How To Decrease Your Shipping Expenses

By Author: Richard Taylor
Total Articles: 17
Comment this article

Anyone who often sends packages to different countries know for a fact that shipping is never cheap. Generally speaking, international shipping can really be pricey. This is often the case you will have to deal with whether you are sending items to your online buyers or to a loved one located at a far country. There are, however, a few things you can do to keep the total costs lower and to avoid additional expenses.

Secure the Package

For example, it is very important to make sure that your parcel is packed well. There are a lot of shippers who make the mistake of sending without securing the items first. This is something you should avoid if you do not want to disappoint your recipient. Just imagine the consequences of accidentally breaking fragile items along the way. If you are shipping for a customer then expect to receive letters of complaints from the buyer soon. As the seller, it will be your obligation to replace the damaged product with a new one so you better be careful if you do not want to experience that kind of headache.

Before sealing the parcel and taking it to the courier service, it helps ...
... to check if the item is secure enough. Shake the box several times to find out if anything jiggles. If it does, then it means you need to add more cushioning. Foam peanuts and bubble wraps are available for cheap prices so do not hesitate to invest on them. These packing tools are very effective especially if you are sending breakable objects internationally.

Combine Items Whenever Possible

Let's say you are an eBay seller and one of your customers buys several items in a space of a few days. In case this happens, contact the buyer and ask permission if he or she wouldn't mind if you send the items as a single package. The general response to this is a "yes" since most buyers want to save on shipping. Even if you do the math, a single shipment with a heavier weight is always a cheaper alternative than paying for the base rate more than once.

The only times that a buyer will not agree to this idea is when he or she wants some of the items delivered to a different address. Some people order gifts online and they would ask you to send the shipment directly to the intended recipient.

Compare Courier Charges

Even if you have been using the same shipper for a long time already, it surely wouldn't hurt to check what the competition has to offer. You might be surprised to discover that there are other shipping companies that charge cheaper than your usual choice.

Senders have different reasons why they prefer certain couriers and sometimes the only reason for it is that the shipping company is conveniently located near the area.

Instead of visiting offices, you can use the web to do the comparison. There are websites that allow you to check charges in an instant as long as you can provide the right information about your package (such as the height, weight and destination of the shipment). You may refer to the international parcel post rates in Ship2anywhere if you want to get an idea how this works.

Richard Taylor doesn't like delays in his plans and he certainly hates being late. That's why he prefers to have his online purchases picked-up and delivered on time through Ship2Anywhere air freight service. For additional information about international shipping, you can check Ship2anywhere here.