My advise:  Do your homework!  Many people do not realize how involved shipping and packaging can be.  Talk to different shipping companies to find out how they handle products similar to yours.   A small box of cd's require little pkg material and if dropped will not have damages.  If you have mdse that is breakable, or heavy, then pkg is key.  I've found that packaging can be very expensive.  For example, I sell furniture units and organizers and they ship assembled.  to get polyethlene foam caps made for one unit runs $16 a pair IF I purchase 20 at a time.  Here in lies the problem that people don't think about because they get caught up in the production of their idea and the marketing aspect.  For those just starting out (I'm talking stay at home moms who are looking to start a business with little start up $$) You come up with an idea that's great!  You find someone that can make it, but because you're not purchasing in huge qty's your cost is, lets say $10.  You know that you can't sell this unit for more the $25.  This unit can break, so it requires special pkg material.  The pkg material is going to cost $5.  The unit is not a normal size so it requires a special box.  To have a special size made, you have to purchase in min qty's of 100 at $5 each and it's possible that you may have to pay tooling charges that's an add'l expense.  Your cost has now gone from $10 to $20... This is what I fell into.  My profits have been cut in half and my initial investment to start this business went from small to now having to invest more then I ever thought.  I've had to re do my business plan twice in a matter of 6 months due to things like this. So do your homework!  BUT, at the same time, don't give up on your dream!  that's the best advise I can give. 

Marcy

No one mentioned the free Priority Mail boxes available from the USPS.  You can even order them on line & have them delivered to your door.  Whether mailing one, two, three or four dozen of my WEDGIE garden tools, there's a box that works.

Cookie Wherry -- President, Wherry Enterprises

www.wedgie.biz

After reading the article I feel Steve Pick has missed some important points about shipping even though it is a very good start.  Yes, picking your partners wisely is good in anything you do but having multiple partners is better when it comes to shipping.  If you put your eggs all in one basket you will wake up one day to find you are paying too much.  Or even worse, if a strike or weather shuts down your one and only partner, what will you do?  Smart shippers set up relationships with multiple carriers and shop for the best service at the best price for every product they ship out.  This is especially true at web sites that offer free shipping, but can also make a big difference even if your customers pay for shipping.  You can lose some or all of your profits if you are not choosing shipping methods wisely for every package.  Prices can be different for every package, depending on origin, destination, delivery time required, carrier and many other factors.  One solution just does not fit all.  I think many of you will be very surprised when you do your homework. 

Next, you need to watch things like fuel surcharges and accessorial expenses as they can really add up.  The worst part of those charges is they can come after you have invoiced the order!  A common game that occurs now is to lower the fuel surcharges, raise the shipping rates and say the rate increase is not very high overall.  This is only true while oil prices are down, which we all know will not last forever.  The wise shipper constantly monitors all the facts and keeps their options open.

Having the right address is also key to your success.  You cannot trust the person filling out the form at your web site to give you the right address.  Typos, capitalization, punctuation and many other data related things can come into play.  The old trick of giving a PO Box and a street address all in one address for a ship to address can cost you charge backs at billing time if you use it.  Using address correction when processing orders can save you money, even when your customers pay for the shipping charge.

Having a way for your customers to track their orders and receive shipment notifications can also save you a lot of time and money, along with increasing customer satisfaction.  In today’s world where we work 24 hours a day, this becomes a very important part of customer service.  A smooth experience for your customers will keep them coming back.

I could go on and on but since I work for a company that has automated shipping for companies for the last 25 years and I like the forum format, I will not turn this into a huge sales pitch.  But I will say there are a lot of great multi-carrier solutions for all size businesses out there that can make shipping easier and save you a ton of money.

The best advice I can give is to do your homework, especially the math.

There is a multi-carrier small package shipping solutions company that works with small business to reduce their cost.  It is a closed network by invitation only. They do a free evaluation of your shipping needs and show you which carrier and free technology will maximize your savings.  Before you ship a package you see the list rate and your total cost including fuel and insurance.  You only need to spend about $300.00 a month to qualify.  All ebay power sellers qualify and the savings are around 30% on domestic and 45% on international parcel shipments.  You get one real person assigned to you as an agent and you get their direct phone number.  No more dealing with customer service.  They can also assist with heavy freight shipments.