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Shipping Rates: Tips to Help You Save Dollars on Every Shipment

Shipping rates are on an incline due to rising fuel costs, inflation, and a number of other factors. Whether you ship one or one hundred packages a day, shipping costs can directly affect your company's bottom line. High shipping rates can even cause you to lose profits if you're not careful. These tips can help you save dollars on shipping so you can expand your business to reach customers around the U.S. or even around the world affordably.

Product Inventory and Packaging

Saving on shipping rates begins in your own warehouse. Keep sufficient inventory of your products to ensure that your most popular items are on hand at all times. Proper inventory is important because when your customers order multiple items, they expect to receive those items all at once. When you have to split an order into two shipments because of back ordering, your shipping costs increase dramatically because you are now paying for two separate packages instead of one. You may also lose any quantity discounts by splitting up the shipments.

How you package items can also affect your shipping costs. Use lightweight packaging supplies when possible. For smaller items, you might be able to use a padded envelope instead of a box.

For fragile items, use lightweight protective materials such as Styrofoam or plastic fillers to secure the item from all sides. When packing multiple fragile items into one box, wrap each item individually to avoid damage. For heavy or large cargo, follow the shipping company’s recommended procedures for packaging on pallets to save on shipping and to properly secure your products.

Compare Shipping Rates among Carriers

Check with a number of carriers to compare shipping rates before choosing a service. Ask about base shipping rates, discounts for regular customers, and procedures on domestic and international shipping. Also ask about refund policies for late deliveries and insurance coverage for damaged goods.

Shipping rates vary from one company to the next, and are also affected by the weight and size of your product, method of delivery, and other factors. For shipping small items or items that weight below 100 pounds, compare your local postal service (USPS) with other nearby parcel companies including UPS, FedEx, DSL, etc. These companies are usually all dependable, but do vary in their shipping rates.

Adequate Records and Tracking

Another way to save on shipping is to keep adequate records for every product that is shipped, and to track your products on a regular basis. Document what was shipped, to whom it was shipped, the shipping rate, expected delivery date, and the actual delivery date once it has been delivered. This enables you to keep track of all packages at all times and to ensure that you’re not losing money on shipping.

*Hint: You can use shipping management software to easily keep these records and possibly incorporate the software into your current product/customer database.

Understand the True Costs of Shipping

Shipping rates alone should not be used to determine your true costs. There are many other costs involved in shipping. Packaging supplies such as boxes, inserts, fillers, shipping tape, and handling labor all affect your shipping costs. Factor these into the shipping rates you charge your customers when they purchase a product.

Other Savings Tips

There are other ways to save on shipping as well. You can save time and money on handling and packaging by using a drop shipping company to do your shipments for you. The drop shipping company will maintain the inventory and ship the products while you only take in the orders.

You can avoid high shipping rates by using the least costly option for shipments. Avoid overnight or Express shipping unless your customer requests this type of shipment and is willing to pay extra.

Also, once you have formed a relationship with a shipping firm, you might be able to renegotiate shipping rates. Let them know that you are comparison shopping on rates, but that you would prefer to continue using their service.

Don't allow high shipping rates to hinder your business. Start taking these steps today to realize tremendous savings on shipping.

Author: Candice Pardue

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