Saving Money on Shipping - Tips For Small Businesses
Small business owners know more than most that every pound counts, and if you’re not careful, shipping costs can quietly eat away at your margins.
To compete with e-commerce giants, it’s essential to find the root cause of customer complaints. Luckily, ParcelBroker’s guide to saving money on shipping is here to help!
We’ll cover tips on how a parcel broker can actually beat your direct deals, how to pack properly (and cheaply), the importance of honest measurements, and how to price postage so you’re not scaring off customers.
1. Use a parcel broker
Many online retailers assume that the best price for shipping comes from booking directly.
It’s a familiar story, spending hours setting up accounts with companies like FedEx and DHL in the hopes of scoring cheap delivery, only to end up out of pocket when the shipping prices you implement on your eCommerce site turn out to be lower than what you pay your shipping company at the end of the month.
By networking with a company which holds strong sway with the big logistics firms, you can expect to pay less for your deliveries than you would with your direct account – it sounds like it defies logic, but that’s the state of play here.
2. Right‑size and protect your parcels
Packaging is one of the most overlooked steps in shipping. Taking that extra bit of care to make sure your items are packaged properly will save you the hassle of returns and angry customers if your items arrive damaged.
Select the right packaging; avoid trying to save money by sending items in boxes that are too small or without adequate internal packaging, such as bubble wrap. A good rule of thumb is to use a new box with a couple of inches of cushioning.
3. Measure and declare accurately to avoid surcharges
Entering incorrect dimensions and weights into a booking system can result in unwanted surcharges and increased shipping costs.
Sometimes, taking that extra bit of care to measure your items properly can save you quite a bit of money, especially if a better service could have been offered for the correct dimensions/weight.
Your parcel will more than likely be measured using lasers by the carrier after they have collected it.
4. Price shipping smartly at checkout
If you don’t charge enough, you may well lose money, but if you charge too much, your customers will resent that.
Breaking even may be the best way for you to keep a good relationship with customers. Increasing shipping charges to make a little extra profit might sound like a good idea at first, but in the long run, it can damage your reputation.
Keep shipping costs contained and build a strong, loyal customer base.
5. Avoid single‑carrier lock‑in
So, you stick with one carrier; however, a year later, they increase their rate, and another carrier offers you slightly better prices. To change your process, retrain your staff, and work on integration again makes poor commercial sense. What if their service isn’t as good as the existing provider, and you have to change back?
You become deeply dependent on one carrier and lose flexibility, fluidity and buying power. Small businesses will find it challenging to obtain competitive shipping rates by contacting carriers directly.
Your best bet is to use a parcel broker, ensuring you benefit from discounted, aggregated rates and let them do the hard work, dealing directly to get the best deal.
6. Make returns simple but controlled
Returns can become complicated and costly for small business owners. While you may think you have clear rules for returns, there are some common mistakes some businesses have made that have soon cost them an arm and a leg.
It may sound simple, but if you’re seeing a high number of returns due to damaged items, you may want to look at the way you are packaging your items and adjust that to reduce the number of replacements you need to send.
You could consider including a returns label in the parcel, or offer an easy way to print one from your site. Also, be sure to credit the person back for what they are owed promptly once you receive the return.
Be sure to clearly state your return policy so that customers understand who will be responsible for the return shipping fee if something goes wrong.
Compare shipping costs today with ParcelBroker!
Instead of wasting money due to mis-sized boxes and single-carrier lock-ins, why not hand the heavy lifting to a broker? We ship thousands of parcels a week, consolidating that volume to negotiate rates up to 60% below published tariffs.
Our system checks multiple carriers in one go, so you can win back the time you’d otherwise spend shopping around. When it’s time to focus on promotions that grow your business, switch your next booking to ParcelBroker and see what you save.