In today’s challenging parcel shipping environment, Descartes is making it easy for business leaders to find the best ecommerce shipping discounts for carriers like UPS, USPS, and FedEx.
Whether you’re a small business printing Avery labels or a logistics director overseeing five warehouses, you can start saving up to 89% off retail rates today through shipping software like Descartes ShipRush. In this guide, we’ll show you how.
Table of contents:
How to get discounts on shipping
How to get shipping discounts depends on your business growth stage:
- Small business – Use free shipping software such as Descartes XPS Ship, Easy Ship, Pirate Ship, or ShippingEasy to access pre-negotiated shipping discounts and save up to 90% on shipping labels.
- Growing business – Subscribe to more robust shipping software like Descartes ShipRush or ShipStation to access pre-negotiated shipping discounts up to 89% off, plus features like shipping automation to scale your fulfillment operations.
- High-volume shipper – Negotiate your own discounted shipping rates directly with a carrier representative, then add your account to a shipping platform like Descartes ShipRush to automate shipping, increase efficiency, and reduce labor costs.
1. Use free shipping software for small business
Small startups and hobbyists often ship through the post office or carrier retail locations, such as a UPS store. However, free shipping software is available to save on shipping labels for low-volume shippers. That’s the best way for small businesses to get deep discounts and print shipping labels with no overhead costs.
Best discount shipping via free shipping software
- Descartes XPS Ship – Save up to 89% on USPS and 85% on UPS labels. Free up to 50 shipments per month.
- EasyShip – Save up to 89% on USPS and 90% on UPS labels. Free up to 50 shipments per month.
- Pirate Ship – Save up to 89% on USPS and 85% on UPS labels. Free for all users.
- ShippingEasy – Save up to 46% on USPS and 83% on UPS labels. Free up to 25 shipments per month
2. Choose robust shipping software for growing businesses
As your business grows in shipping volume and complexity of your shipping requirements, you will outgrow free shipping software and need a robust platform. You can still access pre-negotiated discounts, along with expanded monthly shipping volume capacity, additional users, and richer feature sets to increase efficiency.
Best discount shipping via subscription-based shipping software
- Descartes ShipRush – Save up to 89% on USPS and 85% on UPS. Monthly subscriptions range $9.95-99.95/mo
- EasyShip – Save up to 89% on USPS and 90% on UPS labels. Monthly subscriptions range $29-199/mo
- Shippo – Save up to 89% on USPS and 85% on UPS labels. Monthly subscriptions range $17-179/mo
- ShipStation – Save up to 88% on USPS and 83% on UPS labels. Monthly subscriptions range $9.99-229.99/mo
3. Negotiate your own rates for high-volume shipping
Once you consistently ship enough volume to require weekly carrier pickups, it’s time to consider negotiating discounts with your carrier reps. Depending on what you ship, destination, and the services you need to meet customer delivery requirements, you may get better discounts by shipping most of your volume with a single carrier using your own rates.
Can I use my own carrier accounts and still get discounts?
Yes. Most shipping software platforms allow you to access both pre-negotiated discounts and your own carrier accounts. Descartes ShipRush does not charge a label fee to use your own carrier accounts, but other platforms like ShipStation do.
What is the best way to save on shipping?
The best way to save on shipping is to print cheaper shipping labels with multi-carrier shipping software. Also, choose smaller packaging, use shipping software to increase efficiency and throughput, and reduce labor costs by automating shipping workflows.
Print cheaper shipping labels
Use multi-carrier shipping software like Descartes ShipRush to print cheaper shipping labels. Access discounted shipping rates for USPS, UPS, and FedEx up to 89% off retail prices. Then, use the rate shopping tool to compare carrier rates and find the cheapest shipping option for each shipment.
Choose smaller packaging
Many businesses overpay on shipping because ship station workers use the wrong packaging size. The smaller the package dimensions, the more you will save on shipping labels. Some carriers offer extra discounts for small packages through special services like USPS Priority Cubic. You can access these special rates through shipping software.
