Shipping is the process of moving things. People often think that shipping only happens on the sea, but that’s not true. A shipment is when you move a product from one place to another so that you can deliver it to a customer.
If you sell physical goods through e-commerce, you need to know the different types of shipping you can use and look for ways to save money on the cost of getting your packages to your customers.
What is shipping then?
What Are the Three Ways to Ship?
There are three types of shipments, depending on how the goods were moved.
Ground
This is the least expensive way to ship something. Depending on the size of the country, companies like DHL and FedEx do this on a local or national level. Because of this, you can see their vans going from city to city.
This can take days, but there are some services where the product will arrive in 24 hours. How fast a shipment goes with this method depends on how far it has to go.
Freight by air
Airplanes are used for this shipment. Most of the time, this type of shipment is an international package. Depending on how much is being shipped, this can take days or weeks.
Most of the time, companies that ship goods by air have to first fill up the plane. It’s important to do this so that you don’t waste gas. When the packages arrive, they will have to go through the country’s customs office to see if they have anything illegal in them.
Big companies like LBC, DHL, and FedEx have special deals with governments, so they have their own special line in customs. This is why it takes less time to ship with these companies than with the government post office.
Ships on the ocean
Large ships and carriers are used for ocean shipping. In these shipments, large amounts of goods are put into container vans. Most of the things that are shipped here are dangerous or don’t go bad quickly, like electronics.
Because there are so many things to ship, this method is only used by big companies. This is the cheapest way to ship, but it also takes the longest. It can take months for the shipment to arrive.
Just like air freight, all products will have to go through the customs office so that they can be checked for any illegal items.
How can you save money when you ship?
Once upon a time, sellers could only use a small number of shipping couriers. Today, there are a lot of different ways to ship things both locally and internationally. All you have to do is find the one that works best for you in terms of price.
Pick Flat Rate.
There are now a lot of companies that ship for a flat rate. In this case, they give you the same rate as long as your product fits into a certain pouch or box. Only whether the shipment is local or international will change the price.
With flat rate shipping, you can expect to pay the same amount for every item you send, no matter how heavy they are. You will pay the same amount as long as they fit in the box.
Pick the Right Shipping Firm
If you can’t find a flat-rate option in your city, you’ll need to weigh your packaged item and figure out which shipper is best.
Use the government postal office to ship items that weigh less than two pounds. It is USPS in the US. You can tell the cashier that you want to ship it First Class Mail, which will make the shipping take less time.
You should use FedEx, UPS, or another private logistics company for anything bigger than two ponds. This is because many of them offer memberships, and if you ship heavier items, you can get a discount. If your package weighs more than two pounds, you will pay less to these companies than to the government postal service.
Hire a shipping company
If you sell your goods through programs like Amazon FBA, you will save money on shipping costs. With this method, you send a lot of items to Amazon at once, and Amazon takes care of warehousing.
The next step is to put these products on Amazon, and when a customer buys something, Amazon will ship it. You won’t have to pay for shipping anymore, but Amazon might charge your customer.
Because Amazon is a big company, they have made deals with many shipping companies to get big discounts. This is why it is free. Since Amazon sends out thousands of packages every day, the shipping cost is a lot less than what it would normally be.
What does it mean to ship?
Shipping is an important part of your business if you sell things online. If you don’t take this into account when setting prices, you could lose money. Before you even start selling, you need to go to shipping companies in your area and compare prices. Add this price to your selling price and add a handling fee so you don’t lose money.