You work hard in order to make sure customers are happy and satisfied. You change up the store, write out the emails, and do everything to leave customers satisfied. But shipping is a different beast, and for some people, it can be stressful to ship. It’s important though to make sure that the customer has an amazing experience in person with the product, so the right strategy is essential for the success of your business. Here, we’ll go over the basics of shipping, and what you can do to make it easier. 

The Basic Shipping Strategy 

If you’re someone who has absolutely no clue on where to begin, keep on reading then. There are some different decisions which you must make when you’re shipping, and below are the most important ones. First, is the shipping rates and methods. Do you want to offer flat-rate or free shipping and take a bit of the cost? Or will the customer pay for it? 

How do you plan to get this to customers? Knowing this one is important. Also you need to know the weight of the packages. This will help to calculate the costs, and help you have a good idea of the total costs of such, to get this to the customers. You also may want to look at the preferred shipping. While there is a lot about what type of packaging is right, the information can be added to packaging services, including shopify, to help with this. 

Finally, you want to figure out the best way to source the packaging. You may want to just buy directly from the carrier, or possibly look into the branded packaging aspects of this as well. 

The Shipping Rates 

You want to make sure that you understand that you want to make sure that you choose the correct shipping rate. Free shipping is a common one, but remember it’s no truly free, so someone is paying for it. That someone is you. The best ways to offer “free shipping” include the following: 

• Increase your prices so that it covers the shipping 
• You pay out of margins 
• You increase all product prices slightly, so both of you pay 
• You offer discount codes for free shipping 

You may want to do this with minimum order free shipping. That way, you’re getting more orders without having to pay too much from your profit margins. There are also carrier rates you can charge, and customers can choose the shipping they feel is right for you. There is also flat rate, which is one specific rate. This may be a good one as well if you feel like there is a chance that more will come if there is one particular rate. 

Fulfillment Services 

Another option is fulfillment, which will hold the inventory. Depending on the integration, you can use this. This does offer shipping rates that are cheaper, since they ship larger amounts, and usually it’s great for a variety of different services. There is also the shorter shipping times, which means more customers will get their items faster. They handle the picking, the packing, and the shipping so that you don’t have to do a thing. These aren’t for everyone, but they are an option as well if you’re someone who wants to make sure that they get the most out of their packaging and offers a lot. There are a lot of shipping options, so you want to make sure you choose what’s right for you, and then go from there with the way you’re able to ship stuff.