The idea of running an eCommerce shop is an exciting one. That said, people fail to think about the painful idea of having to ship everything. It’s the elephant in the room when we talk about running a business that deals online.
That said, it’s one of the most important things to think about. We’re going to talk about how to ship products to customers today, giving you some insight into how it works, what it costs, and ways to streamline.
Hopefully, the ideas below help you sort through this process and come out with positive solutions. Let’s get started.
Tips on How to Ship Products to Customers
We’re talking about orders that go to individual customers today. That is to say that we’re not discussing massive orders loaded on pallets that ship via freight.
If you’re someone who deals with international freight products, forwarding is a cheap way to ship products without too many hiccups.
You have a few options that go straight to customers. FedEx, UPS, Army Post Office, and Fleet Post Office are the main ones. All of these methods are reliable and have standard rates depending on size.
Think about the volume of product you’ll ship at any given time, then look at those carriers to see which ones have the best deals for you. In that process, think about the distance of your average customer, the average weight of your packages, and the dimensional size of the package.
Those things all factor into the costs associated with shipping.
How Much to Charge
You have a few options when it comes to charging.
The first is to offer live rates on shipping. That means adjusting the shipping cost to meet the current shipping rates. There are various websites that help you to adjust your shipping costs in real-time.
The next option is flat rates. You offer a standard rate for all of your products and that makes it easier to understand and manage. Each product could have its own shipping cost as well.
In this situation, you look at the cost of the item plus the cost of the shipping and see how much you need to charge to make an appropriate profit. You can adjust the listed cost of shipping or product price to meet those values.
So, say your list price for the product is $10 and the shipping costs $3. You might increase the list price to $12 and promote $1 shipping to draw customers in.
Practical Options for Shipping
In terms of sending things out, you might be better off delivering packages to the post office yourself. That’s a good way to go if your operation is relatively small, delivering fewer than 20 packages per day.
As things expand, it’s smart to work with a warehouse distributor service that manages your orders for you. That takes a lot off of your plate so you have the time to focus on your business instead of running around to the post office.
Need More eCommerce Shipping Insights?
Hopefully, you have a better idea of how to ship products to customers in a cost-effective way. There’s more to think about, though, because every business is different. We’re here to help you with more shipping solutions.
Explore our site for more ideas on running an eCommerce business and managing everything that goes with it.