Probably a wierd question, but...

[bah67]

I am looking to order shipping boxes for our online store. I am not sure as to which size boxes we will need. A little background: we have 3 oz melts, 12 oz jelly jars and 7 oz frosted tumblers in 3x3x4 gift boxes.

What do those with experience with online retailing suggest as to what size boxes to order for shipping. I know there are variables such as quantities that people will order, etc.

But thought someone might have some insight and suggestion.

[Meg_10]

If you're looking for boxes to ship your products out, you can check out

usps.com you'll get free boxes from them.

As for shipping boxes or product boxes, check out

www.uline.com

they'd be able to make best suggestions.

Hope that helps.

[southern.scents]

I get all of my boxes from papermart.com....mainly because they carry several other things that I purchase often. I always order 6x6x6 because that fits my products best BUT a good thing to note is that if you use Click-N-Ship Priority then USPS doesn't charge based on size as long as your box is less than 12x12x12. So, if you don't mind paying more for larger boxes then you could buy JUST that size and ship all of your Priority orders in that one sized box instead of having to keep several sizes on hand.

Also, as Meg_10 pointed out, USPS will send you free Priority boxes. They even have a few sizes that aren't flat rate....just based on weight.

[RetroMetroChic]

I'm curious about this topic also.

I use only priority now because I get boxes free, but I see alot of online retailers with flat rate cheap shipping rates, I wonder then are they shipping out regular usps mail then and buying there own boxes.

I've looked at box prices in the past and it seems like alot of cost.

Almost seems with the cost of the box and then the reg shipping that may cost the same as priority Mail.

I'm curious how others can charge $5.00 flat rate shipping are they just taking a loss on shipping?

[ladysj]

I offer $4.95 shipping. I recently received an order for over $44 I did have to pay an additional $4.95 to ship it but I look at it this way spending $10 to ship I am still making $34 off the sale. I would rather make $34 on a sale than no sale. JMHO

[lsbennis]

I'm curious also, how can one charge a flat $4.95 rate and still make a decent profit, unless your doing a large volume of sales at some point it will become a loss, right?

I suppose if most of the orders are smaller and its only costing a few extra dollars thats not bad, but what happens if you get larger orders that may cost $14 or so to ship then you looking at a loss of almost $10 or more per order, I guess you could add it into the cost of the product.

[adillenal]

I factor the additional shipping into the cost of the product. I offer $3.95 shipping. I make soap and lotions so I am not shipping glass jar candles which makes a difference.

[southern.scents]

Well, I'm not sure but I believe that companies such as USPS, UPS, and FedEx offer bulk commercial discounts. So, if you ship over $X every month they'll offer a discount (and I've heard that those discounts can be substantial.)

But, as ladysj said, even if it costs you $10 of your profit to offer shipping for $4.95 you STILL made profit (hopefully). And, it could be that lower shipping that enticed the customer to order.

Example (completely made up statistics.....do not base your business decision on them)

-Business Charges $10.70 for shipping (medium flat rate box)

-They have 100 orders averaging $25 each (not including shipping)

-They have a 50% profit margin.

After shipping each month this company would have a net income of $1,250

But, if that company offers 6.95 shipping (even though it costs them $10.70) lets say they have a 50% increase in business due to customers who usually wouldn't order due to the shipping charges.

-Business Charges $6.95 for shipping (medium flat rate box..cost them 10.70)

-They have 150 orders averaging $25 each (not including shipping)

-They have a 50% profit margin.

After shipping each month this company would have a net income of $1,312.50.

We could also look at it this way...if that company offers 6.95 shipping (even though it costs them $10.70) lets say their customers ordered (on average) an extra $10 in products due to the cheaper shipping costs.

-Business Charges $6.95 for shipping (medium flat rate box..cost them 10.70)

-They have 100 orders averaging $35 each (not including shipping)

-They have a 50% profit margin.

After shipping each month this company would have a net income of $1,375.00.

Chances are, though, you'll have a mixture of both situations...you'll receive new customers due to the lower shipping and they'll spend more because they know they won't have to pay as much in shipping.

If that company offers 6.95 shipping (even though it costs them $10.70) lets say their customers ordered (on average) an extra $10 in products and they saw a 25% increase in sales due to the cheaper shipping costs.

-Business Charges $6.95 for shipping (medium flat rate box..cost them 10.70)

-They have 125 orders averaging $35 each (not including shipping)

-They have a 50% profit margin.

After shipping each month this company would have a net income of $1,718.75.

And this is just the "tip of the iceberg". What if having the additional sales each month meant that they received lower shipping rates? What if those additional sales got them better processing rates with their merchant? What if the additional demand allowed them to purchase supplies in a larger quantity which cost them less...ultimately increasing their profit margin? There is a lot to consider.

It is really going to come down what your business can support. You are going to have to look at your sales statistics, your profit margin, the potential costs, and the potential rewards and decide if you think it is feasible.

[TBDQuilling]

We use both priority and boxes we get from Uline (http://www.uline.com ) They have all sizes of boxes. We have our shipping priced depending on how much you spend. Sometimes it better to lose a bit on shipping as you make it up with the products.

[bah67]

Thanks for everyone's input. I have been pulling my hair out...and staring at webpage after webpage trying to figure out shipping, box sizes, etc.

I am considering, and probably have already decided on getting Auction Inc.'s Paid Shop Cart, since it can be integrated with Paypal, and can comes with a shipping calculator that I here is very accurate.

I think USPS Priority will definitely will be an option, but am considering also UPS or FedEx. In the past in other businesses I used FedEx often, but we usually were sending document, not candles.

I just want to make sure I am doing accurate calculations when it comes to box sizes, weight etc.

What type of scale does everyone use to weight their packages? Sorry another question!! LOL

[lsbennis]

"I am considering, and probably have already decided on getting Auction Inc.'s Paid Shop Cart, since it can be integrated with Paypal, and can comes with a shipping calculator that I here is very accurate".

Bah67, I use Auction Inc shipping calculator on my site and it has been accurate so far, but I'm going to look into a flat rate and maybe try that out and see if it makes any difference in sales. The only problem I can see is that I use the Libby Rocks tumblers and they have a heavy thick base on them so somtimes the USPS flat rate works better for me.

[bah67]

Thanks lsbennis, I will look into flat rate also.

[Judiee]

duplicate post deleted

Edited September 2, 2010 by Judiee

[Judiee]

Thanks for everyone's input. I have been pulling my hair out...and staring at webpage after webpage trying to figure out shipping, box sizes, etc.

Once you go beyond what you can fit in a large flate rate priority mail box I think you'll find that fedex is a little less than ups if you setup an account. Check Uline for multisize boxes that are larger then the usps boxes (i.e. 16x16x16) - http://www.uline.com/bl_407/Multi-Depth-Boxes