-pack options.
• Keep packaging simple and lean — it saves space and cost. Visit our Volumetric Weight Explained resource page for some top tips.
2. Encourage bundling or multi-packs
• Offer deals like “3 skeins of yarn for £20 with free shipping.”
• Suggest complementary add-on products at checkout.
• Use threshold-based incentives (e.g. free shipping on orders over £30) to increase average order value.
3. Be transparent with tiered shipping
• Offer multiple shipping options: economy, tracked, express.
• Use clear shipping calculators or tables so buyers know what to expect.
• Where possible, ship on actual weight, not volume — or work with a provider who does.
4. Work With a shipping partner who gets your business
• Find a provider who understands the arts & crafts niche, not just "big-box" parcel delivery companies.
• Look for flexible, bespoke solutions — not cookie-cutter rates.
• Choose a partner who can offer:
- Competitive pricing
- Smooth customs handling
- Responsive, one-to-one service.
#Why work with SAMOS?
At SAMOS, we’re not just a shipping provider — we’re a profit margin protector. We help e-commerce businesses like yours get better rates, smoother deliveries, and happier customers by tailoring every part of the shipping journey to your business model.
We firmly believe that one size DOESN’T fit all – and that’s why hundreds of growing e-commerce businesses have already switched to us for help.
We offer:
- One-to-one, expert-led service
- Reliable, on-time global delivery with strong local partners
- Cost-effective returns to protect your brand and margins
- Transparent, flexible pricing built around your needs
#Ready to ship smarter?
Don’t get left behind the competition. Whether you’re shipping stamps, yarn, stickers, hand-made kits or something else entirely — we’ll help you build a shipping strategy that works for your business and your customers.
Contact SAMOS for a friendly chat and smarter shipping solutions that actually fit your business.
#Frequently asked qusetions about shipping arts, crafts, games and hobby items
1. Why does shipping cost more than the product I'm selling?
Shipping can exceed product value due to minimum parcel sizes, dimensional pricing, and a lack of bulk shipping discounts — especially for small, lightweight items like beads, pens, or DIY kits. For low-value arts, crafts and hobby products, this can result in disproportionate shipping-to-product cost ratios.
2. How can I reduce shipping costs for small, low-priced arts and crafts items?
To reduce shipping costs, use custom packaging, bundle items where possible and work with a shipping provider that understands the arts and crafts industry. E-commerce shipping specialists like SAMOS offer tailored solutions that reduce cost per item and protect profit margins.
3. What's the cheapest way to ship arts, crafts games and hobby materials internationally?
The cheapest way to ship arts, crafts and hobby items internationally is by:
• Using a provider that offers economy international shipping
• Consolidating shipments or using multi-packs
• Avoiding unnecessary packaging bulk
SAMOS helps with affordable tracked delivery, even for fragile and custom items.
Grab a coffee, let's chat about making your shipping simple. Pick a time that suits you. ☕️
View our shipping and return rates and start shipping with confidence. 📦
Still not convinced? See what our customers say. ✅
SAMOS – Turn your shipping headaches into growth. It all starts here. 🚀
