Most folks asking this have not realised that I am in a different country to them. Please double check my location: I am in the UK, so if you are not, this means items have to get to you via airmail. Airmail is based on weight and quite costly compared to land shipping; I choose the best balance of cost and speed for most customers. The shipping charge includes, packaging, postage, any fees I am charged on the transaction, my time and fuel to get to the post office or courier. Many listings also include an optional upgrade with tracking, or courier services.

Please check my other shop policies- but the short answer is no, as I make small numbers and one-offs, like many Etsy sellers. I can sometimes offer a small discount on grouped orders (3-7 items usually) of very similar things, and will always refund any excess combined shipping if it is significantly over the actual cost.

I live in the first world (the UK) and make custom items in small numbers. The price has to cover my time, costs and skill as well as the fabric as I try to pay my bills this way. Large textile factories use cheap labour to make very large numbers of the same item, which means they can charge much less. But then they will not be able to make single custom items for you.
If you are looking for something standard, there are commercial resellers of these items. For larger cheaper batches see the wholesalers within Etsy (new feature). If you are interested in whether your items are made by a fairly paid workforce, buy Fairtrade, or checkout the many websites which discuss this issue.

Please check the processing time on the listing you bought, and the shipping tab for typical shipping times. Postal services have been particularly variable in the USA in the last 2 years and small or large parcels can be very fast, or take over 5 weeks to arrive. I have no control of this, sorry. If the time of arrival matters or the item is over about $30 I recommend you upgrade to tracked and insured shipping so at least we have some way to get USPS to look for the parcel.

So far, no US parcel of mine has been completely lost but a very small number have got stuck or lost in customs or been sent on to random 3rd countries before eventually turning up. Please be patient and chase USPS.

Yes - please see my privacy policy for more details. I do not store Etsy customer details outside Etsy unless some problem or question causes a need to do so, such as adjusting an order and sending you a Paypal invoice for extra services/items we agree to add. I do not create a database of customers separately nor produce marketing bulletins/newsletters currently. Any updates you get should be within Etsy and you can turn those on/off by accessing your settings here.