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I need advice on shipping for e-commerce

by snooder
16 replies
  • ECOMMERCE
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what's the best solution for shipping. How can I get the cheapest prices? what do i need to know? thanks
#advice #ecommerce #shipping
  • Profile picture of the author OnlineStoreHelp
    Originally Posted by snooder View Post

    what's the best solution for shipping. How can I get the cheapest prices? what do i need to know? thanks
    No one can answer you with such a vague question. What are you shipping? What does it weigh? How big is it? What is your volume? Where are you selling?

    Your other best bet is to get those numbers, call UPS, USPS, and Fedex and let them tell you how much it would cost to ship. Then compare. Or, look at fulfillment services and see if they can do it cheaper for you.
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    • Profile picture of the author khansaccounts
      You really give a good answer here. Really nobody can answer it
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    • Profile picture of the author snooder
      I have a cosmetic line. so the weigh is not that heavy. the volume is not that much, im sending out about 10 items a month. im in california and I just had a customer in canada leave my store because the price was to high $70.


      Originally Posted by OnlineStoreHelp View Post

      No one can answer you with such a vague question. What are you shipping? What does it weigh? How big is it? What is your volume? Where are you selling?

      Your other best bet is to get those numbers, call UPS, USPS, and Fedex and let them tell you how much it would cost to ship. Then compare. Or, look at fulfillment services and see if they can do it cheaper for you.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9019177].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author OnlineStoreHelp
        Originally Posted by snooder View Post

        I have a cosmetic line. so the weigh is not that heavy. the volume is not that much, im sending out about 10 items a month. im in california and I just had a customer in canada leave my store because the price was to high $70.
        I would be willing to bet you USPS will be your best bet, especially if you can send it in flat rate envelopes or small flat rate boxes. Also, don't neglect regional flat rate as it is even cheaper.

        $70 seems high for a Canadian shipment. Flat Rate to Canada runs $20 - $45 at the worst. First Class International to Canada is less than $20 so don't neglect this option as it can many times be cheaper then flat rate.

        Unfortunately you won't have the volume to generate great pricing from UPS and Fed Ex. At this time your volume is not going to be enough to justify a fulfillment service yet. Over time it might.

        Either buying online right from the USPS website or through your PayPal account should get you better pricing. I am also assuming you are using the "real time" shipping to calculate pricing. You might be better off just figuring out your "average" shipping cost and charge it as a flat rate to Canada. Will make your life easier.

        Hope others can pipe up with suggestions if I have missed anything or if I am wrong on anything.
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        • Profile picture of the author snooder
          Are you up for hire?


          Originally Posted by OnlineStoreHelp View Post

          I would be willing to bet you USPS will be your best bet, especially if you can send it in flat rate envelopes or small flat rate boxes. Also, don't neglect regional flat rate as it is even cheaper.

          $70 seems high for a Canadian shipment. Flat Rate to Canada runs $20 - $45 at the worst. First Class International to Canada is less than $20 so don't neglect this option as it can many times be cheaper then flat rate.

          Unfortunately you won't have the volume to generate great pricing from UPS and Fed Ex. At this time your volume is not going to be enough to justify a fulfillment service yet. Over time it might.

          Either buying online right from the USPS website or through your PayPal account should get you better pricing. I am also assuming you are using the "real time" shipping to calculate pricing. You might be better off just figuring out your "average" shipping cost and charge it as a flat rate to Canada. Will make your life easier.

          Hope others can pipe up with suggestions if I have missed anything or if I am wrong on anything.
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  • Profile picture of the author ronrule
    Originally Posted by snooder View Post

    what's the best solution for shipping. How can I get the cheapest prices? what do i need to know? thanks
    Unless you have a reason not to, I always let the customer choose. If your cart supports it you can integrate Intershipper (which will get a quote from UPS/FedEx/USPS/DHL) and you can display them all to your customer. Otherwise, if you're talking strictly price and you don't want to let the customer choose, USPS is almost always cheapest.
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  • Profile picture of the author LABEShops
    As others have said, it's hard to answer without more info. Personally, I prefer the USPS. They provide free boxes for priority and express mail, come daily to pick up from me, and I print all my postage online via paypal or stamps.com. Easy.
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  • Profile picture of the author kjamesnv
    If you are in the US and shipping to residential addresses USPS will almost always be cheapest unless your shipments are over 12-15 lbs.

    I almost never disagree with Ron Rule but this is an important reason not to offer multiple shipping carriers to the customer. UPS and Fedex will give big discounts but they are based on volume. If you ship mainly with either UPS or Fedex your volume will qualify for bigger discounts. If you offer both options the volume to both carriers carriers will be lower and thus lower discounts. Its usually better to pick 1 carrier for this reason.

