If you are experiencing this pocket drain and want to figure out ways to cut down on shipping costs, here are some tips that can help.

Reduce The Weight Of Packages

In both local and international shipping services, weight is money. The heavier the actual weight, the more it will cost. While reducing the weight of the product or the goods themselves is practically impossible, you can take simple steps to reduce the overall weight, including the packaging.

Lightweight packaging is the best option to reduce shipping costs and for businesses to improve their profit margins. Some ways to reduce package weight are to pack products in corrugated boxes, use lightweight packaging material, and design a custom shipping package.

Make Use of Free Packaging

Most major carriers offer free boxes for their customers, especially for repeating small businesses and customers. If they do, please make use of them. While it can help you save money on packaging, it also helps to stick to size regulations. This is because using your own boxes has a high probability of having a higher dimension, costing you extra money. In fact, this strategy can save you up to 20% on shipping costs.

Consider Third-Party Insurance

Third parties charge significantly less to insure your shipments than standard carriers. On average, carriers charge about $0.90 for every $100 of goods insured, whereas third-party insurance firms charge roughly about $0.55 per $100 of goods insured. So, if you ship large volumes of goods or expensive items, these small savings can add up to a lump sum and help you save much money on your shipping cost.

Understand Your Shipping Destination

Distance is another key factor that determines the total shipping cost. The higher the distance, the higher the cost. If you consistently ship to a particular region or area, then it’s best to negotiate good rates with your local or international shipping company.

Focus On Dimensional Weight

Nowadays, all major international and freight forwarding companies use a unique pricing technique called dimensional weight, or DIM weight, to calculate the shipping rates for each package. This calculation is done by multiplying the length, width, and height of the package and dividing the figure by a standard DIM divisor.

Dimensional weight is a fairly new costing concept to international shipping introduced about five years back. It began when carriers noticed they were losing money on big, bulky packaging with light items because they took up a lot of space on their trucks. To resolve this issue, they began applying a “theoretical” weight, charging for whatever earned them more money – the actual weight of the package or the “dimensional weight.”

If your packages tend to weigh less than the dimensional weight, the cost-effective way to ship oversized packages is to find a shipping company that doesn’t follow this practice.