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Please help! Packaging and shipping advice


kcandle2

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Hi everyone! I am just starting my candle business and I have a few questions about packaging and shipping. I make container candles and the majority of my orders will be coming from online sales. 

 
How do you package and ship your product?
 
Shipping-
It seems USPS is the most economical route, but shipping is still quite expensive. Is there a service people use to get discounted shipping rates? I see some small candle companies offering free or very low flat rate shipping and I’m not sure how they’re doing it!!
 
Packaging-
I was initially thinking of buying corrugated boxes, putting my container candles in there, and mailing them that way. Does this make sense? Or do you put the candles in a box and then put them inside a USPS box?
 
Any thoughts and advice would be very much appreciated! Thank you! :)
 
-Kay
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You are definitely going to want to double pack your candles to protect against breakage. Pack them in a corrugated box. Then put it in a shipping box packed with packing peanuts, paper, or bubble wrap. Check out the thread on how packages get handied by carriers!

 

You don't want to pay full price at usps. There are ways to get discounted shipping with pay memberships like stamps.com or shippingeasy.com. 

 

If you start a website through shopify you automatically get commercial plus shipping prices. Their hosting prices start at $30 a month. 

 

Imho, might as well pay $30 a month and get a website plus discounted shipping rather than $15 a month for just discounted shipping. 

Edited by Sebleo
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/6/2018 at 11:12 AM, kcandle2 said:

Hi everyone! I am just starting my candle business and I have a few questions about packaging and shipping. I make container candles and the majority of my orders will be coming from online sales. 

 
How do you package and ship your product?
 
Shipping-
It seems USPS is the most economical route, but shipping is still quite expensive. Is there a service people use to get discounted shipping rates? I see some small candle companies offering free or very low flat rate shipping and I’m not sure how they’re doing it!!
 
Packaging-
I was initially thinking of buying corrugated boxes, putting my container candles in there, and mailing them that way. Does this make sense? Or do you put the candles in a box and then put them inside a USPS box?
 
Any thoughts and advice would be very much appreciated! Thank you! :)
 
-Kay

This brings up a few questions I THOUGHT I had figured out. Back to the drawing board. :faint:

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  • 4 weeks later...

I use pirateship - https://ship.pirateship.com/  Love them.  Integrate with both my woocommerce store and etsy.

 

I use a combination of First Class Mail and Priority mail.  I bought large rubber stamp and I can stamp all my boxes with my logo.  LOVE IT.

 

Learn the in's and outs of Regional Rate A and Rate B boxes they can save you some money if your understand. Most USPS supplies can be ordered right online for free.  Many of which they do not offer in the post office.  Flat Rate Bubble envelopes are my friend also.

 

Sometimes I but them in a box and then a USPS box, sometimes just in one or the other.  

 

 

 

 

mail.jpg

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1 hour ago, coffeebean said:

I am currently using shippo https://goshippo.com It's a free membership with great discounts in shipping.

Same here. Joined a few years ago.  Easy as pie, free, and same postage rates as those which require subscriptions. 

 

ETA: I use usps.com for quite a bit of shipping. The regional and priority rates are the same as other discount services. Goshippo is great for first class, non priority. 

 

For larger size shipments, a business fedex account is the bees knees. 

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8 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Same here. Joined a few years ago.  Easy as pie, free, and same postage rates as those which require subscriptions. 

 

ETA: I use usps.com for quite a bit of shipping. The regional and priority rates are the same as other discount services. Goshippo is great for first class, non priority. 

 

For larger size shipments, a business fedex account is the bees knees. 

ETA again, pirate ship rates look nice based on the couple of generic test dimensions I tried. 

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