With the global economy becoming increasingly more connected, the importance of international customers is becoming more apparent. Naturally, for business owners, this poses the question of how to deliver goods to international customers. For a decentralized business model such as dropshipping, this is of special significance.
Thus, dropshippers need to utilize international shipping companies for business expansion. However, these companies differ in terms of shipping rates, routes, and services offered. Therefore, any good business person must have a good grasp of what companies are out there, which rates are cheapest and how best to capitalize on them.
The Best International Shipping Companies
DHL: American dropshippers may overlook DHL because it doesn't offer shipping services within the country. However, DHL is a worldwide shipping service that can help you get your product to almost any corner of the globe. The company offers a wide array of services beyond shipping such as transport by rail, air, and road within north and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. It also offers both the best international shipping rates and quick services depending on which of its "packages" you choose. Hence, it should be one of your go-to shipping companies especially if you are shipping parcel packages.
FedEx: American readers will no doubt be very familiar with this company as it is highly regarded within the US. FedEx is well known for its speed and overall reliability when it comes to package delivery. Hence, you can always trust that any fragile goods you ship will arrive at its destination in good condition. What's more, FedEx international shipping rates are relatively cheap when you consider its delivery speed as it can deliver goods in as little as two days.
UPS: UPS offers shipping services to a grand total of 220 countries and territories around the world. Moreover, they are able to deliver any parcel package within a maximum of 5 days. If that wasn't good enough, UPS international shipping rates are some of the most competitive seen globally. In fact, if you're shipping any package from the United States to Mexico specifically, you should use UPS as it offers the cheapest international shipping rates between these two locations. This is due to their freight shipping services which are quite cheap.
The Cheapest International Shipping Rates
So now that you know what companies you should use for your international shipping, you're probably wondering which you should choose and when so that you can get the best deal possible. Well, the answer is there isn't a simple answer due to the myriad of services each company offers to different locations. Ultimately, it depends on what you're shipping and where you are shipping it to. However, we have provided a simplified guide on international shipping rates which should help you get started.
1. Location
It's important to note that though some general rules exist surrounding the shipping services for different companies, these rules fall flat when it comes to certain locations. Specifically, all nations are placed in a particular price group with given services and you should check what price group your destination belongs to as this will greatly impact the shipping rate for that location. It would be of little use to list them out for each country and service. However, a quick look at the USPS website will provide you with all the information regarding this that you need.
2. Priority Mail Services vs. Flat-Rate Services
One might be tempted to assume that a flat-rate service offers the cheapest service for USPS international shipping rates or international shipping rates in general, and this is generally true. However, note that you should probably not compare shipping rates for a "small" parcel as most packages you might want to dropship will require at least a medium-sized box.
3. USPS
USPS international shipping rates are cheaper than DHL international shipping rates or any other flat-rate international shipping for that matter. However, you should note that the USPS has a very poor record when it comes to delivery times as they make no promise that your package will arrive on schedule so using it for time-sensitive packages will actually be more expensive than other services which often have three times the cost. If you are looking to compare international shipping rates for these services, here's a table to help you out.
|
Courier |
Service |
Time (days) |
Cost |
|
USPS |
Priority mail international – medium flat rate box. |
6-10 |
$77.50 |
|
USPS |
Priority mail international |
6-10 |
$82.15 |
|
USPS |
Priority mail express international |
3-5 |
$96.31 |
|
UPS |
UPS worldwide expedited |
2-5 |
$210.05 |
|
USPS |
UPS worldwide saver |
2-3 |
$222.55 |
|
FedEx |
International economy |
4-6 |
$212.95 |
|
FedEx |
International priority |
1-3 |
$235.27 |
The Best Tips on International Shipping
1. Use Easyship
Easyship is a shipping software that helps you get the best rates out of whatever shipping services you decide to use. In essence, it is a shipping rates calculator which can help you save up to 40% per shipment y optimizing shipping costs. In order to use it, all you have to do is input the shipping location and parcel details into the app and it will provide you with an estimate of the cost of delivery across various companies, the price, the delivery time and the service name.
2. Use Regional Shipping Services
Though smaller companies are less well known, they are also much cheaper. Unlike USPS, their reduced rates aren't because of their lack of reliability. Rather, they are because they focus on very specific regions and their services are optimized for these regions.
3. Choose Dropshipping
Dropshipping is quite an extremely popular business model for new companies or entrepreneurs due to Internet marketing skills far outweighing the financial capacity. As you don't need to stock or handle the shipment of items that you are selling, therefore, it is possible to start a dropshipping business with limited funds.
An e-commerce website that operates a dropshipping business model purchases the items it sells from a third-party supplier or manufacturer, and the dropshipping supplier then ships the order. This not only helps to cut the operational costs, but it also frees up your time so that you can focus all of your efforts on customer acquisition.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, any e-commerce business operation, most especially dropshipping must utilize international shipping services in order to make massive gains and promote business expansion. Though USPS offers the cheapest rates overall, it does not provide reliable delivery times. The other courier services are relatively more expensive but are also more reliable. Regardless of whichever you end up choosing it is best to get started right now so as to make the most profit.
