There are almost 30 million small businesses in the United States and many of those businesses are online.
If your business has an online component, you probably ship a lot of things to customers all over the place!
When you’re constantly shipping items, you need to know how you can cut some of the cost. After all, it adds up pretty fast when you are doing it consistently.
If you are interested in saving money on shipping, you need to keep reading and learn some of the tips that will help you with your small business.
Table of Contents
Saving Money on Shipping: You Can Spend Less
You need to get your product to your customer, so how can you do it without spending as much as you are now?
Truthfully, there are things you can do to decrease the cost that you didn’t think about!
Weigh Your Packages More Carefully
Unless you have flat-rate shipping, you don’t want to ship heavy packages. They cost more.
If you are printing your labels and shipping from home or your small business, you may want to get a postage scale to be able to predict how much it costs to ship different things.
You also want to think about the dimensions of the box or package when you try to calculate the cost to ship. It can change the overall price just like the weight.
Use the right size box for the right size item. For instance, don’t use a bigger box for a small item just because it might be more convenient.
Get Third Party Insurance
One thing that can help people save costs is to cut out their shipping insurance. You probably don’t want to do this, however, because insurance is actually very helpful for people who ship items.
You never know what might go wrong, especially if you are shipping a bulk item or something expensive!
Third-party insurers are generally going to be cheaper than getting a package through the shipping carrier and it may be more logical to go this route.
Check Out the Marketplace Offers
It could be helpful to see if the platform your store is powered on offers a bulk discount for shipping or a similar type of program.
In some cases, the e-commerce marketplace platform may be able to offer carrier rates, shipping apps, or fulfillment software.
Discount Shipping
Many of the shipping companies have discounts for shipping based on how much you ship. If you ship a lot within a month, you might be eligible to save some money.
Any place that you can save money is worth looking into and if you ship with the same company often, you should probably see if they want to help out.
You may even be able to negotiate with the shipping carrier if you have loyalty and have been with them for a while, so it is worth a try!
Pre-paid Shipping Options
Some of the pre-paid shipping options from major carriers can save you up to 20% on shipping costs.
This works by buying a specific amount of shipping labels at one time. You don’t even have to use them until you need them, but just buying them upfront to show you will eventually use them is what gets you the discount.
You save money, but you also save time by not having to buy shipping labels again for a while! Of course, you have to know the weight and dimensions of the box before you can do this.
Discounts on Your Supplies
Many of the major shipping companies will give small business discounted rates on the supplies you need for shipping, like certain boxes or packing supplies.
When you think about it, buying your own packing supplies without any type of discount can really add up. If you ship often, you need to save money in this area if possible.
You have the ability to purchase your packing supplies in bulk to save some money. Although you have to pay more initially, you will pay less overall.
Hybrid Shipping Services
There are some options that will help you with your shipping in two ways. A service will pick up your order and work with other carriers that will then transport the packages to the sorting location.
For example, consider looking into Unishippers as a great option for freight deliveries if your small business needs that service.
After this, it will be shipped to the residential area for the end of the delivery stretch. This may cut costs by a lot, but it can take a little bit longer.
Decrease How Far You Ship
A lot of the higher prices you might pay are because of the shipping zones and their associated costs. Consider only shipping to a certain area that is closer by and more convenient.
Use Poly Mailers
Poly mailers are better than boxes if you are trying to save money. If you sell small items that are not going to break easily, you can easily ship them in a poly bag or even a mailer envelope instead!
They take up less space in a delivery truck, use less packing supplies, and will be smaller dimensionally – all of these things save you money.
You can also get different sized poly mailers if you have different sized objects that are going to ship well without extra protection.
Save Money on Small Business Shipping Now
If you want to start saving money on shipping, you need to take advantage of all of the opportunities that are available! A lot of business owners don’t even know they are paying too much for things that could cost a lot less.
Learn a bit more about ways to save money as a small business by exploring our website.
