This edition of Resources for Creatives I’ll be letting you in on all of my shipping secrets! This post will be most useful for product-based businesses. All of these recommendations come after five years of experimenting with maaany different systems and programs and sweat and arguments with my Logistics Manager (husband 😉 ). These are the tools I currently use and swear by. Here we go!
SUPPLIES
ULINE: We get all of BGD’s boxes, bubble wrap and pink tissue paper that we stuff everywhere from ULine. They are the best. Super awesome customer service, next day delivery and they have, literally, everything. Buying in bulk is definitely a money saver, too.
Amazon: I get all of BGD’s shiny pink mailers from Amazon because they’re just a tad cheaper than ULine. Plus, with Prime, free shipping!
Dymo LabelWriter 4xl: This printer has single handedly saved me the most time and money on shipping. It is solely for labels but requires no ink (big savings!) and prints super duper fast. It is standard among shipping programs so the labels are already sized and optimized for it. I spent way too much time printing labels from my old InkJet printer, I’m so mad at myself that I didn’t make the Dymo investment earlier. Learn from my mistake! 😉
SHIPPING
ShipStation: I have used a whole bunch of different shipping programs and ShipStation is BY FAR my favorite. It automatically imports orders from all of my sales channels and it’s easy to batch together like shipments. It is hugely helpful in cutting down my shipping times. My favorite features include being able to copy/paste an address in it’s entirety instead of tab-ing and typing in to each field. I know that sounds nit-picky but it is a serious time saver. Another thing I love about ShipStation is the ability to import across all sales channels. I have Etsy, BrittanyGarnerDesign.com and my wholesale site all in one spot. It’s aaaaahhhhhh-mazing.
An actual, physical shipping station: somewhere in your home office/garage/corner of your dining room where everything you need to get ship done is within reach. Mine is a corner of my home studio (pictured below). The only thing not within reach is the actual product, which is sometimes a pain but it’s what works for the space I’m in right now.
OTHER
USPS Home Pick Up: If you are still schlepping your orders all the way to they post office, STOP. Your mail person will pick them up off your porch FOR FREE. You can schedule a pick up online, put them out that morning and they’ll be picked up during your regular mail hours. Awesome, yeah?
4over Trade Printing: To build brand recognition, I also include inserts with information on how to contact me if anything is wrong and social media links to keep the customer-biz relationship going. You can get them printed wherever but I highly, highly recommend you give a lot of thought and time to your branding–it’s EVERYTHING.
What are your must-have shipping tools and tips?
