Shipping can be one of the largest costs for small businesses. Whether you are selling products online or shipping items directly to customers, the cheaper the shipping rates you find, themore profitable you will be and the happier your customers. At ShipShip we know that as a small business efficient and cost-effective shipping matters which is why we have put together what helps saving you time and money.

Why is cheap shipping so important for small businesses

While it may often feel like a logistical necessity, shipping is every bit as much an important aspect of customer satisfaction and retention as it is the process that gets their goods in a timely manner. In the world of e-commerce, consumers want shipping that is cheap and fast. The point is, as a small business owner you can differentiate yourself from the competition and improve the customer experience by giving them competitive shipping options. However, it can be difficult to keep shipping costs down without taking on a big risk of lower-quality items.

This is where being able to cut costs on shipping rates is important. Get the most from your shipping by streamlining this process and looking to partner with excellent service providers, giving you a bit of extra cash which can then be funneled back into your business.

How to Get the Best Shipping Rates

Shipping Carriers to check The most easy way is by comparing your current in-place carrier. All of the carriers have their own pricing model, but each carrier relies on the size, weight, destination and speed to ship your package. While there are the big carriers such as UPS, FedEx and DHL whom can offer an array of services covering various price points, smaller regional carriers or postal services may also be able to package up cheaper options especially for local deliveries.

Enter ShipShop, a platform that gives you options from multiple carriers with discounted rates so you can find the best deals for every package.

Optimize Your Packaging The small business can reduce shipping costs by optimizing packaging. Many shipping rates are calculated on the size and weight of your package, so using the proper box/pricing out an express box or envelope instead of just throwing it into a bigger one, less unnecessary packaging materials may help make a difference in cost. They may also charge less for smaller, or flat-rate packages that could help you save.

If you are shipping heavy packages over long distances, there are some carriers will offer a cheaper shipping rate for flat-rate shipping options. This service lets you mail items for a set rate no matter how heavy they are, as long as they can fit into a nondescript sized box. Frequently, flat-rate shipping is a lifesaver for small business owners, as they need to know how much shipping is going to cost them so they can pass those numbers along in their pricing.

Factoring in Shipping Zones The rates you charge to send a product across the country can be quite different. This feature allows you to put in a cheaper shipping charge for shipping some regions than others (e.g a nearby zone;s shipping rate would be cheaper than one;nearby). If your business ships mostly locally, partnering with a regional carrier may get you lower rates. You could also offer a faster delivery service on selected products in your current shipping zone to entice customers to order from within the local area, free or discounted local delivery.

You can use ShipShop to manage and keep track of your shipping zones, thus enabling you to make educated decisions and mitigate costs where applicable.

Small business shippers, remember that many shipping carriers will negotiate on rates (especially with high volume) Volume, frequency and other factors can affect discounts carriers offer. Small businesses may not have the leverage to work out as great of a deal with a carrier, but they can certainly get competitive rates using third-party logistic providers like ShipShop.

Our collective team has years of experience assisting small businesses in the process to ensure they are negotiating competitive rates with top carriers, so will know the best value for you.

An automated shipping process = Time is money, and you save time with this one. ShipShop is a powerful, but simple to use tool that connects directly with your e-commerce store so you can automate order fulfillment and label printing and tracking. This decreases possible mistakes in manual data entry and allows you to compare all shipping carriers to determine the best price/performance match for every order.

Once more, this is freeing up a lot of human hours to invest in scaling your business and at the same time always getting you access to the lowest shipping rates possible.

Why ShipShop for Small Businesses shipping?

At ShipShop, we strive to make shipping more efficient and cost-friendly for small businesses. We built our platform to help alleviate some of the burden that comes with shipping, and equipped you with tools & resources to:

Live Shipping Rate Comparison: Compare shipping rates (even FBA) for every order, instantly.

View Shipments: Keep an eye on the status of all shipments within one page, ensuring that you always know where your goods are and can keep your customers updated.

Task Automations: For example task automations to ease bottleneck in repetitive works like same label creations, order tracking and various carrier selection.

Higher Shipping Rates — Use our vast network of carrier contracts to get your business better shipping rates.

We know that shipping for small business can be complicated and costly, but its doesn’t have to be. Through ShipShop, you have access to the lowest shipping rates available, making your shipping process simpler and better for your customer — all while driving increased profit.

Shipping is very important for any small businesses but you can always find ways to ship things in a budget-friendly way. From pairing carriers, to packaging perfection, flat rate offerings and negotiated rates — here is how small business owners can find the best price possible on shipping. Thanks to ShipShop, small businesses are offered innovative tools and the know-how necessary to go toe-to-toe with big companies in the marketplace.