Shipping is more important to product decoration businesses than ever before. With the rapid rise of internet sales, shipping has become a crucial part of any business that operates online. To maintain its brand, a product decoration business must be able to deliver its product to the customer quickly, efficiently, and without error. Not many businesses can deliver their goods without a third party. There are many shipping and delivery companies available to product decoration businesses, but the three major U.S. shipping companies are the United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx, and United Parcel Service (UPS).
UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company. The USPS is able to beat UPS on piece volume because it includes mail, but when it comes to packages UPS is king. UPS was founded over a hundred years ago in Seattle, Washington. Now operating out of the Atlanta area, UPS delivers 15 million packages a day in over 200 countries across the world. UPS charges a fee to pick packages up, but does not charge by piece. This makes UPS a good choice for large packages and bulk orders.
FedEx, which is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is the newest of the three. FedEx was founded in 1975, and is primarily known for their overnight shipping. FedEx also invented the system for real-time tracking of packages that has since been copied by most other shipping and logistics companies. FedEx is best used for pickups of larger packages because the rates for smaller packages can be on the high side. While FedEx charges for picking up packages (on a per-week basis), there is no charge for taking items to a FedEx location. That can be an unnecessary hassle, especially when you consider that the final business, the United States Postal Service, does not charge for pickups.
The USPS dates all the way back to Benjamin Franklin, who was the first postmaster general. The USPS is by far the largest of the three companies, however its revenues are declining and they are being forced into cutbacks in services. That does not make the USPS any less effective (for now, at least) at shipping smaller packages. The free pickup and integration with software like Paypal makes the USPS an attractive option for shipping small orders or bulk orders of smaller products. In addition to ordering postage through Paypal, you can order USPS postage through Stamps.com, which is fully integrated into Shipstation.com.
Shipstation helps to automate the shipping process by integrating with Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, and other online stores. Simply import the orders from your site, and Shipstation can then create shipping labels for UPS, USPS, and FedEx. With a thermal printer, a business can print labels for any of these delivery companies. The ability to simplify shipping through Shipstation will save time and money for a decoration business.
Once a product decoration business has chosen how to ship its product, it must consider how to package the product for shipping. The easiest way to package garments is in poly bags. Poly is short for Polyethylene, the most common plastic film used to create bags. Poly bags can be waterproof and are extremely durable. Even if a product decorator must ship hard goods in boxes they can still be placed into poly bags, which offer protection from the elements. Other packaging materials that might be needed include bubble wrap, Styrofoam, packing peanuts, packing tape, and boxes. All these materials can be found in multiple places both online and in retail stores. The best places to buy shipping materials are Ebay and Amazon.com. Not only is there a great deal of selection and varying qualities, but even the highest quality supplies will likely be cheaper than retail options because you are buying straight from manufacturers or distributors.
An online store is only as good as its shipping capabilities. Customers are more demanding these days, and Amazon has increased expectations for fast delivery. So understanding your shipping options is crucial to conducting business online. Many businesses use multiple shipping services, leveraging the strengths and weaknesses of each shipping company to save money wherever possible. Fast and intelligent shipping can be a major asset to a business and should be handled with the same due diligence as any other aspect of a business.
