If you have the kind of business that ships out a lot of product on a regular basis, then you’re already aware of the fact that shipping costs can get to be pretty expensive. The good news is that there are certain things you can do that will help you save money on how much you pay sending items to your customers.
If you’re interested in knowing what some of those methods are, here are five proven ways that you can save money on shipping expenses for your business:
Use a postage meter. A huge mistake that a lot of business owners make is deciding that it would be better to guess the weight of their packages rather than actually weighing them with the help of a postage meter. However, the reality is that by investing in a postage meter and using it for each package, it can ultimately save you as much as 20 percent on your annual shipping costs. Stamps and Office World are two websites that carry them at a reasonable price.
Use light packing material. Although it’s important that you package your products in such a way that they don’t arrive damaged, that doesn’t mean you have to use heavy materials in order to do it. Styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, and even crumpled up newspaper and magazines can protect your items without weighing them down. Also, remember that when packages come to you with these materials inside, you can easily recycle them.
Use free shipping supplies. Pretty much every major shipping company from USPS to FedEx offers free shipping supplies. Therefore, make sure that you take advantage of what they have to offer. Not only will it save you some extra dollars, but by using their supplies, you can also be confident that your products will arrive safe and sound to your customers.
Use a flat rate. Say that you happen to have a package that is heavy or needs to travel a long distance. If that is the case, you may want to consider using USPS priority shipping. This feature has a flat rate that you can use for both domestic as well as international shipments. Another awesome thing about priority shipping is that you can go online, order it, and have it shipped to you free of charge. For more information on USPS Priority Mail, visit USPS.com.
Use an account representative. If you were to consult with someone who works for a shipping company like Shipper’s Supplies about something else that you can do that will help reduce shipping costs, one thing that they might recommend is that you ask for an account representative to assist you. These are individuals who are skilled in how to match the fees and shipments that your business requires so that you can ultimately receive better incentives and rates.
As you can see, there are several ways to keep your shipping costs down. It’s all a matter of speaking directly with a customer sales associate at each shipping company and doing some additional online research. If you’re interested in doing more shipping from home and you’d like some tips on how to do that, visit Entrepreneur and put “how to ship items from home” in the search field.