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Why is shipping so EXPENSIVE for us?


nibl69

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I'm in the process of opening up a store to sell DVD's.

 

While playing with the shipping modules, I notice that the cost to ship ONE dvd via UPS Ground is over $7.00!!! If they want it overnight, it's $68!!! I've gone to the UPS website to manually enter this information, and it confirms that these are the prices. You've got to be kidding me. I'll never sell anything.

 

So my question is....why are websites like DVD Planet and Amazon able to ship the same exact package for around $2.99? Do they get volume discounts because they ship so much, or are they eating some of the cost? Either way, small store owner cannot compete with that.

 

Does anyone have any tricks or suggestions?

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I'm in the process of opening up a store to sell DVD's.

 

While playing with the shipping modules, I notice that the cost to ship ONE dvd via UPS Ground is over $7.00!!! If they want it overnight, it's $68!!! I've gone to the UPS website to manually enter this information, and it confirms that these are the prices. You've got to be kidding me. I'll never sell anything.

 

So my question is....why are websites like DVD Planet and Amazon able to ship the same exact package for around $2.99? Do they get volume discounts because they ship so much, or are they eating some of the cost? Either way, small store owner cannot compete with that.

 

Does anyone have any tricks or suggestions?

 

Overnight shipping always ridiculous.

Nobody ships overnight for $2.99.

Backup before making changes. Backup before making changes! Backup before making changes!!

 

You did do a backup? eh?

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Overnight shipping always ridiculous.

Nobody ships overnight for $2.99.

No, no, you missed what I was saying. Regular UPS Ground is $2.99 at places like Amazon and DVD Planet for one dvd. For us, it's over $7.00 (United States). I was just wanting to know if anyone knew why, like maybe they get volume discounts for the large amount of shipping they do. I will never be able to sell a DVD with a shipping charge over $7.00.

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The bigger the company and the more volume they ship can negotiate with the shippers to get major discounts.

 

Such is life in the world of business.

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I would say the do get volume discounts,Have you checked fedex or usps? I would guess that usps would be your cheapest solution.The only thing I do not like about usps is there crappy track and confirm option.It's not really a tracking service but just confirmation that the package has arrived and out of 10 orders sent out at least 3 take forever to update the confirmation number or never does. So I am in the dark if the package has actually arrived or not. I usually end up emailing the customer and asking if they have received it or not.

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Hi

 

I worked for fedex and you can get up to 75% discount but for that you would have to send out 200+ packages a day (Amazon does that per hour), most people would get between 10-20% if you send 10-15 pkgs per day and that goes or all courier firms, to get any kind of discount you would have to speak to a sales rep for each company to get you best quote.

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Hi

 

I worked for fedex and you can get up to 75% discount but for that you would have to send out 200+ packages a day (Amazon does that per hour), most people would get between 10-20% if you send 10-15 pkgs per day and that goes or all courier firms, to get any kind of discount you would have to speak to a sales rep for each company to get you best quote.

Thanks for that information. That helps out alot. When the time comes that I am sending out several packages a day, I will give them or UPS a call and see what I can work out. Thanks.

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If you setup an account with FedEx and I think UPS you do get a small discount.

 

I offer FedEx and USPS and FedEx has always been cheaper. I used to offer UPS but they were more expensive than FedEx and almost the same as USPS.

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Thanks for that information. That helps out alot. When the time comes that I am sending out several packages a day, I will give them or UPS a call and see what I can work out. Thanks.
Another thing to remember about UPS. If you have a good friend or family member that works there have them fill out the referral card for your company. What this does it they will get a small small commission of everything you ship. I did this & my brother makes a little $$ of my company. I don't know if any other carrier does this though.
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The Post Office has a special media rate, it's called Media Mail. This is a very cheap way to ship things such as books, CD's, and DVD's. They take a loss on this because they are required by Congress to provide this rate for anything which allows people to communicate (something like Freedom of Information). Check the rates on their website, this should make it much more affordable for your type of product.

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  • 2 weeks later...

