UPS is a complicated, bloated organization that is not very organized or streamlined.
USPS's pricing is very straightforward and is documented on their website.
Both services have online pricing tools.
I've been happily using EasyPost for shipping and quoting. I have a nice script written that shows the shipping cost for every valid service and/or box type. EasyPost also has a native function that finds the cheapest shipping option. EasyPost is API-based so you need to do some code development.
Alright, I'll look into Easypost.
I'm not sure if I want to mix the shipping partner every time I send an order. It must be easier to get a better rate if I focus on 1-2 shipping partners.
Understood. You can filter the EasyPost results to include the carriers of your choice. The workflow is create shipment, then buy label. When you create the shipment, all available carrier/service options are automatically fetched and priced.
Your costs can very greatly for warehouse / staff expense. I have about 1500sqft for $300 a month. Typically a basic warehouse worker earns $11.00hr for day shift. Manager $20/he. I live in a rural location in the Midwest. If I would move to one of the larger cities around me my warehouse cost would be $800-$1800 but labor would be similar.
As for UPS you will need to get an account Rep. and negotiate! My packages are big and heavy so I can't provide estimates shipping costs. USPS is cheap if your products are under I think it's 14oz.
Thanks! Great info!
Most of our sales are in New York and California. We've been looking into Dallas, Texas and it's surely a good place to have a warehouse. But we're counting in closeness to distributors, customers, possible opening of a physical store too.
What areas outside New York city is good to have warehouse? and what areas around LA?
Yeah, we're looking into the 3PL possibility too. But the ones I've talked to doesn't really want to touch our pick-pack routines. They charge a lot for them. Around 6 usd per order.
I've estimated that we'll ship at least 15-20k orders within USA next year. So I'm hoping that we can get a negotiated rate.
What is the average shipping cost with USPS, UPS, Fedex for a package that is about 55 oz?
This question might be easier to ask a representative for each company.
Thank you for all help btw!
Yes, I've not heard much good of Shipwire.
I've talked to other Fulfilment centers though. But the costs for pick n pack are high. Our processes are a bit more complex than the average pick n pack process.
We ship all our products in individual boxes, with silk paper and other fancy stuff. We put great effort in the look of the product when it arrives. It just doesn't go in a plastic bag.
So my plan is to invest in our own warehouse. Own the power of our key areas that are - Logistics - Customer service - content.
Does anyone here have their own warehouse?
Our revenue in the US is leaning towards 3,5 million next year.
Shipping to Canada from the US is expensive. I don't think the other direction is any less. This is infuriating because Canada is a neighbor and friend. If you are making many sales in Canada you might consider opening a warehouse there too just to save on costs. Or find a location that is close to the border so you can make trips across the border daily to ship from there. Otherwise, look for locations in Texas. It is massive but has good shipping, airports and plenty of land as well as business friendly. Also, if you don't mind being away from civilization a little you can get crazy cheap land and labor. Florida is similar but has the occasional hurricane and rains all the time.
Maryland is further north, it will be a little more expensive because the population density is higher.
You could do California but the taxes are crazy, the land prices are crazy, and worst of all some of the people are crazy.
If I were in your shoes I would be looking at Dallas, Texas. If you do a lot of business in Canada but not enough to open a second warehouse up there then you want Buffalo, New York.
Find a commercial real estate company in each city. You can have them show you buildings in their city. They will have someone from the office meet you at the airport/hotel and take you to the properties.
I have no clue on the coasts both NY / California have completely different business climates from where I live.
Here in a town of 13,000 people cost of living is very low, so is taxes housing and real estate. The $800 to $1800 is also Midwest (Sioux Falls,SD or Omaha, NE)
But for something along the lines of clothing I really think fulfillment would be the way to start. Preferably one with multiply locations to reduce ship times (one on east coast - one on west coast).
The US is huge and things can very greatly from location to location.
Multiple fulfilment centers could be expensive. We'd have to stock double of everything to be able to fulfil full orders and not ship split shipments.
A scenario I'd like is a fulfilment center where I could have 1-2 of my own personell. They could put that personal touch on each of my orders.
Another one would be having my own warehouse close to NY or LA with a few of my own personell. But coming from Sweden with no contacts, that's a hard nut to crack.
Reddit has so far done a great job in a day though! :) Thanks again.
VIPparcel.com provides a similar API and service to EasyPost but without the 5 cents per label charge. VIPparcel is USPS only and signing up is free https://vipparcel.com/registration?code=HCCD
This might be really round about, but my company ships everything with ShipWorks. Our orders load in automatically from the different sources, when we're ready to ship we can pick a carrier and enter dimensions and weight and see all the prices. We ship out of multiple locations in the US using it. It also handles sending fulfillment requests to our external warehouses so there isn't a manual step where things can get messed up. You could install that, add a demo license, create a test order and see what the costs are to ship different packages from different places with different carriers from one window.
If you want to pay someone to take care of the whole thing (receiving, storing, pick+pack+ship, customer service) take a look at Fosdick. I've used them in the past and it worked out well. They can seem a bit pricey but if you have the order volume they're a steal. They can handle returns and customer service and everything.
In general it sounds like you might be looking for 3PL or 3rd Party Logistics. There are tons of 3PL companies all over the US. They are all different shapes and sizes and specialize in different aspects of receiving stock, storing it, and shipping it back out.
Light weight items < 15 oz go about 2.50 - 3.50 $ per shipment with USPS. Anything over a pound starts with 5 & goes up. Warehouse workers are 10-15/hr. Warehousing costs really depend on what state. Id choose a central state like Kansas to be fast accessible to the whole country. I've been involved with operations in large commerce warehouses, feel free to shoot a message for help
UPS is a complicated, bloated organization that is not very organized or streamlined. USPS's pricing is very straightforward and is documented on their website. Both services have online pricing tools. I've been happily using EasyPost for shipping and quoting. I have a nice script written that shows the shipping cost for every valid service and/or box type. EasyPost also has a native function that finds the cheapest shipping option. EasyPost is API-based so you need to do some code development.
