How to Get Cheaper Shipping for Your Business?

Shipping cost is one of the factors that most influences a customer's purchasing decision. Almost half of abandoned carts in ecommerce are mainly caused by additional shipping costs and taxes, according to Shopify. And yet, many businesses keep paying more than they need to for their shipping, not because of a lack of options, but because of a lack of strategy.

The good news is that shipping cheaply doesn't mean offering a lower-quality service. It means making better decisions before generating each label.

Where does money get lost due to poor logistics?

Before optimizing, it's worth understanding where the leaks are. These are the most common reasons businesses pay more than necessary for their shipping:

• Always using the same carrier without comparing. Rates vary significantly between carriers for the same origin, destination, and weight. Not comparing before choosing means leaving money on the table with every label.
• Declaring incorrect weight or dimensions. If the sealed package weighs or measures more than declared, the carrier applies an automatic surcharge that may arrive days after delivery.
• Using boxes that are too large. A box with empty space increases the volumetric weight, which is the calculation carriers use to charge when a package's volume exceeds its actual weight.
• Not considering the type of service based on urgency. Always using express shipping when the customer can wait 2 or 3 more days unnecessarily increases the cost per label.
• Not planning logistics for peak seasons. During demand spikes, prices rise and carrier capacity gets saturated. Businesses that don't prepare in advance pay more and deliver late.

Compare before choosing a carrier

The first step to shipping cheaply is getting real-time quotes from more than one carrier before confirming each label. Price differences for the same shipment can be considerable between carriers like FedEx, DHL, and Estafeta, depending on weight, dimensions, destination, and type of service.

Contracting directly with a single carrier gives you stability, but it takes away flexibility. If a carrier saturates its capacity or raises its rates, you have no immediate alternative.

Using a multicarrier platform lets you compare rates from multiple carriers in one place and always choose the most convenient option for each order, without needing to access different portals or negotiate separately.

Tip: Get quotes from at least two or three options before confirming any label. The cost difference between carriers for the same shipment can be considerable, so it's worth checking before deciding.

Choose the right shipping service

Not all shipments need to arrive tomorrow. One of the simplest ways to save on logistics is to match the type of service to the real urgency of each order.

• Economy or standard shipping: ideal for customers who aren't in a hurry. Transit time is longer, but the cost is usually noticeably lower than express. Offering free standard shipping and charging only for the express service is a strategy many online stores use to balance costs and delivery expectations.
• Express shipping: for urgent orders or when the customer explicitly requests it. It makes sense to charge for it as a premium service rather than absorbing it as a fixed cost.
• Delivery or pickup points: when the customer can pick up the package at a nearby point, the cost of the label is usually lower and the successful delivery rate is higher.

A smart shipping strategy combines several options depending on the order, not a single approach for everything.

Optimize your packaging

Packaging directly impacts the cost of each shipment. These are the optimizations with the biggest effect on label price:

• Use the smallest box possible. Reducing the package's outer dimensions reduces the volumetric weight, which is often greater than the actual weight.
• Standardize your packaging. If you always use the same box sizes, you can anticipate the cost of each shipment precisely and reduce preparation time.
• Weigh the sealed package, not the product. Packaging material adds weight and volume. Declaring the product's weight without packaging creates discrepancies that the carrier charges as a surcharge.
• Consider lightweight materials when the product allows it. For clothing, accessories, and textiles, a reinforced polyethylene bag can be enough and weighs considerably less than a cardboard box.

Tip: Always measure and weigh the sealed package before getting a quote. Those are the figures you should enter on the platform, not the unpackaged product's.

Logistics also impacts the customer experience

A cheap shipment that arrives late, damaged, or without communication isn't a saving: it's a hidden cost in the form of returns, negative reviews, and customers who don't come back.

The key is finding the balance between cost and experience. These practices help you keep both in check:

• Automatic notifications: informing the customer at each stage of the shipment reduces support messages and increases satisfaction, at no additional cost on most platforms.
• Visible tracking: sharing the tracking number or a tracking link from the moment the package leaves your hands turns the wait into a controlled experience.
• Clear return policy: a simple, visible policy reduces cart abandonment and builds trust before the first purchase.

How much can you save by improving your logistics?

It depends on your volume and starting point, but the most common savings achieved by optimizing logistics come from:

• Comparing carriers: choosing the cheapest option for each label instead of always using the same one can notably reduce the average cost per shipment.
• Optimizing packaging: reducing volumetric weight with smaller boxes can represent significant savings on shipments that today are priced by volume rather than actual weight.
• Automating shipping rules: instead of manually deciding the carrier for each order, an automatic rule assigns the correct option based on predefined criteria, reducing errors and management time.
• Consolidating bulk shipments: instead of processing orders one by one, dispatching in batches reduces operating time and, on some platforms, gives you access to volume-based rates.

How to apply this during peak season

High-demand periods are when the most is lost due to a lack of logistics preparation. Rates go up, carriers saturate their capacity, and delivery times extend without notice.

To avoid overpaying or letting your customers down, these actions make the difference:

• Plan stock and packaging in advance. Having boxes, materials, and labels ready before the peak avoids emergency purchases at higher prices.
• Have more than one active carrier. If one carrier saturates or raises rates during the peak, you need to be able to redirect shipments to another option without disrupting operations.
• Define service thresholds. Decide in advance which orders will go via express service and which via standard, so you don't default to the more expensive option when volume pressure hits.
• Turn on proactive notifications. During peak season, delays are more frequent. Informing the customer before they ask reduces support volume and protects your store's reputation.

Tip: Peak season isn't the time to try out a new carrier. Consolidate your logistics partnerships before the peak and make sure each carrier you work with has enough capacity for your expected volume.

Conclusion

With a shipping platform like Envia.com you can compare rates from multiple carriers in real time, turn on automatic shipping rules, and manage both domestic and international shipments from a single account, without needing to contract separately with each carrier. It's the most direct way to apply all these savings strategies from your very first shipment.