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Online Shipping for Small Business: How to Set Up Shop and Ship It Out

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Shipping is –– in my professional opinion –– one of the most difficult aspects of selling online. This is especially true for SMBs just getting started. Ecommerce costs can bring down your margins. Various companies want to sell you their services. Customers want to see same day shipping.

It is a lot to handle –– and few people get into the ecommerce game specifically for the fun of fulfillment. But managing that fulfillment process, likely from the comforts of your own home or garage, is very often part of the starting an online business process.

Nine Line, now one of the 5 fastest growing retailers in the U.S., began in their garage. Today, they have a massive warehouse, but it was only after an overflowing garage and a police raid a residential home they were using as a shipping center forced them to warehouse territory.

Man Crates, another one of the 5 fastest growing retailers in the U.S., has a similar story (just without the cops!). They also began in their garage –– using bet between a husband and wife to light the fire of getting the boxes shipped out ASAP.

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If you are struggling in wrapping you head around this, you are not alone. That is why we sought out the leaders in the shipping space –– ShipStation –– to help us understand what you need to know to get shipping as quickly as possible.

In this guide, they will walk you through:

You are so close to launching, and that nagging feeling in your gut saying shipping is important is right. This guide has everything you need to know. And when it’s time to move on to the bigger leagues (i.e. warehouses), we’ll be right here for you with information on how to get to the next level of ecommerce shipping, as well.

Happy selling (and shipping).

Joey Blanco avatar

Joey Blanco is the content and social media coordinator at ShipStation. He's been a researcher and success manager for online businesses looking to scale their shipping operations for more than 3 years. When he isn't helping online businesses with their shipping needs, he's out in Austin, Texas walking dogs for shelters and writing their biographies to increase adoption rates.