# How to keep shipping costs down?



## j2m1h (May 31, 2016)

I'm new to the industry and will need to be shipping shirts to customers throughout the United States, how are you keeping your shipping costs down? Every time I do an estimate with the shipping calculator the rates are ridiculous, how much are you paying to ship say 1 t-shirt and how are you doing it, packaging, carrier etc?

Please advise, thank you.


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

I use ShippingEasy online, fantastic service that integrates with ALL my websites.

I use polybags for shipping orders up to about 20 shirts. They weigh a fraction of cardboard boxes and are easier to store than cardboard boxes.

Typical price to ship one shirt is $2.60-$3.30 for postage, $0.06 for the polybag, $0.03 for the label. Not terrible.

For orders over 13 ounces I use Priority Mail shipping and try to go flat rate as often as possible. I have shoved 7 shirts into a Priority Mail Flat Rate Padded bag for $5.90 shipped!


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Buy online via a company that provides a discount (not direct through USPS). Stamps.com, PayPal, etc.

Polybag. First Class. Total cost for one shirt will be from mid $2 to mid $3, depending on whether it is a small women's American Apparel or a 5XL men's Beefy-T.

15.99oz is the limit for First Class, so 2 or 3 average size/weight shirts. Beyond that, Flat Rate Priority Legal (size) Envelopes are upper $5 no matter the weight, as long as it fits in the envelope.

Those options cover typical order sizes.

Plenty of inexpensive sources for poly mailers. I get mine off eBay:
poly mailer, mailers items in ValueMailers store on eBay!

PayPal shipping has no monthly fee:
https://www.paypal.com/?cmd=_ship-now

Something like Stamps.com charges a montly fee, but offers more features and integrations:
Stamps.com - Complete List of Shipping Features


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## BidsMaven (Sep 23, 2011)

Consider giving SGIA a call. They have a program set up for member savings on shipping via UPS. Here's the webpage with the offer. https://www.sgia.org/industry/feature/members-save-small-package-and-ltl-freight-upsr


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## needtshirtsnow (Jun 2, 2016)

For 1 shirt we use USPS domestically. The cheapest I know of.





j2m1h said:


> I'm new to the industry and will need to be shipping shirts to customers throughout the United States, how are you keeping your shipping costs down? Every time I do an estimate with the shipping calculator the rates are ridiculous, how much are you paying to ship say 1 t-shirt and how are you doing it, packaging, carrier etc?
> 
> Please advise, thank you.


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## Bigmoish (May 22, 2016)

BidsMaven said:


> Consider giving SGIA a call. They have a program set up for member savings on shipping via UPS. Here's the webpage with the offer. https://www.sgia.org/industry/feature/members-save-small-package-and-ltl-freight-upsr


This looks enticing. Are the savings really 32%? 

I'm new to the industry and bumped into these membership groups (PPAI, ASI) and they offer shipping discounts. Are there other important benefits? 

Where can i find discounts for suppliers? 

Moses


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## Bigmoish (May 22, 2016)

treefox2118 said:


> I use ShippingEasy online, fantastic service that integrates with ALL my websites.
> 
> I use polybags for shipping orders up to about 20 shirts. They weigh a fraction of cardboard boxes and are easier to store than cardboard boxes.
> 
> ...


Can you direct me to which size polybag you are using for 20 shirts? 

Thanks!


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## hmb (Jul 1, 2016)

Been wondering about that too. Also the distance it is mailed to is a facture to consider. Just ordered shipping bags from ebay which will be a big help but the larger orders is a problem. Plus you have to send the way the customer wants yesterday sent out about 66 T Shirts and it ran about $60 to Maine from Missouri through Post Office per customer request. Seems high but she paid it. Any word on this?


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## Bigmoish (May 22, 2016)

hmb said:


> Been wondering about that too. Also the distance it is mailed to is a facture to consider. Just ordered shipping bags from ebay which will be a big help but the larger orders is a problem. Plus you have to send the way the customer wants yesterday sent out about 66 T Shirts and it ran about $60 to Maine from Missouri through Post Office per customer request. Seems high but she paid it. Any word on this?


Word is that when sending higher weight its best to use a different service than Post Office. Like Fedex.


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

For larger orders use FedEx or UPS. Its generally much less expensive. You need a street address for UPS and Fed Ex.


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## georgerobert (Aug 30, 2016)

There are a lot of shipping companies are working for shipment for the USA . According to my personal experience, Fedex is better than other companies but you need to make a big order first then sure they decreased their rates.


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