Loading...
Answers
MenuLooking for a the most effective way to send envelope size parcels (10cm x 14cm) under 100g, globally via 3PL.
Currently, we send product to a friend in each region, who picks/packs and uses Netstamps/USPS (or equivalent postage stamps) to send the product to each customer. It's very cost effective (30c pick/pack and about $1.2-$2 in postage), but not easily scalable and no tracking.
Wondering if there's another way to think about doing this?
Answers
You're already saving by using a fulfillment house in each region. You could save a little more on costs by sending the product to the 3PL already picked and packed. If your product is repacked in a mail-ready package that will save some. You could take that one further and send the picked, packed and labelled product to regional mailing houses. The post office can also sometimes help with bulk mailing projects of this nature and that would eliminate your 3PL costs entirely and also ensure you're getting the lowest shipping rates.
Also, your 3PL should be providing you with information that would allow you to track this data. Why are you not getting that information? Also, why is your current operation not scaleable, have you reached the limits of your providers? Not sure I understand that part.
Here are some alternative options to consider for shipping products internationally in a more scalable way with tracking:
Use a global shipping provider like DHL, FedEx, or UPS for consolidated international shipments. They offer tracking and delivery confirmation. Rates may be higher than stamps, but they could be cost-effective at scale.
Look into freight forwarding companies that can consolidate shipments and arrange bulk international transport via air or sea. Some provide pickup from local warehouses.
Use an e-commerce fulfillment service like ShipBob, Fulfillment by Amazon, or ShipMonk. They pick up, pack, ship and handle customs and duties. More hands-off than doing it yourself.
Print shipping labels directly through your regional postal service's online portal (e.g., Canada Post, Royal Mail) for cheaper rates than couriers but with tracking.
Research group shipping discounts: some providers offer lower rates for consolidated shipments from the same sender within a time period.
Consider sea freight for large, less time-sensitive orders. Much cheaper than air but with longer transit times.
Compare parcel vs. envelope rates, as envelopes are often cheaper up to a certain weight.
Having a local fulfillment partner is very cost-effective for low volumes. As business grows, a scalable automated solution with tracking may be worth the higher per-item cost.
Related Questions
-
How do I go about finding a mentor for my new drop-shipping venture?
If you'd like a Forbes-listed, Marketer of the Year as your mentor... feel free to set up a 10 minute call with me. If you look at my reviews and do some research on me, you'll quickly see why, if you want an empire, you should get my advice. My average client grows by approximately 1,400%. That's insanity.AM
-
How important is it for a marketplace startup to drive enough demand (customers) for your supply (sellers) to make a full time living off of it?
It's very important. (first, read this article by Josh Breinlinger - http://acrowdedspace.com/post/47647912203/a-critical-but-ignored-metric-for-marketplaces) The way you achieve success in a marketplace is by driving liquidity for both your supply & demand. Demand-side Liquidity = When users come to your marketplace, they can achieve their goals. Supply-side Liquidity = When supply comes to your marketplace they can achieve their goals... which are almost always to make money. If you're making a large amount of your supply-side users a full-time income, then you're helping them achieve liquidity. Now it's not so black and white and it doesn't always have to be a "full-time income." It depends what their goals are. E.g., 1) At Airbnb, renters aren't looking to quit their day jobs and become landlords full-time... they're just look to earn a substantial amount of income to offset their rent, mortgage, etc. So in this case, I would probably goal on # of renters that earn >$500 / month... and (in the first 1-5 years) try to grow this number by 10-20% MoM... and maybe by just 5% once you're in the mid-high tens of millions in yearly revenue. 2) At Kickstarter, the goal of the supply-side is to get their project successfully funded. They don't care if the project creator is "full-time"... they just want to make sure they meet their funding goal. This is why they talk about their 44% project success rate all the time - http://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats 3) At Udemy, our instructors want a substantial amount of their income to be driven from their Udemy course earnings... so we look at how many instructors are earning >$2k / month.DT
-
What is the best reference book to develop a solid business plan for an e-commerce retail sales site?
This really depends on the type of e-commerce platform and the platform on which it is built. For my e-commerce clients, with less than 1,000 products, the best business plan reference book would be The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. However, you must first understand the triggers you would need to captivate and persuade your audience to purchase. For that, I would recommend Fascinate by Sally Hogshead. When you start to get into the larger e-commerce retail websites, you run into more dynamic data and database strategies to ensure that your website runs smoothly and can be indexed by the search engines properly. The book recommendation would depend on what platform your website is built. However, Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug would be a good starting point as the business plan would be contingent on the flow of the website and customer purchase power. If I can further help you in any way, contact me. I'm always here to help.SK
-
SEO: Launching an ecommerce marketplace soon with nearly 250,000 product pages. What is the fastest way to get them indexed?
I agree with some of the recommendations above; 1) Focus on making sure your XML sitemap is accurate, and make sure your weightings (server priority weights) are set correctly from parent to child (category > sub-category > product detail). 2) Submit through Google webmaster tools 3) Submit partials in increments (again, good suggestion at 50k/time) and pay close attention to your index rate to see how fast these are picked up 4) you can brute force a lot of these crawls by submitting and re-submitting your sitemap(s) - as often as every day 5) For very important URL's that are not getting picked up a handy trick is to tweet them out from an account that has a positive share of voice (more followers than following)NE
-
I'm thinking of starting a Cigar Of The Month Club. Is the monthly subscription club space too saturated?
Hi, I specialise in eCommerce strategy and marketing, helping eCommerce people make better decisions, and run more efficiently and effectively. The short answer is 'no'. Your target market isn't "subscription buyers" it's "cigar lovers". So unless there's a lot of subscription programs targeting the cigar lover, you're fine. However, if your market strategy is to go after people who like subscriptions - then I think you're not going to do so well! A cigar is a tough first sell! If you're coming at this from the "I love cigars" point of view first consider if Subscription is the best way to serve that customer base. If you're coming at this from the "I want a subscription business" point of view - then make sure you've researched cigars thoroughly before going down that road. Not least the legal restrictions on advertising - these differ from country to country, but it can be pretty hard to market tobacco online. Hope that helps. ChloeCT
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.