How to Determine Shipping Rates
Many factors determine the costs to ship an item; are you shipping a domestic or international package? What is the weight and size of the package you are shipping? What, exactly, are you shipping? These are questions to answer before you can determine exact shipping rates.
- Before you can determine shipping rates, you will need to package your item. Fragile items should be securely packaged with padding or shipping peanuts taking up any extra room. Papers or documents can be shipped in variety of padded or flat envelopes for sale at retail markets. Once your items are securely packaged, you are ready to figure out what it will cost to ship.
- Measure your package. You’ll need the height, width and depth along with the weight.
- Check for any restrictions. Overseas markets have various rules and regulations that must be adhered to. Some governments don’t allow certain goods to come into their country, so before shipping, you’ll need to go online.
- Research the best rates. The USPS, UPS and Fed Ex are the most common delivery services in the United States. Each has a website to enter the information about your package and its destination, and the website will give you a quote. Additional services like insurance or signature on delivery costs a little more. Each service also offers different perks for the rate; for example, UPS includes free insurance of up to $100 on all domestic packages while the USPS will pick up your package from your home for free.