I have a confession to make: I used to be so intimidated by the post office. The line is always at least 3 people deep, I never knew what to ask the employees behind the counter, what shipping supplies you were allowed to use, or why it costs $15 to ship something weighing less than a pound to the next state over. Well, I’m still not 100% clear on the last one, but now, I can tell you the difference between Ground Advantage and Priority, and I don’t even need to wait in the line rehearsing what I think I need to say when it’s my turn.
One thing that surprised me about small product-based business ownership is just how useful it is to understand at least the basics of shipping. So I thought I’d pass the knowledge along to you, and share some things I wish I knew about shipping products for my small creative business.
Shipping supplies. Imagine this: you’ve FINALLY made your first sale! Hooray! After celebrating for a few minutes, the mini panic sets in – “How the F am I going to ship this?” Followed by a frantic run around your house looking for a box, hoping you hadn’t thrown out the bubble wrap from the candle you bought last week, and breathing a sigh of relief when you’ve cobbled something together. … and then you get another order.
I see this often with new small creative business owners, myself included. It’s totally understandable though – you are so laser focused on creating your products, setting up listings, and actually launching your business, you have no free headspace to consider would happen after a sale comes through. I highly recommend doing a “test run” to determine what packaging you’ll need – whether that’s bubble mailers, boxes, crinkle paper, etc. – taking into account the size and fragility of your products. Then you can source a small amount. (Re-using absolutely counts as “sourcing”! Just make sure you have a few on hand.) That way, you’re prepared in advance with exactly what you know will work.
A postage scale: the game changer. THIS is the secret sauce to avoiding the dreaded post office line! I was surprised at just how useful a postage scale is for a small business, but now it’s one of my favorite tools! This obviously ties into the previous essential — part of being prepared to ship your products means knowing what postage to buy. That is first determined by how quickly you (and your customer) want the product to arrive (relative to the increased cost for faster delivery), followed by the dimensions and weight of the package.
A postage scale makes this so much easier. They’re also affordable; they sound official and fancy, but cost around $30 online. Make sure you get one that measures to at least the tenth of an ounce. I think you’ll also be surprised at how lightweight your package is. This will get you a ton of cost savings versus just guesstimating that every single package weighs a pound.
As long as you know which service you want to use (check the USPS website for a chart that defines them all), the dimensions of your package, and how much it weighs, you can do everything on your own at home, saving the time and hassle of getting assistance for every shipment. Now, it’s a quick trip to drop things off; no more waiting in line!
Printing shipping labels. It’s important to note that all of the self-service capabilities above are moot if you can’t print your shipping label after you buy it. While you do not need a fancy thermal label printer right away, you do need a way to get your shipping labels from your computer and onto the package. Fortunately, you have options. Most libraries offer printing services that can range from free to a few cents a sheet. It is also totally fine to buy the cheapest printer you can find and a stack of printer paper – you do not need anything fancy.
With those two options, you can cut your labels out and tape them the old fashioned way. In fact, that’s what I did before I got my Rollo printer. I used a printer I bought on Black Friday 2 years prior, printed the labels out on regular printer paper (two to a sheet), cut them with a guillotine I already owned for papercrafting, and packing-taped them to the box. You can also buy sticky label paper and print on those with a regular printer, although that is expensive and not worth it in my opinion.
All of that to say, you can keep printing on the affordable side with some forethought, bargain-hunting, and using what you have or what is available to you. Or, if you have the funds, get the thermal printer! I LOVE mine, and I think it’s a smart investment to make in your business when you are able.
Shipping rates. If you’ve walked out of the post office with sticker shock, there is a reason for it. At the desk, the post office charges “retail rates”, which is technically full price of the postage. If you buy your labels from a shipping service like Pirate Ship, directly through your e-commerce site’s shipping service, or from Etsy, they typically offer “discounted rates”. Which really, are the rates we’re more used to seeing. This is another advantage to buying your shipping labels online at home: they cost significantly less than what they would in-person.
While all of the options available for shipping can feel super overwhelming, taking some time to understand the details will really help you work more efficiently and save money as you get orders and send them to your customers. I hope this gave you a jump start on growing your confidence in shipping your products!
Lemon Press Studio 