Best Shipping Company for Small Businesses
Anish
March 10, 2024
According to the United States Small Business Administration, small businesses comprise most enterprises in the U.S. In 2022, the number of small businesses in America was 33.2 million, or 99.9% of all U.S.-based enterprises.
When you operate a small business, especially one that sells on an eCommerce platform, you will likely need to offer a shipping solution to your customers. You need to know what shipping company best suits your needs.
So, how do you choose a suitable carrier for your business? What are the considerations when selecting a shipping company? Should you use a single or multi-carrier approach?
This article digs deep into these questions and discusses how to calculate business shipping costs. This article also explores how multi-carrier shipping works and how to reduce shipping costs.
FindPostOffice.org is a helpful online resource for your shipping and mailing needs. If you want to find a post office to drop off your package, FindPostOffice.org’s online search tool can help locate a post office near you.
The Best Shipping Companies for Small Businesses: What Shipping Options Do Small Businesses Have?
Suppose you own a small business and need a way to ship products to your customers. You can consider the following shipping companies to help you decide which services can address your and your customers’ needs.
United States Postal Service
USPS is among the best shipping options for your small business and an excellent way to obtain reasonable prices for shipping items within the U.S. The Postal Service is one of the few shipping companies offering a flat-rate shipping service.
Flat-rate shipping lets you send items at a price determined by the packaging instead of the weight or dimensions.
How to Save Money With USPS for Small Businesses
USPS offers different prices depending on your mailing service and volume.
If you are a business owner, you can save on shipping costs through discounted commercial rates. Apply for discounts to send more volume at a lower price per piece.
Best for Small Shipping Volume
Domestic USPS services, such as Priority Mail, Ground Advantage, and Priority Mail Express, allow you to ship packages up to 70 pounds (lbs). You can consider shipping through any of these services to send lightweight items.
USPS Offers Different Pricing Tiers Based on Your Volume With Them
As you ship products to your customers, you will likely encounter the following pricing tiers USPS offers, depending on the volume you want to send:
- Retail rates are what you pay for postage at the post office.
- Commercial pricing schemes offer discounted rates if your business or shipment qualifies for them.
- Flat-rate pricing methods use only the package’s size to determine the shipping cost.
At a Glance
Compared to the typical USPS shipping services, the small business solutions the Postal Service offers have more features, such as loyalty rewards.
At the same time, the Click-N-Ship service provides convenient shipping by allowing you to create labels for Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express packages.
You can also use the Click-N-Ship Business Pro to send domestic and international shipments totaling 10 pieces or more. This service also has additional reporting and integration features to monitor your company’s performance.
Benefits of USPS
Some benefits of shipping with USPS for your business are as follows:
- You can add a mailbox or rent a post office box (P.O. box).
- USPS provides automatic address verification.
- USPS offers free flat-rate boxes and supplies.
What USPS Is Criticized for
Despite its benefits, USPS also has the following disadvantages:
- Minimal tracking tools
- Pricey international shipping
- Longer transit times
Estimated Shipping Timelines and Pricing
The delivery speed and postage costs to send your mail through USPS depends on the shipping service you want to use. Some of these timelines and pricing are as follows:
| Service | Delivery speed | Starting price |
| Priority Mail Express | Next-day to two-day shipping | $28.75 |
| Priority Mail | One to three business days | Flat Rate envelopes: $9.65 Flat Rate mailing box: $10.20 Your own box: $9.35 |
| First-Class Mail | One to five business days | Postcards: $0.51 Letters: $0.66 Large envelopes: $1.35 |
| Ground Advantage | Two to five business days | $4.75 |
| Media Mail | Two to eight business days | $3.92 |
Sendle
Sendle can help your small business make reliable and simple shipment services for an affordable price. This courier offers more competitive prices for shipping packages weighing 20lbs than major carriers.
The company also offers shipping services across the U.S. and offers volume-based product price discounts.
Best for Eco-Friendly Shipping
Sendle boasts a 100% carbon-neutral delivery whenever you ship via this courier.