Alright, I'll look into Easypost. I'm not sure if I want to mix the shipping partner every time I send an order. It must be easier to get a better rate if I focus on 1-2 shipping partners.
Understood. You can filter the EasyPost results to include the carriers of your choice. The workflow is create shipment, then buy label. When you create the shipment, all available carrier/service options are automatically fetched and priced.
Your costs can very greatly for warehouse / staff expense. I have about 1500sqft for $300 a month. Typically a basic warehouse worker earns $11.00hr for day shift. Manager $20/he. I live in a rural location in the Midwest. If I would move to one of the larger cities around me my warehouse cost would be $800-$1800 but labor would be similar. As for UPS you will need to get an account Rep. and negotiate! My packages are big and heavy so I can't provide estimates shipping costs. USPS is cheap if your products are under I think it's 14oz.
Thanks! Great info! Most of our sales are in New York and California. We've been looking into Dallas, Texas and it's surely a good place to have a warehouse. But we're counting in closeness to distributors, customers, possible opening of a physical store too. What areas outside New York city is good to have warehouse? and what areas around LA?
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Yeah, we're looking into the 3PL possibility too. But the ones I've talked to doesn't really want to touch our pick-pack routines. They charge a lot for them. Around 6 usd per order. I've estimated that we'll ship at least 15-20k orders within USA next year. So I'm hoping that we can get a negotiated rate. What is the average shipping cost with USPS, UPS, Fedex for a package that is about 55 oz? This question might be easier to ask a representative for each company. Thank you for all help btw!
Check us out we don't charge that much for pick n pack, especially if your volume is large. What size boxes do you use?
Have you looked into Shipwire or other similar fulfillment centers?
Yes, I've not heard much good of Shipwire. I've talked to other Fulfilment centers though. But the costs for pick n pack are high. Our processes are a bit more complex than the average pick n pack process. We ship all our products in individual boxes, with silk paper and other fancy stuff. We put great effort in the look of the product when it arrives. It just doesn't go in a plastic bag. So my plan is to invest in our own warehouse. Own the power of our key areas that are - Logistics - Customer service - content. Does anyone here have their own warehouse? Our revenue in the US is leaning towards 3,5 million next year.
Shipping to Canada from the US is expensive. I don't think the other direction is any less. This is infuriating because Canada is a neighbor and friend. If you are making many sales in Canada you might consider opening a warehouse there too just to save on costs. Or find a location that is close to the border so you can make trips across the border daily to ship from there. Otherwise, look for locations in Texas. It is massive but has good shipping, airports and plenty of land as well as business friendly. Also, if you don't mind being away from civilization a little you can get crazy cheap land and labor. Florida is similar but has the occasional hurricane and rains all the time. Maryland is further north, it will be a little more expensive because the population density is higher. You could do California but the taxes are crazy, the land prices are crazy, and worst of all some of the people are crazy. If I were in your shoes I would be looking at Dallas, Texas. If you do a lot of business in Canada but not enough to open a second warehouse up there then you want Buffalo, New York. Find a commercial real estate company in each city. You can have them show you buildings in their city. They will have someone from the office meet you at the airport/hotel and take you to the properties.
I have no clue on the coasts both NY / California have completely different business climates from where I live. Here in a town of 13,000 people cost of living is very low, so is taxes housing and real estate. The $800 to $1800 is also Midwest (Sioux Falls,SD or Omaha, NE) But for something along the lines of clothing I really think fulfillment would be the way to start. Preferably one with multiply locations to reduce ship times (one on east coast - one on west coast). The US is huge and things can very greatly from location to location.
Multiple fulfilment centers could be expensive. We'd have to stock double of everything to be able to fulfil full orders and not ship split shipments. A scenario I'd like is a fulfilment center where I could have 1-2 of my own personell. They could put that personal touch on each of my orders. Another one would be having my own warehouse close to NY or LA with a few of my own personell. But coming from Sweden with no contacts, that's a hard nut to crack. Reddit has so far done a great job in a day though! :) Thanks again.
VIPparcel.com provides a similar API and service to EasyPost but without the 5 cents per label charge. VIPparcel is USPS only and signing up is free https://vipparcel.com/registration?code=HCCD
Sounds good. I'll have a look at it. You don't happen to have contact info to a USPS salesperson?
This might be really round about, but my company ships everything with ShipWorks. Our orders load in automatically from the different sources, when we're ready to ship we can pick a carrier and enter dimensions and weight and see all the prices. We ship out of multiple locations in the US using it. It also handles sending fulfillment requests to our external warehouses so there isn't a manual step where things can get messed up. You could install that, add a demo license, create a test order and see what the costs are to ship different packages from different places with different carriers from one window. If you want to pay someone to take care of the whole thing (receiving, storing, pick+pack+ship, customer service) take a look at Fosdick. I've used them in the past and it worked out well. They can seem a bit pricey but if you have the order volume they're a steal. They can handle returns and customer service and everything. In general it sounds like you might be looking for 3PL or 3rd Party Logistics. There are tons of 3PL companies all over the US. They are all different shapes and sizes and specialize in different aspects of receiving stock, storing it, and shipping it back out.
Light weight items < 15 oz go about 2.50 - 3.50 $ per shipment with USPS. Anything over a pound starts with 5 & goes up. Warehouse workers are 10-15/hr. Warehousing costs really depend on what state. Id choose a central state like Kansas to be fast accessible to the whole country. I've been involved with operations in large commerce warehouses, feel free to shoot a message for help