Use software to increase efficiency
To increase efficiency and throughput, use a cloud-based multi-carrier shipping solution that integrates with all your sales channels and carriers. This will help you eliminate double data entry, minimize paper, and prevent costly mistakes caused by human errors.
Automate operations to save on labor
To reduce manual labor costs and save time, set up business automation rules. You can automate repetitive tasks like shipping service selection and entering package dimensions. For example, if you always ship with the same type of poly bag for certain SKUs, it will automatically apply the correct package specs instead of a person manually entering them.
How do I qualify for USPS Commercial rates or UPS Ground discounts?
You automatically qualify for USPS Commercial rates or UPS Ground discounts when you sign up for a shipping software platform like Descartes ShipRush.
Shipping software providers forge strong partnerships with major carriers like USPS, UPS, FedEx, and more. Because of the large shipment volume coming through the platform from the many users, we can negotiate deep discounts that most individual shippers wouldn’t qualify for.
When you sign up for free or subscription-based shipping software, you get the opportunity to create new discount shipping accounts for USPS, UPS and any other carrier accounts the software company provides. Then, you can print discounted shipping labels from your new account using the pre-negotiated rates.
How does discount shipping with Descartes ShipRush work?
Descartes ShipRush is a cloud-based multi-carrier shipping solution that provides access to pre-negotiated discount shipping rates with our carrier partners UPS, USPS, and FedEx. When you sign up for a ShipRush account, you can create shipping accounts with multiple carriers and immediately access our discounts to print shipping labels.
Step 1: Start a free 15-day trial of Descartes ShipRush
Begin by signing up for a free trial to explore our discounted shipping rates. It only takes a few minutes to set up an account. Sign up now.
Step 2: Get discount UPS, USPS, and FedEx rates
Use the Descartes ShipRush platform to create shipping accounts with discounted rates from major carriers, including UPS, USPS, and FedEx.
Step 3: Connect your sales channels
Connect your sales channels using our pre-built integrations. Descartes ShipRush will instantly import your orders so you can manage all orders, shipments, and tracking in one place
Step 4: Try the rate shopping tool
Use our rate shopping tool to manually check rates and understand how service comparison and selection work before fully automating the process.
Step 5: Create business rules to automate rate shopping
Set up automation rules and let the platform automatically compare real-time rates from different carriers to choose the best shipping service for every shipment.
Are there tools to compare shipping rates automatically?
Yes. Multi-carrier shipping software like Descartes ShipRush has robust business rules that you can use to automatically compare rates and select the best shipping service for every order.
Use Descartes ShipRush’s automation engine. You can:
- Create business rules based on sales channel, shipping speed, destination, and other factors
- Automatically compare carrier rates for each shipment
- Choose the lowest-cost option that meets your delivery window
Example: An Amazon seller needs 2-day delivery for Prime orders. A Descartes ShipRush automation rule identifies Amazon orders, compares all 1–2 day options, and selects the cheapest qualifying service.
Key Takeaways
- No matter your business size, you can save with shipping software. Access deeply discounted rates, save up to 89% on shipping labels, and use your own negotiated accounts with a multi-carrier shipping solution.
- Compare carrier rates – Don’t assume a certain carrier is always the cheapest option. Use real-time rate comparisons to ensure you always get the best discount.
- Automate shipping operations. Discounted rates will only get you so far. To achieve maximum savings on shipping, reduce operational costs by automating tedious manual tasks like service level selection, package type selection, and rate shopping.
*Discounts off UPS daily rates. Rates are limited to shipping from the U.S. only. Rates and any applicable discounts are subject to change at any time without notice.
About the Author
Troy Graham is Vice President of Business Development for Descartes’ ecommerce suite of solutions. His area of expertise includes warehouse automation, parcel shipping, fulfillment, and ecommerce sales channel integrations with other programs. Troy brings over 15 years of experience in ecommerce-related technology and optimizing fulfillment operations.