For every package you send, Sendle counterbalances the carbon emissions due to the delivery and invests in positive environmental initiatives. These activities include environmental projects in the U.S., Australia, Mexico, and Peru.
At a Glance
Established in 2014, Sendle experienced quick growth due to its all-in-one approach that involved partnering with many shipping services to offer bulk discounts typically reserved for high-volume companies.
Despite being an Australia-based company, Sendle allows you to ship across the U.S., including Hawaii, Alaska, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The company can also ship to domestic military bases and P.O. boxes.
Estimated Shipping Timelines and Pricing
As of October 2023, Sendle provides the following standard shipping services that vary based on price and delivery speed:
| Service | Estimated delivery speed | Starting price |
| Sendle Preferred | One to five days | $4.66 |
| Sendle Saver | Two to eight days | $3.95 |
| Sendle 2-Day Guaranteed | Two business days or less | $9.23 |
| Sendle 3-Day Guaranteed | Three business days or less | $5.41 |
UPS
United Parcel Service (UPS) provides shipping services to small businesses worldwide in over 220 countries and territories. The courier is also among the leading transportation and logistics companies offering smart delivery solutions to various companies.
Best for Large Items
Many UPS services, such as UPS Ground and Next Day Air, allow you to ship items up to 150lbs and 108 inches (in) long. With this capacity, you can use UPS to send large packages with these size and weight dimensions.
At a Glance
You can consider UPS one of the best and most popular shipping services for businesses in the U.S. The company offers several services, such as order fulfillment, eCommerce, and international shipping.
One of UPS’ significant features is its free virtual brainstorming session offered by the company’s small business solutions team. This service lets you easily set up and streamline your business operations to provide the best shipping services.
What UPS Is Appreciated for
Some of the advantages UPS offers for your business are the following:
- Quick shipment of heavy items
- Remarkable email communication
- Numerous tools helpful for small businesses
Why UPS Is Considered Underwhelming
On the other hand, UPS has the following disadvantages:
- High fees
- Delivery time lags
Estimated Shipping Timelines and Pricing
The following table shows the various UPS domestic services and their estimated shipping speeds and prices:
| Service | Delivery speed | Starting price |
| UPS Next Day Air | Next-day delivery | Letters: $30.561lb items: $37.44 |
| UPS Ground | One to five business days | $10.10 |
| UPS 2nd Day Air | Two days | Letters: $22.681lb items: $22.82 |
| UPS 3 Day Select | Three days | $14.59 |
DHL
This company, named after Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn, offers customers international trading that involves export and import businesses.
Like other shipping companies, DHL has varying shipment costs based on the package size. The delivery speed also depends on the shipment’s details.
DHL Express
DHL Express is one of the best shipping services for small businesses globally. DHL Express can assist if you plan to expand into new markets or want your shipment’s efficiency to increase.
Best for International Shipping
Aside from working well with small business owners, DHL Express is an excellent fit for international shipping services. DHL has years of experience delivering packages worldwide and can provide the tools and resources necessary to help these small businesses grow.
At a Glance
DHL initiated the air express business in 1969 and has become a shipping powerhouse. The company is well-equipped to work with multiple sectors, including healthcare, energy, chemicals, and technology.
Furthermore, DHL works with customers and packages of all sizes and offers shipping solutions through air, road, ocean, and rail services.
Why Should You Use DHL?
Considerations for choosing DHL for your shipping needs include:
- International shipping service expertise
- Widespread resources to easily help businesses internationally
- A rate catalog with service details
Why Shouldn’t You Use DHL?
DHL may be among the best international shipping companies, but it also has its disadvantages, such as the following:
- Several surcharges and fees
- Limited U.S. presence (only 159 DHL locations in the country)
- High shipping costs ($63.37 to send an express envelope from New York to Los Angeles compared to $28.75 via USPS Express 1-Day Flat Rate envelope as of October 2023)
Estimated Shipping Timelines
The table below shows the different DHL Express services and their corresponding delivery times:
| Service | Delivery time |
| Express Domestic | End of next possible day |
| Express 9:00 | 9:00 AM of the next possible day |
| Express 10:30 | 10:30 AM of the next possible day |
| Express 12:00 | 12:00 PM of the next possible day |
| Express Worldwide | End of the next possible day |
| Express Envelope | End of the next possible day |
FedEx
Federal Express (FedEx) is among the world’s most trusted and renowned employers. Known for its integrated business applications, FedEx connects businesses and customers worldwide through its shipping, transportation, and eCommerce services portfolio.
