How to Cut Your Shipping Costs in Half

Would you pay double to ship a package for convenience?

As a small businessperson, I was always too cheap to even pay for full-service gas. If you’re going to the carrier’s shipping store to ship your packages, you are paying way too much!

Many people don’t realize that if they are a walk-in customer who goes to a parcel carrier’s store or shipping counter, that they pay a premium for that convenience. This is even true at the US Post Office. See USPS Rate Change Includes New Discounts: Do You Qualify?

Recently, a Wall Street Journal article talked about how a walk-in customer typically pays a premium because they are too small to negotiate volume discounts. I was curious about how much of a premium.

I walked into a major carrier’s store and was told it would cost me $18.71 to ship a one pound package from New York to Houston ($12.71 for shipping and $6 for packing). I compared that price to the same carrier’s website and saw that it would be only $7.27 (of course I would have to pack it). That is a savings of $11.44 on one package!

If you are an eBayer or a small volume shipper, you can cut your shipping costs in half by doing it yourself and shipping on-line!

Taylor’s Tip #6: “Don’t wait in line–ship on-line!”