What Services Do Freight Shipping Companies Offer?
Owning a web based business can have its rewards and its downsides. The costs of running a business of any sort rise every day. So how do you handle the dilemma of whether or not to offer free shipping?
Most savvy business owners online understand the 중국배대지 competition is already fierce.You battle daily to get your site on the search engines, you deal with recalcitrant suppliers and then there is always making sure you follow all the laws and regulations that can hamper the free flow of commerce. All you need now is to have to do absorb the high costs of shipping right? Unfortunately there isn’t any hard and fast rule. However there are definite reasons when and how to offer to ship an item for free.
Generally speaking if an item can be shipped under 13 ounces First Class mail by the US Postal system then it is definitely worth offering free shipping. Why? Because the cost of the packaging and postage can remain under my target cost. I’m sure many people who have e-commerce sites are aware of this bargain but then again I see many companies that continue to allow the shipping department make the decisions. If they don’t have a vested interest in your business, their decisions are usually made on the easiest method not the most efficient and cost friendly. I’m a hands on kind of business owner. I am always looking for not only ways to make money but to save it as well. However when an opportunity presents itself to do both AND create some goodwill? I’m all over it.
There is an opportunity to showcase a season or a special offer right on your home page for a certain set of items or a period of time. For instance “Free shipping for the entire month of January” it promotes your site somewhere on the search engines and it also covers the slow time of year. You can offer it in conjunction with specials or when orders reach a certain dollar amount. There are many ways to use free shipping in your marketing plan to increase sales. Use them wisely and research the costs and your pricing before you do.
Consider the goodwill you receive and repeat business that is possible when you ship someone an item for free. Like the television commercial the with the baby “We all like free money right?” Sure we do and we’re all a bit naive at times because we just have to know nothing in life is free and the cost is somehow built into the price. That being said who cares? It’s all in perception and if people perceive they are getting something for free they usually will buy your item before they purchase one with even a realistic shipping cost.
The there is the other side of the coin where you can dollar cost average your shipping fee. Some people charge a flat rate of a few dollars for all items in a similar weight group. Some will cost more to ship some less but a reasonable standard price isn’t necessarily going to chase people away either. If you sell big heavy items my suggestion is link your site to the post office or another shipping provider and let them calculate the cost for the customer