With customers wanting affordable and fast shipping, the costs of shipping is getting higher than ever. Affordable shipping is important, but it doesn’t have to completely break your finances. There are different shipping supplies which you can get from different retailers of all kinds. For small businesses, the dollars saved do matter, and for larger companies, free supplies for larger shipping items and volumes of this does save you big bucks in the long haul. Here is how you can get free shipping supplies, and how you can lower costs immensely.
Check Carriers
There are four shipping carriers that actually offer this. UPS actually has a lot of resources and ways to ship, which makes it easier for you to ship items. They offer the following types of supplies for free:
Envelopes
Pouches
Stickers and labels
Shipping forms
HAZMAT items
FedEx as well offers free FedEx Ground and Express shipping items that you can pick up or order on their online store and delivered within 2-5 days of business. FedEx offers these for free:
Airbills
Triangular boxes
Boxes
Pouches
Mailers
Shipping labels and forms
USPS also offers this too, and it’s a pretty decent selection. You can order these online or picking these up directly at the USPS place you need to go. USPS actually offers bulk supplies of 10 or 25 for free, so if you choose an amount, you can choose the packs of these to order. They offer:
Priority mail
Registered mail envelopes
Priority mail express boxes
Tracking labels
Global express envelopes
Finally, you’ve got DHL, which is considered on for the best international shipping companies. They aren’t as expansive as say UPS or FedEx, but they have a network to get the products that you want sent at the best rates possible. They offer these supplies free of charge:
Labels for shipping
Envelopes
Pouches which are padded
Tubed mailers
Waybill sleeves
Mailers period
Various boxes
How to Use These
There are a few things tat will let you get these supplies free from mailers, and these rules are important to watch out for. First, you have to use specific mailing types of services. For instance, if you’re going to get free supplies from USPS, you have to use them. You can use those though with the carrier to ship a variety of products.
A lot of times as well you also are only allowed specific mailing services. You will only be allowed to use priority mail if you choose to of course use this type of shipping for your products. They also only allow you to order the amount that you need. That means, only order what you think you’re going to use. You will need to refresh the supplies on the monthly, so you should be mindful of this, and then also be mindful of the supplies in place as needed too.
The Best Option to ship volume
There are a few ways for you to get better and more affordable shipping. Don’t be afraid to reuse the old boxes you have for starters. You should ask the local grocery and other stores for boxes. They may have a lot of free boxes for you. Liquor stores are another, but they do sometimes only let you take a few. Finally, consider flat rate shipping mailers and boxes. This is a box that has one specific rate, no matter the weight or the size of this too.
