Top 3 Tips For Trimming Your Shipping Costs
by Leeia Ladipoh on December 28th, 2007
If you are running a business selling products online, you are aware that shipping costs can make a large dent in your bottom line.
In this article, we will look at some ways in which you can trim your shipping costs and make your business a lot more profitable.
* Save A Penny, Save A Pound. Remember that shipping is not all about the carrier, the postage, or even the weight. If you are selling a lot of items, then odds are you are spending a lot of money each year on smaller, unnoticed items such as packaging materials.
Look for ways in which you can reduce the costs of these materials, including tape, Styrofoam, and labels. Buying wholesale or bulk is a great start; and of course, you can always go directly to the source through a shipping materials website.
* Use The Right Box Sizes! If you sell a large variety of products in terms of size, then make sure that you understand that size does matter in terms of shipping costs. There are a wide range of box and envelope sizes out there, and the U.S. postal service provides many of them for free.
Using the right size box or envelope will mean less cost for individual items shipped. It will also mean using a lot less of the smaller materials that add up, discussed in point number one!
* Shop Around For A Carrier. Of course, the biggest expense you will incur when it comes to shipping will be in the carrier services you use. You should undergo an analysis of your carrier’s costs every month and compare them to what the competition is offering.
There are plenty of options when it comes to delivering your packages, from shared loads to bus lines and of course the good old postal service. The most cost efficient means will depend on how many packages you want to send, and how much they will weigh.
Remember that it might work out much cheaper, per package, to send a bunch out at once, even though the total price itself may seem shockingly high. Take the time to do the math!
Shipping costs are a critical concern for any business that sells products to a diverse marketplace. Make sure that you invest the time needed in order to ensure you are keeping this costly part of your business as inexpensive as possible.