SHIPPING CHARGES: CREATE HIGH-PROFIT, LOW- COST SHIPPING OPTIONS

            

             When setting shipping options, I generally have three: one price for domestic shipping, one for shipping to Canada, and a separate one for all other countries; shipping to Canada is much cheaper than to any other country, even Mexico.  You should always check how much the actual shipping cost will be and should ship by the cheapest method to maintain a higher profit margin.  For almost all shipments the United States Postal Service (USPS) provides the cheapest price.  You can check online for rate estimates (http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm). 

 


All shipping options.  Choose the lowest costs shipping rates and pad your prices to protect your profit margin. Add optional insurance. 

 

A few tricks to remember for shipping:

  • Anything under 13 ounces can be shipped First Class, which is usually the fastest and cheapest rate for these items.

  • Use Media Mail – this shipment service is for all media-related items, including books, CD’s, DVD’s, any printed materials, computer software, maps, any really any other type of media; it is very cheap per pound.  If you can’t get these types of items shipped First Class, ship them Media Mail.  Any item over 7 ounces that qualifies for First Class mail will be cheaper if shipped via Media Mail instead.

  • Don’t pay for packaging: you can get boxes and packing materials for free. Sam’s Club regularly maintains a store of boxes for its members.  Additionally, you can probably find some around your house or save them when you receive items in the mail.  Also, newspaper can be one of the most effective packing materials.  The only thing you definitely need to pay for is packing tape.

  • There are many websites you can go to for free return address labels.  The following sites will send you some with no donation required: http://www.nfcr.org/ShopforaCure/FreeMailingLabels/tabid/135/Default.aspx , http://www.cff.org/GetInvolved/MailingLabels/ , http://www.aktalakota.org/custom/forms/index.cfm?action=newsletter .

  • Again, stick with the lowest shipping prices.  If the item is over 13 ounces and you can’t send it via Media Mail, you will need to send it via Parcel Post.  The postal employees might try to talk you out of it, but don’t let them.  It may not be much money difference per shipment, but it will add up and hurt your bottom line.

  • Offer optional insurance on packages.  It will relieve you of any legal liability if an item is damaged in shipment.  The insurance doesn’t need to be mandatory; there is an option you can select on the item listing page to add this. Add it for both domestic and international shipments.  An appropriate price for most domestic shipments will be$4.00 and $5.00 for international shipments.  All of the insurance claims that I have had to make were quick and hassle free; you can usually do it online.
    http://www.usps.com/all/insuranceandextraservices/welcome.htm - USPS official site explaining domestic & international insurance purchase, coverage, and claims process.

  • Keep all of your postal receipts.  You can offer tracking numbers, but your receipt might also be useful in proving you shipped an item.  A buyer once vigorously accused me of not shipping an item, but once I showed him the receipt, he acknowledged that he had made a mistake.  The item later showed up.


USPS rate estimates for a 3lb package being shipped across the country.  Notice how online prices are sometimes lower than in-store prices.   Shipping charges can be padded to increase profit and compensate for intangible handling expenses.

 

 

 

 

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