How Can I Save Money on Shipping?

Some quick tips and tricks to maximize your savings on shipping and pump up your margins
Save Money on Shipping
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If you’re running an eCommerce business, shipping can be one of your biggest expenses. That’s why it’s SO important to save money on shipping however you can. Lucky for you, we’ve put together a few ways you can save money on shipping below.

Table of Contents

Make Sure You’re Using the Right Shipping Carrier

First and foremost, determine which shipping carrier is the right choice for your business! This may seem a bit obvious, but you’d be surprised how often small businesses get this wrong. There are three major carriers in the United States: USPS, UPS, and FedEx. Here’s a quick breakdown to help clear things up:

  • USPS is the cheapest carrier for sending lightweight items like envelopes and mailers. USPS also offers the best rates for shipping smaller, heavier parcels up to 20 pounds.
  • UPS is the best option for shipping large, heavy packages over 75 pounds.
  • FedEx specializes in overnight shipping.

Pro Tip: Most eCommerce businesses are built around smaller, heavier parcels like subscription boxes. Therefore, that makes USPS the premier shipping carrier for eCommerce parcels that go directly to consumers.

Save Money on Shipping with Shipping Software

One of the best ways to save money on shipping is to buy postage online with shipping software. Most small businesses buy postage at the retail rate or commercial rates with hidden markup, which adds up to outrageous amounts if you’re shipping out lots of parcels! Fortunately, you can utilize shipping software to access discounts on postage that you won’t see anywhere else, like Commercial Pricing.

What is Commercial Pricing?

Formerly known as “Commercial Plus Pricing,” Commercial Pricing represents the deepest level of USPS postage discounts available. This level of discounted rates is normally reserved for companies shipping out over 50,000 packages a year with USPS. However, going through shipping software made by a third-party postage provider lets you access Commercial Pricing and get those same discounts. That’s a pretty sweet deal if we say so ourselves.

Ship With Specially-Discounted Services Like USPS Priority Mail Cubic

eCommerce business owners, listen up! We’re about to line your pockets with a ton of extra cash. If you’re looking for one of the best ways to save money on shipping, you’ve GOT to know about a “secret” USPS mail class called Priority Mail Cubic.

Priority Mail Cubic is the cheapest and fastest way to send small parcels weighing up to 20 pounds with the USPS. Instead of being priced based on weight like most other mail classes, Priority Mail Cubic’s price is determined by the outer dimensions of your package. That means you can load your package up with as much content as you can, and it won’t affect the price! Priority Mail Cubic is the perfect mail class for sending parcels like subscription boxes or other heavy products, such as shipping coffee beans.

If you want to see exactly how much money you can save with Priority Mail Cubic, check out this Smart Cubic Calculator. Just type in the dimensions of your package, and the calculator will tell you which cubic pricing tier your parcel belongs to.

Keep Your Packaging as Small as Possible

With dimension-based services like Priority Mail Cubic, the size of your package determines how much it will cost to send. The larger your package is, the more expensive it will be to ship it! Conversely, the smaller your package is, the cheaper it will be to send. That’s why optimizing your package dimensions will help you get the most bang for your buck. Keeping your packaging as small as possible is another surefire way to make sure you’re shipping for as cheap as possible, and therefore maximizing the margins for your eCommerce business.

It’s a No-Brainer to Save Money on Shipping

Here’s the deal. Now that you know what you know, there’s no excuse for you NOT to save money on shipping. With a little time and extra effort, saving money on shipping is a total no-brainer. Don’t worry about thanking us—all Shipping School wants is to see your small business succeed. Now go get saving!

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