You can get a UPS discount by setting up an on-line account and then dropping off the package at a local UPS store or distribution center. Once you get to a certain dollar volume per week you can get another discount level, plus they will do a pickup at your location.

 

For small items, USPS is usually the cheapest carrier. Media is probably not a viable mailing rate as there is not telling how long it will take the package to arrive. May be reasonable in some cases, and weeks in others.

 

Also note that congress has been trying to conduct a massive overhaul of the USPS for a couple of years but it's been tied up in congress.

 

Also note that Fedex Ground was formerly a separate company that they bought to better compete with UPS. It is much less reliable on Fedex Air shipments but you can sometimes get good rates on Fedex ground.

 

Negotiating volume shipping discounts is big business and their are consultants who specialize in doing the negotations. Also, it is an ongoing challenge because the rules and rates are constantly changing.

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  • 2 weeks later...
You can get a UPS discount by setting up an on-line account and then dropping off the package at a local UPS store or distribution center. Once you get to a certain dollar volume per week you can get another discount level, plus they will do a pickup at your location.

 

For small items, USPS is usually the cheapest carrier. Media is probably not a viable mailing rate as there is not telling how long it will take the package to arrive. May be reasonable in some cases, and weeks in others.

 

Also note that congress has been trying to conduct a massive overhaul of the USPS for a couple of years but it's been tied up in congress.

 

Also note that Fedex Ground was formerly a separate company that they bought to better compete with UPS. It is much less reliable on Fedex Air shipments but you can sometimes get good rates on Fedex ground.

 

Negotiating volume shipping discounts is big business and their are consultants who specialize in doing the negotations. Also, it is an ongoing challenge because the rules and rates are constantly changing.

 

Actually, FedEx Ground is very reliable. You can track your shipments just as you can with Air, and they offer a money back guarantee : )

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You don't need to be sending your DVDs by Federal Express or UPS. Regular first-class mail should be enough for you.

 

I've ordered DVDs from several small suppliers in the US and every one of them has just used first-class mail. They also offer overnight, but the customer knows they have to pay extra - which you could also offer.

 

I sell Thai/Asian DVDs from Thailand, and can get a DVD from here to the US for less than $7, international airmail including tracking and insurance! There's no way an average customer is going to want to pay that for shipping within the US - they might as well buy the DVD at their local BestBuy cheaper!

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You don't need to be sending your DVDs by Federal Express or UPS. Regular first-class mail should be enough for you.

 

I've ordered DVDs from several small suppliers in the US and every one of them has just used first-class mail. They also offer overnight, but the customer knows they have to pay extra - which you could also offer.

 

I sell Thai/Asian DVDs from Thailand, and can get a DVD from here to the US for less than $7, international airmail including tracking and insurance! There's no way an average customer is going to want to pay that for shipping within the US - they might as well buy the DVD at their local BestBuy cheaper!

 

 

I agree. I wouldn't order anything like that and pay that amount for shipping. Especially when there is Netflix.

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A company like Amazon will most likely pre-sort most of their parcels, most likely by post code. So when the courier picks them up they don't have to do any sorting, just get them to the relevant delivery depot.

 

As there is less work involved for the courier, the rates will be very, very low.

 

With Royal mail in the UK you can go as far as bagging everything up by the streets each postman delivers to.

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  • 3 weeks later...

As far as shipping discounts go, here's my two cents. You contact FedEx AND UPS and their rep will come visit with you. You make it clear that you contacted BOTH. If you are aggressive, you will get between 38 - 45% off for starters. They'll usually give you three months to prove yourself.

 

So, let's say you chose Fedex. You let you UPS rep know that, and after about 2 months UPS will call you and make a better offer. You have to keep playing the game until you start cranking out orders.

 

I started and ran 2 online stores that shipped seafood overnight and second day air. If you are in the middle of the US (like Omaha Steaks), you can ship everything ground and it will reach most destinations in 2 days.

 

I ship lobsters out of Florida, and any customer that orders from Florida we ship ground, costing us around 8 dollars where it would normally cost at least 60 to have it overnighted.

 

If you look at the ground service map for UPS and FedEx, it will tell you how many days it will get to point b from your zip code.

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