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Ecommerce Secrets: 3 Ways To Reign In Your Bottom Line by Using Cheaper Postage Options

Getting ahead with your ecommerce store is not rocket science, but there is a method and manner to the madness. As larger ecommerce conglomerates like Amazon, Overstock.com and Zappos take center stage, offering free shipping and hassle-free returns, the bar has been inching higher and higher in recent years.

Meanwhile, the midsized and smaller ecommerce businesses have colloquially struggled with offering cheaper postage options simply for the lack of them having access to commercial pricing discounts.

But there are solutions that do exist that can get you tethered into the best postage rates. With three major carriers offering service in the U.S. and internationally, and with plenty of middlemen players in between, it just takes a little bit of creative thinking outside of the box to get locked into cheaper postage options.

Customers Want Cheap Shipping

Studies that have been conducted over the past decade have consistently demonstrated that consumers want cheaper postage options when shopping online. On average, 70% of consumers are likely to abandon a shopping cart if they think that the cost of shipping is too high, in comparison to the perceived value of the product they considering buying.

What’s more, if a discounted shipping option is not offered, the studies also say that shoppers are likely to abandon their cart and look for an online store that does offer such an option. By and far, free shipping is the most plausible conversion tool, with 80% of consumers stating that they want this shipping option over any other.

Discount Digital Postage Providers

One of the simplest ways that you can get connected to cheaper postage options is via the two online digital discount USPS postage providers. These include: Endicia and Stamps.com. Each offers a competitive monthly fee and the same discounts on USPS postage. Both come with plenty of perks for new users, things like a digital scale and other value add-ons.

Commercial Plus Pricing

While the aforementioned digital discount postage providers will tie you into the lucrative Commercial Base pricing that’s offered by the USPS, how do you go about getting the even more advantageous Commercial Plus pricing? For smaller ecommerce stores, this is tough because the USPS mandates that businesses be shipping 50,000 packages or more per year to get these special discounted rates.

But there are providers that can tie you into these special rates. A quick look at Express 1’s cheaper postage options is telling. They get their users the Commercial Plus pricing on all USPS Priority Mail and Express Mail shipping options. Users only pay a small monthly fee and tender payments for the postage as they use it.

Cheap International Shipping Options

If you’re sending a lot of international packages, you still have some options here, too. A company called APC Postal Logistics connects you to discounts on international shipping by consolidating post offices and mail hubs abroad. Their simplistic logistics help you send international shipments and get you connected to special pricing you won’t find elsewhere.

The Bottom Line

Using these options, you’ll have three ways to save on shipping at your ecommerce store. Seeing as shipping is a large factor in a customer closing the sale or leaving your shopping cart, it makes sense to explore every possible avenue that can help you reduce your shipping cost, lower your overhead and improve your bottom line.

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