Researching Shipping Costs and Packing Materials
While setting shipping rates may not be the most interesting part of your online business, doing proper research will save you down the line in terms of costly mistakes or losing potential customers.
You’ll want to research various options to figure out the most efficient way of getting your amazing products to your customers in a timely manner. Charge too little, and you could actually lose money if it ends up costing you more to ship the package. Charge too much, and you run the risk of losing customers if they aren’t willing to pay the high shipping fee.
Here are a few things to take into consideration when researching shipping rates:
- How much do your packages weigh?
- Where are you shipping most of your orders? Are you shipping internationally?
- How fast do you want your products to arrive?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll need to make sure that your shipping provider can adequately provide the kind of service you need.
Researching Shipping Costs
The easiest way to figure out your shipping costs is to research flat rate boxes. If your items are consistently a certain weight and size, then this is an easy and cost effective option. You’ll always know how much it’ll cost to ship your items if they all fit into the same box.
Another way to research shipping rates is to package up some of your products as you would if you were sending them to a customer. You can then weigh these packages and get quotes from different shipping services to see which will be your best option. This will give you an accurate estimate of how much shipping will cost each time. One great tool for estimating shipping is the USPS shipping calculator.
Packing Materials
For packing supplies and materials, you don’t have to spend a fortune to make it look great! Make sure to shop around as you can get better deals when buying in bulk and this is a great place to be smart about your costs. You should also think about ensuring your breakable products arrive safely, so be sure to look into different materials and even test them out. A couple places to look are Uline and eBay which both have large selections from which you can purchase bulk quantities.