Best for Fast Deliveries
FedEx offers relatively fast domestic ground delivery, typically taking one to five business days.
The company has several locations, such as your local FedEx Office and FedEx Ship Center, that can help with international packing and delivery, making shipping easy.
FedEx also has self-service options like drop boxes and recurring or one-time pickup services.
At a Glance
FedEx is excellent for small businesses as it makes quick and hassle-free shipping on weekdays and weekends. It ships packages internationally and across the United States.
What FedEx Is Valued for
FedEx services have invaluable features, including:
- Worldwide shipping services
- Printing of shipping labels
- A fully automated mode for shipping important orders
What Could Be Improved
While FedEx services have features that add value to the company, some areas need to improve:
- Customers find it expensive to send small shipments.
- Deliveries are prone to shipping delays.
- FedEx services charge for pickups.
Estimated Shipping Timelines
FedEx shipping services and estimated delivery times are listed in the table below:
| Service | Delivery time |
| FedEx SameDay | Same day delivery |
| FedEx First Overnight, Priority Overnight, and Standard Overnight | Overnight or next-day delivery |
| FedEx 2Day AM and FedEx 2Day | Two-day delivery |
| FedEx Express Saver | Three-day delivery |
| FedEx Ground | One- to five-day delivery |
ShipBob
ShipBob is a startup shipping platform offering eCommerce and inventory management, including online shipping, storing, picking, and packaging. ShipBob has been one of the best and most convenient companies on the shipping options list for small businesses.
Best for Fragile Items
As a worldwide logistics platform, ShipBob can fulfill and pack customer orders with 99.95% accuracy before shipment. The company also boasts its 99.96% success rate for on-time shipments.
At a Glance
ShipBob employs over 900 employees and maintains over 5,200 eCommerce business accounts. The company also partners with major couriers like USPS, FedEx, UPS, and DHL to ship worldwide.
ShipBob works with businesses of all sizes and offers transparent, pocket-friendly order fulfillment services. The company helps small, growing businesses compete with global retailers via a simplified eCommerce delivery service.
What Is It Notable for
Consider shipping with ShipBob if you prefer the following features:
- Flexible rates
- Additional inventory tools
- Easy integration with Amazon
What Are the Risks?
Although ShipBob may be convenient for your business in some areas, the platform also has the following risks:
- Confusing price structure
- Outsourced customer service
- Lengthy resolution process
Estimated Shipping Timelines and Pricing
ShipBob offers two-day shipping coverage across the continental U.S. and allows you to own your brand, data, and customer experience.
The ShipBob software is free for all customers, while shipping costs vary based on several factors, such as weight, destination, dimensions, and service.
Spee-Dee
Spee-Dee is a reliable and economically affordable delivery platform that provides shipping services to more than 10,000 shippers in the Upper Midwest region in the U.S.
Many small businesses serve as Spee-Dee’s public shopping locations and offer shipping services in some areas.
The platform’s core services include the following:
- Standard account
- On-call pickup service
- Shipping service
- Easy returns (EZR) service
- Pickup tag service
LSO
Lone Star Overnight (LSO) is a popular shipping delivery company in the U.S. Southwest region. LSO provides time-definite small business shipping solutions and early overnight or next-business-day delivery by 8:30 AM.
LSO’s services include priority next-day delivery services by 10:30 AM and economy next-day delivery by 3:00 PM. Domestic deliveries usually arrive in one to three days.
LaserShip
LaserShip provides delivery services to small businesses and retailers with quick and reliable last-mile shipping services to help save money and build customers’ trust.
