Stop Complaining About Shipping Costs – Here's Why

If you've been shopping with Tai Swim for a while, you know we take a lot of pride in every single aspect of our brand. From the luxury, sustainable materials we use to the small-batch production process, every detail is intentional. But one thing that consistently blows my mind is the amount of people who DM or email me to complain about our $9.98 shipping cost. So, let’s break this down once and for all because I need everyone to understand why shipping costs money and why you need to stop complaining about it.

Shipping Costs Money Because People Deserve to Get Paid

When you ask for free shipping, what you’re really asking is for postal workers, logistics coordinators, and packaging suppliers to work for free. That’s not how the world works. Unlike fast fashion brands that offer “free” shipping while underpaying workers and cutting corners on materials, we ensure that everyone involved in getting your order to you is fairly compensated. Your package doesn’t magically teleport from my hands to your doorstep. It goes through multiple steps, each requiring labor, materials, and infrastructure:

1. Order Processing – Your order is carefully packed using high-quality, sustainable materials that cost money to produce.

2. Shipping Insurance – We cover your order in case of damage or loss, so you don’t have to worry about it.

3. Carrier Handling – USPS, UPS, or FedEx workers transport your package through multiple facilities, ensuring it reaches you safely. Even short distances like Kailua to Ka'a'awa are complicated and your package gets passed through over a dozen hands before it arrives in your mailbox.

4. Final Delivery – A postal worker physically brings your order to your door, often navigating rough roads, extreme weather, or difficult locations (especially in Hawai'i).

If you expect all of this to be free, you’re essentially saying you don’t think these workers deserve fair wages.

$9.98 Shipping on a Luxury Bikini is Not a Big Deal

Our bikinis are handmade, small-batch, and designed to last. Some pieces cost up to $200, and yet people will still complain about paying $9.98 for shipping – which is less than 5% of the cost of the item. If you’re willing to invest in a luxury, sustainable bikini, you should understand that quality shipping is part of that investment.

Compare this to massive fast fashion brands that ship for “free” – but at what cost? They exploit labor, cut corners on materials, and pack items in the cheapest plastic possible. Meanwhile, we ship your order in sustainable, protective packaging that ensures your bikini arrives in perfect condition.

Proof Is in the Pudding: Postal Workers Deserve Better

If you think shipping costs should be free, just look at what's happening globally. Postal workers have been striking for better wages and working conditions—remember the massive Canada Post strike during Black Friday? They weren’t just asking for more money; they were fighting against unfair labor practices, understaffing, and increasing demand with little support. Shipping isn’t some invisible process—it’s real people handling real packages, and they deserve to be paid fairly. If anything, shipping costs are only going to keep rising as the industry reckons with these issues. Demanding free shipping is just ignoring reality.

Hawai'i Shipping is Not the Same as Contiguous USA Shipping

If you live in Hawai'i, you should know that shipping here is a different game entirely. Even if a package is traveling a short distance, like from East Oahu to the North Shore, it still goes through multiple hands and processing centers before reaching you. Now imagine shipping from Hawaii to New York, Japan, or Europe – it takes time, effort, and resources.

And let’s not forget rural areas. Some locations in Hawai'i are so remote that USPS literally can’t deliver there because the roads are unimproved. So yes, sometimes shipping is more expensive or takes longer, but that’s because logistics in Hawai'i are just harder than they are in the contiguous USA. Yet we still offer the same affordable prices.

The Reality of Returns & Packaging Waste

People who complain about shipping often don’t realize how much effort we put into making sure your order arrives in perfect condition. Every package is carefully wrapped, placed in a protective poly bag, and sealed to prevent damage. Yet, when customers send back returns, they often don’t show the same level of care.

I’ve had returns come back in completely empty boxes with the bikinis just floating around, no original packaging, and no protection. When that happens, the item gets damaged, and I can’t resell it. The irony? The same people who demand free shipping are often the ones who treat their return packages like trash, causing even more unnecessary loss.

Fast fashion has completely warped people’s expectations. You need to realize that free shipping isn’t actually free—someone is always paying for it, whether it’s underpaid workers, cut corners in materials, or low environmental standards. It’s wild that people will spend $200 on a bikini but lose their minds over $9.98 shipping, which actually goes toward making sure their order arrives safely. Like, do they think postal workers should just deliver their packages for free out of the kindness of their hearts? Small brands just can’t operate like Shein or Amazon, and honestly, we shouldn’t have to. Small businesses try so hard to do things the right way—high quality, fair wages, sustainable materials—but people have been conditioned to expect instant gratification for nothing. It’s frustrating, immoral, and needs to stop.

No, You Can’t Pick Up Your Order From our Shipping Facility

This one should be obvious, but I still get emails like, “I don’t want to pay for shipping – can I just pick it up from where you ship it?” Absolutely not. I don’t have a retail store, and asking to come to my office is incredibly inappropriate and invasive. If you wouldn’t ask a bigger brand like Lululemon or Chanel if you could “just swing by” their warehouse to grab your order, don’t ask us either.

Final Thoughts: Shipping Costs Are Fair – And Necessary

At the end of the day, the $9.98 shipping charge isn’t about making extra money – it’s about covering the actual cost of getting your order to you safely and ethically. It ensures that postal workers, packaging manufacturers, and logistics teams are fairly paid. It guarantees that your order is packed with care, insured, and protected.

So if you’re someone who still complains about shipping, maybe consider this: If you can afford a luxury bikini, you can afford $9.98 to make sure it gets to you the right way.

Let’s all appreciate the work that goes into every package and stop acting like shipping should be free. It’s not, and it never will be – at least not at a brand like Tai Swim, where quality, sustainability, and ethical business practices actually matter.