# what shipping option is less expensive for tees?



## alma7 (Aug 19, 2007)

I'm working on setting up the shipping module in the cart and want to offer my customers various options. What are the most popular options with t-shirt shoppers? what shipping company/service (USPS, Fed Ex, UPS, other)?? What method (per unit, flat fee, per item, other)?? 
Sorry, I know these are a lot of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated. thank you!


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## sonambulo (Sep 22, 2007)

i think those shipping companies have business accounts u can setup to save costs. i would look each up online to see what they cost.

i think a flatfee for shippin would be best, so you dont have to deal with the millions of possible/varying costs to diff parts of the country. that said you could have ex. 8$ shipin and 4$ additional per item (ground) and smething similar for expedited. 

just my thoughts


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

alma7 said:


> I'm working on setting up the shipping module in the cart and want to offer my customers various options. What are the most popular options with t-shirt shoppers? what shipping company/service (USPS, Fed Ex, UPS, other)?? What method (per unit, flat fee, per item, other)??
> Sorry, I know these are a lot of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated. thank you!


You can find all kinds of tips and info on shipping t-shirts here: shipping related topics at T-Shirt Forums


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## chuckh (Mar 22, 2008)

I recommend UPS
Package is insured up to $100.00 at no extra charge.
You can track and verify delivery (very important)
Figure cost of shipping one shirt to furthest UPS zone from where you are and charge "X" amount per additional garment.
Don't forget to add in the cost of your envelope, bos, packaging material etc. and add a little for your time, too.
Good luck!


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## alma7 (Aug 19, 2007)

hey, thanks chuckh, you bring up a good point that I had not thought of - being able to track the shipment. I'm assuming UPS is more expensive than, say, usps - do you know? I wanted to keep the shipping cost as low as possible so not to scare potential buyers off but the ability to track a package seems pretty important.


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## Chani (Jun 18, 2007)

It really depends on how often you ship.

If you ship every day, having UPS come to pick up your packages every day using a UPS account will be the best value. Tracking is extremely important in internet retail trade.

If goign simply by cost, for single-shirt packages and not shipping every day, USPS is your "cheapest" option, in all respects.


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## chuckh (Mar 22, 2008)

Chani is correct in that USPS is less expensive, but I would advertise the fact that you ship UPS and that your package is secure. You can also e-mail shipping notification.
Have you ever tried to trace a package with the post office? Maybe a week or two down the road you'll get an answer. Maybe not.
Besides, I just feel that shipping via UPS makes you look more established and less home based.
Again, good luck!


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

chuckh said:


> Chani is correct in that USPS is less expensive, but I would advertise the fact that you ship UPS and that your package is secure. You can also e-mail shipping notification.
> Have you ever tried to trace a package with the post office? Maybe a week or two down the road you'll get an answer. Maybe not.
> Besides, I just feel that shipping via UPS makes you look more established and less home based.
> Again, good luck!


I have sent out over 1000 boxes in the last year and all went using USPS. I lost 2 and had 4 returned to me. Also USPS offers flat rate boxes. I can send 8 tees across the USA from California to New York for $8.95.


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## tim3560 (Jan 7, 2007)

UPS is really not any better for a t-shirt shop. If you're constantly sending out orders of one, UPS will only cost you more in the end. Like Lou, I've shipped many many packages by Usps Priority mail, which I've found to have been an average of around $1-$2 less per package than UPS. Every package has also always gotten to it's destination in 3 days or less as advertised. I've never been overcharged at the post office as well. I went to UPS with an envelope holding 3 t-shirts, that were misprinted by my screen printer in PA. For 3 shirts, a med, Large, and an Xl, I was charged $14.67 for a 3 lb package to go from VA, to PA. Of course, I didn't know it until a couple of weeks later when I got my first invoice. Haven't been back since. My screen printer in PA said to ship the same package to me would have cost them around $6.75. UPS said that it was probably weighed and recorded wrong, but still only gave me a $2 refund.


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

we ship alot of products daily.. between the sign business, our t-shirt and mostly our RC boat parts business.. Unless a package is over sized we ship USPS and have found that the best bang for our buck..
We do our labels online either thru paypal or the USPS site.. It comes with tracking automatically when you do it that way.. and they will email your customer with the tracking info if desired.. 
I am also very much a time is money oriented person.. So to me the most time advantage is printing the labels and my mail man takes them when he delievers our mail.. 
with the rc boat parts stuff.. We get comment after comment on how fast our deliveries are..
the only package we have ever had get lost was one where the person gave us the wrong address..


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