{"id":31026,"date":"2017-08-31T21:01:32","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T21:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revolutionparts.com\/9-shipping-features-tools-that-will-make-your-life-easier\/"},"modified":"2020-10-14T17:27:03","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T17:27:03","slug":"shipping-features-and-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionparts.com\/blog\/shipping-features-and-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Shipping Features & Tools that will Make Your Life Easier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Selling parts online shouldn’t have to be a big ordeal, but if you’ve never had to deal with shipping, it might feel that way.<\/p>\n

Shipping is one of those things dealers don’t have to worry about at the parts counter. Suddenly having to learn about how to accurately estimate the shipping costs for a dozen differently-sized parts could take up a lot of time (and leave you with a headache!).<\/p>\n

A great eCommerce solution will take as much work off your back as possible when it comes to shipping. Even though we can’t physically box up the orders for you, here are 9 ways we CAN make your life easier…<\/p>\n

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1. Weights and dimensions in the catalog<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If the catalog supplied by your eCommerce solution includes actual weight and dimensions, you can get a better shipping cost estimate. This is what shipper carriers use to figure out the charge for a part, so it makes sense that you should use it too.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, you\u2019re forced to estimate shipping with less accurate methods.<\/p>\n

Some dealers will guess shipping based on the cost of the part. Imagine a large but fairly inexpensive item like a bumper. That bumper will probably cost a lot to ship, because it\u2019s awkwardly-shaped and needs a huge box. If your shipping cost estimate is based on price instead of dimensions, you\u2019ll end up undercharging your shopper for shipping.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 8 Tricks to Avoid Overpaying for Shipping<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

As a result, either you eat the cost difference, or you email your shopper and ask them to pay more on shipping. Neither option is ideal.<\/p>\n

Other dealers will try to sort their parts into \u201csmall,\u201d \u201cmedium,\u201d and \u201clarge,\u201d then have a flat rate for each size tier, but that\u2019s not very accurate either.  Since most carriers use both weights and dimensions to calculate a shipping price, sorting your parts like this just won\u2019t give you enough information.<\/p>\n

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2. Easily detect and handle oversized or hazmat parts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Your platform will cause you a lot of headache if it thinks an air filter is the same size as a hood!<\/p>\n

Larger and heavier items will cost more for you to ship, and your platform needs to be able to recognize them in order to give an accurate shipping quote and give you the chance to exclude these items if you don\u2019t want to deal with shipping oversized parts.<\/p>\n

RevolutionParts marks large items as \u201coversized\u201d so you can simply exclude selling those parts. Our catalog will also recognize hazmat items<\/a>, so you can exclude those as well.<\/p>\n

Remember, you don\u2019t have to sell everything! If it\u2019s too much hassle to ship hazmat and oversized parts, exclude them and don\u2019t worry about it.<\/p>\n

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3. Ability to incorporate your discount rates<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As you hit certain volume thresholds, you can get better rates from shipping carriers.<\/p>\n

If you want to pass a portion of your discount onto your parts shoppers, it will make your pricing more competitive.  So it should be easy to adjust your store\u2019s shipping rates based on your discounts!<\/p>\n

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4. Ability to require a signature<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A great way to protect your investment on higher-value items is to require a signature. This ensures that expensive items aren\u2019t left on the doorstep where they can be stolen, resulting in an angry customer!<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll have to send the expensive item again, or refund the customer entirely.<\/p>\n

Ideally, your system will automatically require a signature on higher-value items to reduce the risk of theft or misunderstandings. Reducing miscommunication between you and your customer will not only save you some hassle, but will also improve your company image<\/a> and protect your profit margins.<\/p>\n

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5. Set up shipping-based promotions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Who doesn\u2019t like a good deal? If your customer thinks they are getting a sweet discount, they\u2019ll be more likely to follow through on their purchase.<\/p>\n

Ask your parts eCommerce solution what kind of promotions you can set up for shipping. Some examples could be:<\/p>\n