The company’s core services include the following:
- Delivery and shipping services
- eCommerce opportunities
- Supply chain
- Freight and logistics
LaserShip offers custom delivery solutions, residential eCommerce, and critical global delivery.
ShippingEasy
ShippingEasy is among the top online delivery platforms offering shipping solutions to small businesses. This platform lets you access shipping rates and print labels for other services, such as UPS and USPS, within seconds.
ShippingEasy allows customers to ship their orders quickly from a marketplace or website. ShippingEasy has an easy-to-use platform for seamless integration of products.
Compare Shipping Companies
Based on the information you have read about the shipping companies mentioned above, you should already know that not all of them are the same.
If you are a business owner, consider choosing a company that fits your shipping needs. The following sections guide you in selecting the right shipping service.
How to Choose the Best Shipping Companies for Small Businesses
To find the best shipping companies for your businesses, consider reviewing these providers to learn about their shipping costs, how quickly you can ship your goods, and how easy it is to work with them.
You also need to evaluate each shipping company’s reputations. The best shipping companies offer quick shipping speeds, affordable rates, and resources that can work well with small businesses.
Comparison Between Cheapest Shipping Services
Comparing which shipping services cost less can be a challenge, especially when you have many companies to choose from. Furthermore, most companies have several services, making deciding more difficult.
Also, most prices shown on these companies’ websites are estimates only. If you want a more accurate cost, consider using a shipping calculator.
Major shipping companies like USPS, FedEx, and UPS have shipping calculators on their websites. You can use these calculators to specify your item’s weight, packaging, origin, destination, and add-on services for an accurate postage estimate.
Are There Alternatives Worth Considering?
The U.S. has a limited number of proven, experienced shipping providers. If you want to look into other alternatives, consider international couriers that cater to U.S. customers.
Small Business Shipping Considerations and Main Shipping Cost Drivers
As a small business owner, you are likely occupied by day-to-day responsibilities like hustling to gain new customers and managing marketing, manufacturing, and finances. Aside from these considerations, shipping and its costs are likely another concern.
The following sections discuss the shipping considerations and cost drivers affecting your business.
Order Volume
Consider the number of parcels you ship monthly. If you frequently send a low volume of products, going the do-it-yourself (DIY) route by packing the items, printing labels, and heading to the post office yourself may be your preferred option.
If your order volume continuously increases monthly, consider obtaining an eCommerce fulfillment solution that can provide shipping discounts and ease your shipping burden.
Delivery Time and Delivery Speed
Some of your customers may be impatient and will likely expect an ordered product to arrive on time. How quickly a carrier can deliver your product to your recipient is a significant consideration.
You can also offer your customers free shipping, which usually involves choosing a slower, less expensive shipping method. This way, you do not have to break your budget.
Packaging Material
Consider using flat-rate boxes to standardize shipping costs and remove price variations due to weight or dimension differences.
Also, consider your item’s fragility, such as when sending ceramics or glassware. You will likely need plenty of packaging material to keep the item from getting damaged during transit.
Package Dimensions
When you calculate shipping costs, consider your shipment’s size, which affects the dimensional (DIM) weight. The larger your item, the larger the box you must use, meaning a larger DIM weight.
Note that adding other packaging materials like bubble wrap or air-fill cushions can increase the cost.
Package Weight
Unless you’re using flat-rate shipping, you will likely spend more as your package becomes heavier. Consider purchasing a postage scale to help you accurately predict shipping costs.
Shipping Destination
Aside from weight and size, distance is another significant factor impacting shipping rates. Distance also determines how fast your item can reach your customers’ addresses.
If you are a startup business, you may have little choice but to accept the costs. However, centrally located fulfillment centers (also called packing warehouses) may help your small business find better rates.
Package Tracking
Sometimes, you may want to know where your package is going. Choose a shipping company that offers online package tracking. Some carriers can send you automatic updates through email or text.
You can also send the package’s tracking information to the customer so they can monitor the product’s delivery progress.
Fragile Items
When shipping a breakable item, use a sturdy box that can support the product’s weight. You should also use enough cushioning material to help keep the item from moving.
