{"id":5142,"date":"2018-06-01T16:43:46","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T16:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shippingeasy.com\/?p=5142"},"modified":"2023-02-13T11:05:12","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T17:05:12","slug":"4-ways-youre-overspending-on-shipping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shippingeasy.com\/blog\/4-ways-youre-overspending-on-shipping\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways You’re Overspending on Shipping"},"content":{"rendered":"

The shipping rates in this blog are the 2021 USPS shipping rates. For current 2022 shipping rates, check out our USPS 2022 Shipping Rate Changes: Flat Rate, Priority, First Class, w\/Tables blog.<\/p>\n

Any e-commerce seller will tell you that it\u2019s very easy to overspend on shipping. This is often not because sellers are careless, it\u2019s because they\u2019re unaware of the options available to them\u2014and don\u2019t have the time to learn. Let\u2019s take a look at some common shipping pitfalls e-commerce sellers face, with alternatives and suggestions that can help you save money on shipping every day.<\/p>\n

1: You use a Flat Rate Box for everything you ship.<\/h2>\n
Flat Rate Boxes<\/a> are a simple way to ship. If you can fit it in the box, it ships at the same price every time. However, before you adopt this method universally across all of your shipments, there are some cases where another option might be less expensive.<\/p>\n
Alternative 1<\/em><\/strong>: Regional Rate Boxes<\/p>\n
Regional rate boxes<\/a> work very similarly to flat rate boxes. The only real difference is there are three weight tiers (compared to Flat Rate\u2019s acceptance of any weight) and a shipping rate that varies based on the distance the package will travel (broken down by shipping Zones). USPS provides the boxes for FREE and if your shipment is headed to Zone 1-4, you\u2019ll find this option can typically be cheaper than Flat Rate Boxes.<\/p>\n
Below are some examples of when Regional Rate actually beats Flat Rate:<\/p>\n\r\n