Edited: April 11, 2018
Ten years ago, you would have been hard-pressed to find companies offering free or discount shipping rates. Today, however, free and low-cost shipping options are the norm, and the marketplace has come to expect it.
That’s great for customers, but can be difficult for online retailers. Someone has to pay for the actual shipping costs, and you can’t always find a way to include it in the price of an item and still be competitive with other retailers.
As a result, many online retailers have to bite the bullet and take the hit to their profit margins. We’d like to make that hit a bit smaller by sharing with you the many shipping carrier discounts available to businesses.
Before we get started, it’s important to note that every major carrier offers shipping discounts. Sometimes you can even “stack” or add the discounts together; check with each carrier to see which ones are eligible for stacking. While the discounts change from time to time, here some current discounts that you may want to take advantage of:
Shipping Discounts for Small Business & eCommerce Sellers
Most carriers want businesses to feel special, even if they’re not high volume users – so they’ll give discounts for businesses that consumers aren’t eligible for. Here are some of the programs from each major carrier:
USPS BUSINESS DISCOUNT
Upon getting a USPS PC Postage account you will can print First Class postage from your printer, use a rate calculator to determine the least expensive USPS option for your shipment, and take advantage of significant discounts on almost every service that the United States Postal Service offers.
If you’re a ShipStation user, you get one of these PC Postage accounts for free as a part of your subscription. And as an official USPS shipping partner, ShipStation enables you to take advantage of both Commercial Base Pricing and Commercial Plus Pricing on shipments, including First Class, Priority, and Priority Express Mail. More specifically, the discount shipping rates include:
- Up to 49% off Priority Mail, and up to 56% off Priority Mail Express
- Up to 22% off First Class Package Service
- Up to 18% off First Class Package International Service
- Up to 18% off Priority Mail International, and up to 20% off Priority Mail Express International
- Up to 40% off USPS Package Insurance Rates
FedEx Advantage Program (U.S.)
To help expand your business’s shipping base, FedEx offers substantially discounted rates with their FedEx Advantage Program to all eligible ShipStation users. To qualify, simply apply the passcode SAVEBIG! (don’t forget the exclamation point) and fill out the form on the FedEx Advantage enrollment page. There are no enrollment fees, and you can start saving on shipping as soon as you’re approved for your own FedEx Advantage account. If you’re not yet a ShipStation user, head here to sign up for a free trial!
- Select FedEx Express® US services – Up to 29% off
- Select FedEx Express international services – Up to 25% off
- Select FedEx Ground® services – Up to 20% off
- Select FedEx Office® services – Up to 20% off
FedEx Canada Program
As a ShipStation user in Canada, you are eligible for deep discounts on your FedEx shipments using the FedEx Canada program. You can save up to 45% on your FedEx shipping services and up to 40% off residential delivery surcharges.
To enroll simply visit fedex.ca via this link, and log in if you already have a FedEx Canada account or complete the enrollment form if you do not. And of course, if you’re not yet a ShipStation user, sign up here.
UPS BUSINESS DISCOUNT
UPS Connect offers one free year of UPS Smart Pickup, a 10% discount on ground shipments, and a 20% discount on air and international shipments. To top that off, if you use ShipStation, our UPS shipping integration makes it easy for you to use your negotiated rates and many other carrier features directly though the app, saving you both time and money.
FEDEX BUSINESS DISCOUNT
For smaller numbers of shipments, FedEx offers the Save Now Program. Retailers will be able to save up to 16% off the list price on express services, 8% on ground and home delivery services, and 60% on freight services.
Businesses that ship frequently may choose the More Savings Program. During a nine-week introductory period, customers receive 22% off the list price on express services, and 9% off ground and home delivery services specified in the program agreement. When the introductory period ends, customers can receive up to 32% off on express services and up to 11% on ground and home delivery services.
Association Discounts
If you’re a member of a trade organization, you may be able to get deep discounts from shipping carriers. While carriers don’t supply a list of organizations that provide discounts, you can check with your trade organization or with the shipping carrier to see if a specific organization receives a discount.
UPS
UPS offers discounts to members of many associations. You can learn more about UPS association discounts here.
eBay Discounts
USPS
You can receive a free Stamps.com account that works if you ONLY import orders from eBay. Some of the features are limited, but it’s a good way for eBay sellers to try Stamps.com. The offer can be accessed by a special link here.
UPS
UPS offers special eBay pricing to all U.S. eBay sellers (excluding HI and AK) with a PayPal account, who are not enrolled in the UPS Savings Program for eBay PowerSellers or have a customized shipping agreement with UPS.
The discounts range from 8.5% off to 23% off standard list ground rates, depending on the volume of shipping, as well as 16-32% off next day air, and 8-25% off international shipments.
FedEx
FedEx offers eBay discounts as well. Customers can save up to 37% on ground, Express and international shipments.
Using Multiple Carriers
Many online retailers choose to send shipments using multiple carriers. This way they can get the best discounts based on size, weight, shipping method and geography. Shipping software can help make this process easier. ShipStation, for example, supports all the major shipping carriers, and allows you to select a variety of shipping carriers, while also making it easy for you to create and print shipping labels, and manage your online orders all in one place. You’ll also be able to retrieve real-time rates for each carrier to make sure you’re taking advantage of the best pricing.
Want to learn more about how ShipStation can help your business save both time and money on shipping and fulfillment? Download your free copy of our comprehensive guide to efficient shipping and check out these small business success stories from some of the companies that have grown to new heights with the help of ShipStation.
Thanks for posting the blog about shipping carrier discounts. It really helps to know more about these shipping company and also helps to hire them according to their needs. Thanks for sharing this useful blog. I hope it will be helpful to others also.
Do you guys audit parcel shipments? Specifically FedEx or UPS?
Hey Jim! Just to clarify, we’re a software that helps you fulfill orders; we’re not a fulfillment company. I’d recommend you connect with a rep, so leave us your info on our Contact Us page and we’ll reach out!
You could try the live sales chat on FedEx.com. If you answer their questions, they can tell you about the services that would be best for you.
Is there someone I could chat with about using and or trying out different providers?
Here is something else you can check into. I found it by accident. Type ‘Small Business Center’ into the search bar on FedEx.com and hit enter. Under the ‘Get Started’ tab, select ‘Start Saving and Earn Rewards.’ Sign yourself up for the My FedEx Rewards program.
Great feedback! For those shipping orders via FedEx or UPS daily, get a FedEx rep! Our FedEx & UPS reps are amazing, and will negotiate deep discounts depending on your volume. We ship a lot of oversize packages, and were able to get those oversize fees down significantly. The savings are way above a 29% discount. Of course, the more you ship the more you save.