Also, as a side question, is there an easy way to enter shipping costs when I ship items out to customers?

You do not have to do any calculations at all to add inbound shipping to item cost, enter the qty and enter the total cost in the total cost […]

Resolution for 'buying product issue: 'Do you include shipping as part of the cost of buying product, or does it count as an expense?' available: Yes.

The buying product issue or error code is a known issue in Quickbooks Online (QBO) and/or Quickbooks. Support for this issue is available either by self-service or paid support options. Experts are available to resolve your Quickbooks issue to ensure minimal downtime and continue running your business. First try to resolve the buying product issue yourself by looking for a resolution described in the article. If it is a complex buying product issue or you are unable to solve the issue, you may contact us by clicking here or by using other buying product support options.

For more information about resolving issues related to buying product in Quickbooks/QBO or to get support for the issue 'Do you include shipping as part of the cost of buying product, or does it count as an expense?', click the link below: