A NOTE ON OUR FLAT RATE SHIPPING POLICY

and why it works well and is fair even if it doesn't appear to provide a perfect fit on all orders

Experimental Musical Instruments charges a flat shipping & handling charge on all orders -- in other words, customers pay a standard shipping charge, regardless of the size of the order. For most orders, the shipping charge you pay either turns out to be pretty close to the actual postage that we pay, or else the charge turns out to be less than the postal cost -- sometimes far less -- so the customer comes out ahead.

Our flat rate shipping policy serves the same purpose as the minimum order policy that most other mail order companies have. It ensures that we can fill small orders without losing money on them, yet without having to jack up the prices on our less expensive items to cover the processing costs. At the same time, the flat rate serves as a discount on larger orders (where, in effect, we subsidize the higher postage costs), allowing everyone concerned to benefit from the economic efficiency of large orders.

The other advantage of flat rate shipping is it's so simple -- a great benefit, particularly in online ordering where the potential for mix-ups of one sort or another is always a concern.