    Remember that UPS (and to a lesser degree Fedex) love to nickle and dime you to death with extra fees- like $10 for a trivial address correction. Or fuel surcharges, pick up fees etc. USPS generally does not do this.

    Some important advantages of USPS:

    * they give free boxes for Priority Mail
    * free pickup.
    * Free Saturday delivery
    * Free PO Box delivery
    * Free address corrections
    * Very good prices for packages under 13 ounces.
    * No extra fees for residential addresses

    If you ship Priority Mail (small packages or letters) check out Express1. They offer nice discounts on Priority Mail and you can use them if you use certain shipping software like ShipWorks or ShipStation.
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    • Profile picture of the author snooder
      for my understanding shipworks is service where they ship in volume from different companies who can't afford volume shipping. is this correct?


      Originally Posted by kjamesnv View Post

      If you are in the US and shipping to residential addresses USPS will almost always be cheapest unless your shipments are over 12-15 lbs.

      I almost never disagree with Ron Rule but this is an important reason not to offer multiple shipping carriers to the customer. UPS and Fedex will give big discounts but they are based on volume. If you ship mainly with either UPS or Fedex your volume will qualify for bigger discounts. If you offer both options the volume to both carriers carriers will be lower and thus lower discounts. Its usually better to pick 1 carrier for this reason.

      Remember that UPS (and to a lesser degree Fedex) love to nickle and dime you to death with extra fees- like $10 for a trivial address correction. Or fuel surcharges, pick up fees etc. USPS generally does not do this.

      Some important advantages of USPS:

      * they give free boxes for Priority Mail
      * free pickup.
      * Free Saturday delivery
      * Free PO Box delivery
      * Free address corrections
      * Very good prices for packages under 13 ounces.
      * No extra fees for residential addresses

      If you ship Priority Mail (small packages or letters) check out Express1. They offer nice discounts on Priority Mail and you can use them if you use certain shipping software like ShipWorks or ShipStation.
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      • Profile picture of the author kjamesnv
        Originally Posted by snooder View Post

        for my understanding shipworks is service where they ship in volume from different companies who can't afford volume shipping. is this correct?
        No. ShipWorks is shipping software to handle printing labels and comparing rates on different carriers etc. It can import orders from many popular shopping carts and then export the tracking #. Once you start shipping more than 10 packages a day, software like this becomes invaluable.

        Express1 is a service that gives you volume pricing on Priority Mail packages even with low volume.
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        • Profile picture of the author Solid Commerce
          The info in this thread is correct -- what you're looking for is a software solution.

          Something like Endicia (label printing, rate comparison) or Express 1 (discounted shipping rates) can help you out when it comes to finding the solution that best suits you and your online selling situation.

          One of the things that's important to remembers is that there's rarely a catch-all solution. Different problems have different answers, so you'll want to make sure that you find something best suited to your specific needs.
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  • Profile picture of the author javarog
    I don't like shipping USPS outside of the states because once it crosses the border the postal service in that country is not required to scan tracking of the parcel so its normally not traceable unless they do scan it.. It took about 2 shipments to Europe and getting nailed both on charge backs and product before I made it a policy to ship Fedex or Ups..
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  • Profile picture of the author Erik9595
    I would suggest a Fulfilment House or Fulfilment Provider.

    JEM Marketing & Fulfilment Services Ltd. www.j-e-m.com

    A company I used to work for in the past used them and found them to be competitive in pricing. They were able to offer discounted pricing on mail services due to the large volumes of mail they send out daily. They were reliable, no hidden fees and do not require monthly order minimums. Another thing to note is their willingness to customise their services to your businesses needs and they also provide their services internationally.
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    • Profile picture of the author robertstephenl85
      I think here is no one who are able to answer your questions. But, you can contact with : Fedex. It will be best for you.
      Your cost will be depends on what kind of product you like to ship, what is the size, how much it's weight etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jimmy Chen
    You might want to try to negotiate with your local courier companies for a volume discount
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    • Profile picture of the author Solid Commerce
      Originally Posted by Jimmy Chen View Post

      You might want to try to negotiate with your local courier companies for a volume discount
      What Jimmy said. It's always important to remember to look around for shipping discounts.

      Rates are always changing, and your shipping situation will probably continue to change, as well.

      Look for discounts and such when you notice that your volumes increase, and things like that. A lot of customers of ours wind up saving a ton of money that they didn't realize they could be saving when they actually look into what kind of rate discounts they can access.
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