Whenever possible, pack the fragile items individually, seal the box tight, and mark the package as “fragile.”
Perishable Items
Due to the nature of perishable items, they used to be restricted to regional and local customers. However, expedited delivery has allowed the shipment of these products worldwide.
For your perishable goods to qualify for transport within the U.S., the items must last a minimum transit time of 24 hours more than the carrier’s delivery commitment.
Third-Party Insurance
Although insuring your shipment can be beneficial, using the carrier’s insurance can get a little expensive. In this case, consider using third-party insurance.
Carriers typically charge around $1 per $100 of coverage. On the other hand, some third-party insurance companies usually offer half that price.
Out the Door
Getting your products delivered to your customers should be easy, and the shipping company you work with should be trustworthy.
Stay informed about the status of your shipped orders to avoid problems like sending duplicates. Some tools like tracking or informed delivery can help keep you up-to-date with your packages’ delivery.
Fast, Flexible, and Customer-Friendly
Once you understand what makes a smart shipping strategy, you can look for the best services with the lowest shipping rates for your small business.
For example, free shipping can please your customers but is not required. You can stand out from competitors even without offering free deliveries by providing excellent service and unique quality.
You can also use shipping software to automate delivery and lower costs through volume discounts and real-time rate fluctuations.
How Do Shipping Companies Work?
Shipping companies handle your deliveries’ transportation to your customers. While shipping agencies track and store your stocks, shipping companies handle the physical transit. Shipping agencies also hand the items to shipping companies upon order placement.
Some of the best shipping companies can offer deals and discounts for your business if you frequently use their shipping services.
Which Extra Shipping Services Should Be Offered?
When offering shipping options to your customers, consider adding the following services to help improve the buyers’ shipping experience:
- Tracking: This feature lets customers track their package’s status upon shipment.
- Insurance: Many large carriers offer insurance as a standard service. If you sell high-value merchandise, consider providing insurance as an option for your customers.
- Flexible delivery: Some people prefer having the ability to choose their delivery date or redirect a package in transit.
Shipping Challenges for Small Businesses
When operating a small business, you will likely encounter some of these common challenges:
- Finding the cheapest rates, leveraging shipping discounts, and managing costs
- Handling shipping labels and returns
- Determining what services to offer and how much to charge for shipping costs
- Dealing with international delivery
To overcome these challenges and make a difference, consider implementing the following strategies:
- Multi-carrier shipping
- Automation
Using a Multi-Carrier Shipping Strategy
If you are a busy shipper, you may want to choose one carrier strategy and negotiate reasonable rates. Although this strategy helps streamline and hasten your decision-making since you do not need to research rates or request spot quotes, you can also consider multi-carrier shipping solutions.
What Is Multi-Carrier Shipping?
A multi-carrier strategy lets you work with several carriers instead of just one. Aside from getting more shipping options, you can also have a backup if something wrong happens with one service.
How Does Multi-Carrier Shipping Work?
Modern shipping platforms for eCommerce can accommodate the multi-carrier strategy by allowing the automatic integration of multiple carriers while obtaining the best rates and service options.
Many of these platforms let you specify rules for which carrier to use under specific circumstances. For instance, you can use one carrier for domestic shipping below 10lbs and the other for international shipping.
Advantages of Using Multiple Carriers
Implementing a single-carrier strategy can help you save time. However, a multi-carrier approach can offer several benefits, such as those discussed in the following sections.
Gaining More Negotiating Power
A multiple-carrier strategy allows you to negotiate with carriers that want to earn business from your shipments. Negotiations can also keep you informed about new rates, service types, routes, and service levels, allowing you to get the best deals in town.
Choosing the Right Carrier for the Job
While a single carrier strategy lets you save time because you only deal with one carrier, not all carriers are the same.
With a multi-carrier shipping approach, you can choose a carrier best suited for a specific shipment.
For example, you can pick a carrier that you think works best for domestic shipping and another one for international delivery.
Mitigating Risks
Entrusting all your shipments to one carrier is similar to putting all your eggs in one basket. If something goes wrong, you don’t have a backup.
