Materials fee

There is a fee I apply to orders based on their weight in order to cover the costs of the boxes and padded envelopes used to ship orders with. With small (light) orders there are times that my actual cost is blow what I charge while other times the materials fee may only cover a fraction of my cost. It was too difficult and time-comsuming to try to calculate every orders' material cost, so I let them average out.

What about stores that only charge actual postage cost?
Very few of those stores have no order minimum. In some cases you must spend at least $20.00 and as much as $100.00 to place an order with them. When you only want one or two items you either can't shop there or agree to pay an extra fee to bypass their minimum.
Also, those stores factor shipping prices into their items. If you only buy a few items the store may lose a little money, but if you buy a large quantity of items you are likely paying more for the shipping that you would if you could see the item cost and shipping cost seperately.
A few free-shipping stores will not include sets as part of the free shipping. If you buy a set from me the materials fee will just be based on the packed weight, even if it takes an expensive box to ship it safely in. New boxed sets will usually be less expensive to ship without their boxes. You may request this or I will usually offer it during the invoice.

Why do orders outside the USA cost more?
Three reasons: First, I have to fill out customs forms for international orders which means they take more time to process. Second, I have to drive these to my local post office as I can't simply apply postage and hand them to my letter carrier. Third, Paypal charges me an extra 1% of the order total only because the buyer is in a different country.

Bricklink says my order weighs just under a pound. Why am I paying the over-1-pound materials fee?
The materials fee and shipping cost are based on the actual weight of the order once packed. I pack and ship things for a living (Lego is my hobby and not a source of income) so I know how to pack as light as possible that will still protect the contents.