How smart packaging can help reduce your shipping costs? Ever received a gift where the wrapping and packaging was more extended and elaborate than the gift inside itself? Sometimes we just can’t figure out how much to wrap or provide protection for a particular item. We mostly end up overdoing it. Mainly because we don’t want the product to undergo any duress until it is opened by the intended. This kind of emotion is fine for personal gifts. Not when you are sending out thousands and millions of packages every single day. Online retail businesses cannot afford this density of generosity in their packaging. How can you pack smart so as to cut down shipping costs?
Reuse shipping labels:
Yeah. Go ahead and do that right away. As long as you are able to strike off the bar codes (because if you don’t, you will end up sending the package to the wrong address) reusing shipping labels is a perfect norm in the shipping industry.
Don’t hesitate to ask for free boxes:
There is no joy like receiving something for free. Especially if you are a regular shipper, your joy will know no bounds if you are given free shipping boxes. Shipping boxes are not cheap. If your carrier partner is able to provide free shipping boxes, it is a crime to not take advantage of it.
Inception style:
Some items require extreme care. By care we mean concise. Restricting their movement. The movie “Inception” shows how to go to a dream within a dream. Like that, some of your items require boxing within a boxing. It is not just a box within a box, but also a detailed cushioning so that even in hard and rugged transit conditions the product would remain safe inside the box.
Trash papers:
Being eco-minded is great. Trying to use waste papers in the packaging is not. Old papers are usually known to smear or rub off their ink on the surroundings. You don’t want to have a product returned merely because the product had ink smeared all over it.
Repeat foams and cushions:
If there is air in them they have life. High performance cushions and foams last for a couple of trips. Use them as long as they can be used.
Edible items:
Cakes, baked items, pastries, such, need special containers. Not the usual, generic boxes. Do some research and find out what kind of packaging is required for a certain item.
There are a number of ways to reduce shipping costs. But we think the number one step is to watch the packaging process.