Shipping Charges: Boutiques, Retail & Creative Businesses

This can be a tough one for boutique owners just starting out. How do you know what shipping will cost from a vendor? It could cut your margins nearly in half if you place a smaller order. Here are a couple tips!

1: Order from wholesale conglomerates that have flat rate shipping. Bloom Wholesale and WholeSale Fashion Square both have $10 flat rate shipping, unless you spend more and then it’s free. But none of this $40 for a single pack nonsense!

2: Create a UPS account and request that the vendors run your order through that. This will ensure that you are being charged exact shipping and the cost won’t be inflated. 

3: Place larger orders from vendors if you can. Some vendors seem to start their shipping at a minimum of $20. This is hardly ideal for a single pack of items as that’s over $3 more per item that you now need to mark up higher to make back. You’ll save more per item in shipping when you do larger orders.

If you feel like you’re wasting money on shipping or any other area, a bookkeeper can help you figure out what “holes are leaking” in your business and show you what needs to change!