If we could just wave a magic wand and send our products to their destinations, life would be much better. There would be no worrying about shipping prices, things getting caught at customs and having to pay extra for those troubles, or being concerned about shipping costs eating into your profits. Unfortunately, that magic wand doesn’t exist, but these tips from RepricerExpress about Amazon shipping do. Read on to learn how you can save money on shipping.
See Where You Can Streamline the Shipping Process
There are two basic ways of shipping: using a postal service, or a dedicated shipping service (e.g. FedEx, UPS, etc.). Each has its own benefits: postal services deliver to every address just about every day, while shipping services are incredibly efficient at moving parcels from Point A to Point B.
However, what not every merchant knows is there’s actually a way to “combine” the two and get the best of both worlds. It’s called a hybrid service where postal services team up with shippers to form a sort of superpower. The shippers – SurePost and FedEx SmartPost – take things across multiple zones to expedite the process, and then drop them off at post offices. From there, the local mail deliverer will take the item you shipped and deliver it to your buyer.
But the best part? You get to save money by going with a postal consolidator, which will offer you a really competitive price, more so than just using the post office.
Get as Many Package Details as Possible
If you’re just mailing a letter within your country, then all you have to do is buy a postage stamp and send that letter on its way. It’s really easy, and you never have to worry about paying postage by the word.
It doesn’t work that way for packages, and you have to really know the dimensions of your packages, as well as the weight. But don’t make the mistake of just looking at weight alone, for that will get you into a lot of trouble.
It’s a good thing to know the weight of the item and factor that into shipping, don’t get us wrong, but you also have to be looking at what kind of box it will fit into as well. Dimensional weight is where you can get screwed big time because your packages will be based on density: a package that’s big enough or lightweight enough can really spike your shipping costs. The rules for calculating this are pretty complicated, but available on postal service websites so you can read up about it before you put that item into a box:
Pack Your Items as Efficiently as Possible
Back in my university days, I hired a mover when I was leaving my campus home for one off-campus. When the movers arrived, it was nothing short of a nightmare: they wrapped everything, including the sofa cushions. If it wasn’t such a horrendous experience — they were wasting time to rack up the charges — it would be almost comical. There’s absolutely no reason to be wrapping sofa cushions, and it underscores this tip you can use to save on shipping costs.
When you’re sending off packages, think carefully about the amount of packing materials you’re using. Is it really necessary to wrap a book in air pillows, bubble wrap, paper and Styrofoam peanuts? Or can you probably do with just one packing material for wrapping and protecting and one for stuffing?
Eliminate Shipping Costs on Your Shipping Supplies
You already pay more than enough on shipping costs and materials to send your items to your buyers, so why add to that? There’s no getting around paying for shipping materials — unless you use Fulfillment by Amazon — but there is a way of getting around paying more than you should.
If you’re ordering shipping and packing materials, it may be tempting to go with an online supplier that sells products at a really low price. But once you factor in how much it costs to order those cheaper materials and how much it costs to ship them, it may not be that good of a deal. Instead, try heading down to a big box store in your area where you can get what you need for a lower price. And when you buy in bulk, watch your savings increase even more.
Final Thoughts
RepricerExpress is always concerned with finding ways where you can save money and increase your profit margin. One way that may not immediately come to mind is repricing — by strategically repricing your products, you’ll draw in more buyers, adding more to your bottom line. Try our repricing software today, and kick things off with a 15-day free trial.
