Did you know that the cost of shipping is one of the most common reasons customers cancel orders? According to Jupiter Media Matrix, approximately 63 percent of the people the company surveyed cancelled a recent purchase because the shipping charges were too much. Large retailers can often negotiate lower shipping costs because they send out large shipments frequently. But what do you do if you own a small business? Should your company absorb the excess shipping costs or charge customers more for shipping? With a little planning, you don't need to do either. Check out these tips to cut your shipping costs.

Get a Professional Consultation

You might be able to lower the cost of your shipping supplies by purchasing the supplies that you use the most in bulk from the supplier. Companies that specialize in custom packaging and shipping often come to warehouses to review the types of shipping products used, and find ways to save business owners money on shipping products. You should consider contacting a company for a consultation. Once the consultation is complete, review the suggestions you were given and decide which products you want to order on a regular basis. Remember, before signing a contract, you should get price quotes from several custom packaging companies to compare rates.

Contract a National Shipping Provider

Large retailers often land great shipping rates by signing exclusive contracts with large shipping providers. Even though the amount of merchandise you ship may not allow you to lock in rates as low as large online retailers, you can still talk to shipping providers to see how signing a contract would affect your shipping rates. Most shipping providers have small business specialists that work with small business owners to map out their company's shipping criteria before signing a contract. By working with a small business specialist, you could save up to 40 percent on your shipping costs.

Use Flat Rate Shipping Sparingly

You might think that flat rate shipping is a simple solution to lowering your shipping costs, but it isn't always your best option. It's important to check the various shipping rates for the size and weight of packages before using flat rate shipping. Typically, it's more cost effective to ship small to medium sized packages that weigh more using flat rate shipping. However, it's often cheaper to ship lighter packages using a different shipping method.

It isn't always easy for small business owners to get their shipping costs as low as they'd like. However, assessing your company's shipping process on a regular basis and looking for different ways to cut costs helps ensure your company has the lowest possible shipping rates.

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