| A significant expense for any online retailer is the order | | | | tremendously. |
| fulfillment process which includes the storing, packaging, | | | | 3 - Your Time. Is packing boxes, dealing with storage, |
| and shipping of a customer's orders. And of course | | | | and printing shipping labels the best use of your time? |
| this is beyond the cost of sourcing the merchandise, | | | | As a small business owner you should be asking |
| regardless of what the business sells, plus marketing | | | | yourself constantly throughout the day - Is what I am |
| and other cost of sales expenses. Taken in total, all | | | | doing right now helping to make my business more |
| these costs have to be managed effectively for a | | | | successful? |
| business to maintain profit margins. A positive margin is | | | | Supplies - Basic shipping cartons in a limited range of |
| obviously vital to the success for any online retailer. | | | | sizes are free from the USPS, Fed Ex, and UPS. |
| The good news is making the right decisions regarding | | | | That's a good option if what you are shipping fits and |
| the storing, packaging, and shipping components could | | | | is not either too big or too small. Shipping a lot of |
| possibly be the easiest to influence on that list with the | | | | empty space in every box with your merchandise is |
| most substantial impact for the betterment of your | | | | not efficient and many businesses prefer to exert |
| business. | | | | more control over the customer experience with |
| The following are three main cost considerations for | | | | custom or specialized packaging for shipping orders. |
| online retailers when it comes to shipping. | | | | The packing material used to protect the merchandise |
| 1 - Supplies. These include the packaging material (or | | | | comes in a lot of options - with some even being |
| dunnage) to fill around and protect the merchandise as | | | | eco-friendly (such as Styrofoam "popcorn" and |
| well as the carton itself. | | | | expandable foam made from soy). The additional |
| 2 - Direct Shipping Costs. Your selection of who ships | | | | expense of customized packing materials and cartons |
| the order (USPS, UPS, Fed Ex?) and at what service | | | | has to be considered. |
| level (Ground, Next Day Air, etc.) impact costs | | | | |