Nowadays, selling merchandise online is how lots of people make a living or work their side hustle. The rise of Amazon and other online marketplaces have made it easy to for people to make extra income from the comfort of their own home, making it convenient and popular option.
This type of business does, however, require shipments, which tend to be the furthest thing from convenient. We’ve all had that side hustle that had you sending out samples to a new potential customer every day, because every day there was new interest. While that does mean you have a healthy, booming business (yay, you!), it can become a real hassle to have to go to the post office every time you get a response from someone requesting a sample or purchasing a product. Plus, postage is expensive and can cost more at the post office than printing your own shipping labels.
The best way to manage your online business in the most efficient way is to invest in an accurate digital scale so you can make sure you don’t overpay for a shipping label or have your shipment returned or delivered with postage still due. The type of digital scale you choose may depend on the product you sell, but our General Bench scale is a great option for most online merchants. It comes in two capacities and has ample weighing room for larger boxes and parcels. It also has a weight function for oversized pieces. Just save the weight on the screen if the package is too large and is blocking your view of the screen. The General scale also has built-in overload protection to help prevent damage to the scale if your products tend to be on the heavier side.
Make sure you weigh your mail as it is going to be shipped for the most accurate reading. Although you’ll need to measure the length, width and height of the package as well, the price of shipment will mostly depend on the weight (besides the destination of the package), so you want to make sure its as accurate as possible so you don’t overpay. Weighing your packages is also important because it allows you to select the best (most discounted) mail class to select.
Pro tip: Round your weight up to the nearest point (pound or ounce) if you’re shipping via USPS.
Once you’ve invested in a digital scale, there are lots of helpful websites that let you buy and print shipping labels from your home—all you have to do is enter your package’s measurements for an estimated cost. Programs like Stamps.com and VIP Parcel make it easy to purchase and print postage online so you can ship everything right from home.
Boom, you’re done! Just use packaging tape to tightly secure the shipping label to your package and you’re set to send it off to your excited customer. Invest in a digital scale for your online business today and make shipping on the fly easy and affordable.