How much P&P should I charge on my online store?

Posted 4th December, 2018

Online shopping has risen very quickly over the past five years. In December 2017, over 24% of non-food sales happened online. If you are an online retailer or are thinking of becoming one, it is certainly an ideal time for you.

There are a few factors that you need to consider while calculating how much postage and packaging (P&P) you will charge your customers. In this article, we discuss the things you should consider when choosing your P&P amount.

Who will pay for the P&P?

If you are an online shopper, you will be familiar with the term of P&P and will have most probably paid it. However, there are also some retailers who choose to offer free postage and packaging to their customers. When free P&P is offered, this is often because a premium has been added to the cost of the actual product to cover this.

In this article, we will assume that your customers will be covering the P&P costs. You will need to carefully calculate the costs associated with packaging and posting your item(s) to make sure you do not end up with an overall loss.

Calculate your packaging costs

The cost of packaging your item can soon add up if you don’t carefully monitor it. The expectations that customers have when it comes to how they receive their products are significantly higher than several years ago.

Clothing should be packaged in a high-quality bag that is going to be resistant to tears during transit. For most other items, you will use a strong cardboard box that is suitably sized for the contents. In addition to this, extra packaging material like bubble wrap or polystyrene will be needed to keep it in place. Printing any branded leaflets, cards and postage labels will also cost, so make sure you include this in your pricing.

Get a shipping quote

Your shipping costs will depend on the size and weight of your parcel. The urgency of your delivery will also determine the price of shipping. If you are needing to send a parcel urgently, this will cost more. At Station Couriers, our pricing is fair. We want to give you the best service for an affordable price.  

Call us on 01686 621190 or use our live chat on our website to get a parcel or pallet quote.