10 Brilliant Ways to Save on Business Shipping Costs

You’re a business owner and want to make sure you’re shipping methods are as cost effective as possible. Below are a few ways to rethink your business’ shipping program:

• 1)Reuse and Recycle Boxes: When vendors send you boxes, save and reuse them for your own customers and shipping needs.
• 2)Purchase Your Shipping Labels Online: Buying your labels online and printing them in-house is a significant way to save on shipping. Most shipping providers allow you to schedule a pick up location, thus saving you time and money on package drop off.
• 3)Use USPS: USPS is usually significantly cheaper than other methods of shipping. Not only are they cheaper, but they have the best rate of packages arriving on time versus FedEx and UPS. With the added capability of shipping every day, USPS is a business owner’s best friend.
• 4)Negotiate: Call your desired shipping provider and negotiate a shipping program. This can help substantially decrease your shipping costs and provide you with a company willing to help in times of need.
• 5)Apps and shipping websites: Try out a few shipping applications or online services such as, Shipping Easy and Stamps.com. These programs usually have some of the best rates available and have the experience you’re looking for in terms of support.
• 6)Current Organizations: Review current organizations that you’re a part of and see if they have any negotiated shipping discounts. Many organizations, insurance programs, alumni associations, etc. do, they’re just not readily promoted.
• 7)Consider What You Ship: Sometimes there are different (and most often cheaper) ways to send different items. For example, Media Mail by the USPS is limited to books, sound recordings and video recordings, such as CDs and DVDs but is a significantly cheaper way to send these items.
• 8)Weigh Accurately: When shipping products to your customers make sure you weigh each package correctly. This saves you money by not having to pay for inaccurate weight costs, and your costumer’s money by not having to pay more than they should. Before purchasing a scale, look and see if the shipping company you plan to use offers a scale at no charge.
• 9)Insurance: Many companies have discovered that it’s actually cheaper to not have insurance on their packages than to. It’s worth the evaluation to see if this applies to you and your company.
• 10)Package Smart: Make sure you package your products and shipments correctly. This can reduce the amount of packages you receive back due to breakage, inaccurate addresses or loss of quality. In short, the least number of times you have to ship a product; the cheaper it is for both you and your customer.

The secret to shipping cost effectively is to know the tools available. Whether it’s the implementation of a scale, or an online company, and dollar saved is a dollar that can be used to further your business.