To minimize these risks, consider dealing with another carrier to have more choices and have an alternative in case the first carrier runs into problems.
Accommodating Customer Requests
Suppose you have an exclusive agreement with one carrier. You may be unable to accommodate customer requests if their preferred carrier differs from yours.
If you go to another carrier, you can get penalized with higher shipping rates due to breaking the exclusive contract.
However, using a multi-carrier strategy should help minimize or prevent these issues and allow you to accommodate customer requests.
Greater Flexibility With Returns
When using multiple carriers for your eCommerce business, you can select a competitively-priced carrier with less experience managing reverse logistics for nonreturnable or rarely returned products.
Then, for products that typically get returned, you can choose a higher-priced carrier with reverse logistics expertise.
How Much Do Shipping Companies Cost?
Postage rates and other fees can vary depending on your package’s size, destination, and how quickly you want the item to arrive.
Expect to pay an estimated retail price of $8 to $12 to ship small packages and $17 to $21 to ship larger ones domestically. Delivery speeds can range from one to five business days.
How Is the Business Shipping Service Price Calculated?
Shipment pricing depends on various factors, such as the weight, destination, and requested delivery time. Insurance and other add-on services can also contribute to the price.
Other considerations when determining the shipping price are flat-rate and free shipping.
Free Shipping
Many shoppers who buy from small businesses do not necessarily expect free shipping.
If you still want to offer free shipping, consider implementing a price threshold. For example, customers who place orders above $100 can qualify for free shipping. This way, your customers can get a deal while increasing their average order size.
Flat-Rate Shipping
As mentioned earlier, flat-rate pricing depends on the packaging instead of the size and weight. Therefore, flat-rate shipping can be attractive for many small businesses because it lets you predict the total cost easily.
Ways to Reduce Shipping Costs
Suppose free shipping and flat-rate pricing are insufficient to reduce your shipping costs. The following considerations can help lower your expenses.
Automating Shipping Processes
Shipping software lets you save time and money by automating tasks, such as generating shipping labels, choosing the cheapest carrier based on order specifications, and notifying customers of their shipping status.
Pickup vs. Drop-Off
Major carriers can schedule pickups from your home or office to save you the hassle of visiting a physical facility.
For example, USPS provides pickup services for free, while FedEx and UPS charge a small fee.
Negotiating Rates
If you move a large number of orders monthly, a carrier may negotiate better prices to keep your business. Some carriers can require an exclusive contract, removing your ability to implement a multi-carrier approach.
Before entering an agreement, contact the different carriers and ask about the required quantities to qualify for lower rates and whether exclusivity is a requirement.
Choosing Affordable Packing Materials
The cost of boxes, styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, and air-fill cushions can increase your shipping expenses. However, you can purchase these items in bulk to save on packaging costs, especially if branding is not an issue.
Know Your Shipping Zones
In many cases, your package passes through one or more shipping zones as it transits from one location to another.
The more zones your item travels, the higher the shipping cost. For this reason, you must know your shipping zones when negotiating rates with carriers.
Volume-Based Discounts
Aside from shipping large enough volumes to negotiate for volume-based discounts with your carrier, you can work with a shipping platform to access more discounts.
This teamup can benefit your small business by helping you obtain volume-based discounts you may not have accessed by yourself.
Other Discounts
Some carriers offer loyalty programs that entitle you to discounts. Others have programs requiring you to place a minimum order to obtain a discount. Contact the shipping company for their offers.
Real-Time Rate Changes
When shipping rates change because of various factors like market fluctuations and peak-period pricing, automatically switching to the cheapest carrier can help you save money.
Lowering Your Return Shipping Rate
Return shipping can be a significant cost. To minimize the risk of returns, consider optimizing your product pages by ensuring you have highly detailed product descriptions and include photos and videos of the product in action.
Doing so helps the customer know what they are buying, lowering the risk of them having to return the items they ordered.
