If you own an online business, it’s important that you know the ins and outs of good shipping practices. You are going to be paying a lot for shipments, so you want to be sure that you can cut costs wherever possible, and you want to be sure your packages make it to their destinations safely. Here are five packing and shipping best practices for ecommerce sellers.
- Know the differing prices for differing package dimensions. Whenever you’re shipping an envelope or a package, you’ll find that there are specific dimensions that are much cheaper than others. This is because the difference of a single inch could be the difference between your package or envelope going through a machine, or it needing to be scanned by a person. If you can in any way get your product to fit into the dimensions that can go through the machines, it will save you a lot of money.
- Find the perfect amount of padding. If you want to keep your items safe, without spending a fortune, it’s important that you figure out exactly how much padding you need. Have you ever opened a package from the mail and you had to get into 3 or 4 different boxes? This is inefficient packaging. You want to cut down on the number of packages there are within your package, and try to put just enough padding to keep your product safe. You can find all kinds ofshipping products with Shippers Supplies to make sure that your packaging truly suits your product.
- Be punctual with your shipping. If you want repeat customers, as well as strong reviews online, it’s important that you are always punctual with your shipping. You should be filling orders by the end of the work day, and sending packages out the following day. You need to develop a habit of always getting your shipments out on time, otherwise people will write about it on social media, and you’ll lose a lot more than just the customer who had to wait.
- Always provide a precise return address. It’s important when you ship anything out that you always provide a precise return address. If you were given the wrong address by the person who placed the order, or if you accidentally copied it down wrong, you want the package to make it back to you, so that you can send it back once you’ve corrected the mistake. You never know what could go wrong, and it’s just proper etiquette to provide a complete return address.
- Always insure your shipments. You should always be sending your shipments through insured mail. You can also send certified or registered, depending on the value of the item that you’re shipping – just make sure it’s insured. When you insure the mail, you’re given a tracking number that you and your customers can use to track the shipment. If it gets lost, the post office will be the one at fault, not you.
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