Holiday Shipping Tips for Handmade Businesses – 2022
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Well this month is just FLYING by! Before you know it the snowflakes will be falling and we will be a-carolin’ ? This holiday season is again all about selling online. This means making, photographing, listing, marketing, selling, and SHIPPING. I’ve got my top holiday shipping tips for a successful holiday season all wrapped up and ready for you to open!
As prices continue to rise for pretty much EVERYTHING, shipping rates are also going to be a major factor in this year’s holiday buying decisions.
As online sellers, we’ll need to be very aware of shipping costs. We also need to know how they affect our business and our customers. This year it’s best to be transparent and communicate your shipping information as clearly as possible.
Disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Effective 10/2/22 (through 1/2/23), the USPS temporarily increased their rates for the holiday season. If you are charging flat rate shipping OR offering free shipping, make sure you have taken this into consideration. Be sure to adjust your prices accordingly!
Having a shipping system in place will ensure that you are setting yourself and your customers up for success this holiday season. Here are a few tips for how to get your “shipping department” running like a well-oiled machine:
1. Stock up on your supplies
The supply chain continues to have issues, which has made a big impact on shipping supply sources. Bubble mailers that used to arrive overnight now take 5-7 days. Jewelry boxes are out of stock for months, etc. You can no longer rely on being able to slide in a quick order through Amazon at the last minute.
Take count of your stock and holiday sales projections, then work backwards into figuring out the supplies you need. Things to consider would be:
- How many orders do you expect to get? (Look at years past for a reference point, and then consider your marketing efforts this year.)
- How many items are in each order? (If you have Shopify, you can figure out the average number of items per order using their analytics tools.)
- How many items do you have for sale on your website? (For example, if you sold every single item you had, how many would that be, and what packaging would you need?)
Bonus Holiday Shipping Tips: Simplify Your Packaging
Next, see if you can consolidate your packaging sizes in order to be more economical with your ordering. For example, if you are using 5 different sized boxes for your jewelry, would there be a way for you to consolidate down to 3?
Ordering in bulk is going to afford you the lowest price on your shipping supplies. There are virtually no downsides to this. Shipping materials never expire or go bad, and you will never be sorry that you have too many on hand.
Side note: if you use USPS Priority Mail, you can order Priority shipping supplies for free from the post office!
One way for smaller businesses to take advantage of bulk ordering without having to spend (and store) a lot is to partner up and order together!
I strongly suggest reaching out to your local fellow artists/small business owners and seeing if anyone would be interested in going in on ordering shipping supplies together: this allows you to take advantage of the discounted pricing that comes with larger quantity orders.
Here is a list of tried-and-true resources for packing and shipping supplies.
2. Be realistic in your shipping timelines
Each year, the USPS puts out guidelines for shipping deadlines. Here is what the USPS has put out for 2020 shipping dates:
- USPS Priority Mail Express: ship by Friday, December 23rd
- Priority Mail: ship by Monday, December 19th
- First-class Mail: ship by Saturday, December 17th
- USPS retail ground: ship by Saturday, December 17th
I would strongly suggest that you add on to these times when you are coming up with your customer order cut off dates. Being sure to consider:
- Time to make your product (if it’s custom)
- Time to pull and pack your product
- Time to get your package to the post office (or your shipping service of choice)
- Extra transit time once the package is shipped
*If you are using USPS, you can use the “schedule a pickup” option to have your postal carrier pick your prepaid packages up right from your home!
3. Print your shipping labels at home and save $$
It took me a few years in business before I realized that I could be printing my shipping labels at home, for LESS money than I would pay at the post office, which saved me both time AND money.
If you are using Etsy or Shopify, you can print USPS labels right through their systems at the commercial rates. The information you need includes:
- The shipping service you are selecting (i.e., USPS First Class, USPS Priority, etc)
- The size and weight of your package (be sure to be accurate here: mismeasurements can cost you extra money and/or cause your package to be delayed or returned to you for proper postage)
Side note: I recommend getting a small scale and a label printer to print out your labels at home: you will save SO much time and money!
There are also many shipping services you can explore to get access to USPS commercial rates. A few I can recommend include:
Top Holiday Shipping Tips for the Holidays 2022
Having a system set for shipping is guaranteed to save you time and hassle in the future: you AND your customers will be much happier, your products will arrive faster, and your business will be better for it.
This is very helpful. What about international shipping, particularly for jewelry items? Or should we not do that?
International shipping is always a bit more of a headache…just be clear on the rules and regulations of the countries you’re shipping to!