Use Flat-Rate Packaging
Flat-rate packaging uses standard-sized prepaid packages you typically order in bulk from the carrier. All you have to do is pack your products inside the flat-rate box and bring it to the carrier’s location for shipping.
Outsourcing vs. In-House Fulfillment
If you run a small business and want an expert to manage your shipment, consider working with a third-party logistics (3PL) provider. These companies can pack your orders properly, store your inventory, and prepare them for pickup.
Many 3PLs can handle returns management and have discounted shipping agreements with carriers, leading to savings that get passed on to you.
How Much Does It Cost to Ship Internationally?
The cost to ship packages internationally depends on several factors, such as the shipping service you choose and your item’s weight, size, destination, and add-on features.
For example, as of October 2023, sending an item internationally using USPS’ Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) service can cost from $71.10 up. Meanwhile, the cost to send a USPS Priority Mail Express International item starts from $54.75.
Which Is the Right One for You?
The right shipping company for you depends on which one can deliver your shipments based on your or your customers’ needs.
For instance, if you sell perishable goods, consider choosing a company that provides fast shipping services at a reasonable price.
On the other hand, if you’re selling heavy or bulky items, consider a shipping company experienced in packing and shipping large boxes.
FAQs
1. What is the best shipping method for small businesses?
Suppose you operate a small business. The best method to ship items depends on many factors, such as what items you sell, the destination, and the volume.
For example, when selling cheap, non-urgent items, you can choose a slow shipping service with lower rates. For high-value products, consider adding tracking and insurance, which can increase the shipping price but keep the item safe.
2. How do most small businesses ship goods?
Ground shipping is the most popular delivery method for small businesses. USPS, DHL, UPS, and FedEx are major carriers most small businesses in the U.S. use to ship their products.
3. What is the cheapest way to ship for a small business?
One of the most cost-efficient ways a small business owner can ship is by obtaining discounts from their preferred carrier.
Carriers often enter a contract with a seller for a negotiated price, giving the business owner access to discounts not available to retail shippers.
Meanwhile, reducing the weight of packages, choosing the right-sized packaging, using flat-rate shipping, and offering local delivery or pickup can also help reduce costs.
4. Is FedEx or UPS better for small businesses?
If you prefer relatively fast deliveries, consider shipping with FedEx for your business needs. FedEx’s domestic ground service usually has a delivery time of one to five business days.
But if you frequently ship large items, UPS may be an excellent option for you. Some of UPS’ services allow you to ship packages up to 150lbs and 108in long.
5. Is DHL good for small businesses?
DHL Express can be an excellent choice for small businesses that want to ship internationally. If you have a small business, consider DHL as a partner when you want to expand into new markets.
Another advantage of partnering with DHL that can benefit small businesses is the preferential shipping rates offered through corporate accounts. These rates can help lower shipping costs and improve the bottom line.
6. What is considered a small package?
Small packages typically weigh less than 150lbs. However, some carriers may have different definitions of what a small package is.
For example, UPS categorizes parcels as those weighing up to 70 kilograms (kgs). However, parcels weighing 31.5kgs require a heavy parcel label.
7. Why use UPS or FedEx over USPS?
UPS and FedEx often excel in providing premium shipping services for small businesses. However, USPS sometimes falls short in this aspect.
If you are a business owner, reliability and providing customers with a guaranteed delivery time can save you plenty of hassle.
Despite this guarantee, not all packages are delivered on time. In this case, UPS and FedEx offer a 100% refund on late, lost, or damaged products.
8. What are some alternatives to UPS, USPS, and FedEx?
If you are looking for shipping options besides major carriers like USPS, FedEx, and UPS, consider the following alternatives:
- EasyShip provides multi-carrier shipping and easy order tracking.
- ShippingEasy is a cloud-based shipping, inventory, and marketing solution.
- ShipStation integrates with well-known carriers like DHL, USPS, and FedEx for more efficient shipping.
- Shippo provides affordable delivery services for small businesses and offers convenient shipping without coding or volume requirements.
References
- Small Business Statistics Of 2023
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/small-business-statistics/ - Mail & Shipping Services
https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.htm