How to Get All the Shipping Discounts from Your Carriers: UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL for Small Businesses

Shipping makes up a considerable part of the costs in e-commerce, so it's only logical to seek ways to cut corners and save some money here. Luckily, all major carriers provide shipping discounts for businesses.

A program called UPS Small Business Account allows your e-commerce to save up to 40% on all shipping for the first eight weeks of use and retain a certain discount level even after the initial period. The amount you save after the first two months depends on the volume of your weekly orders: the more you ship, the higher the discount.

UPS Small Business Account offers its customers promo codes to save 30% off online print products, 15% off on packaging services, and 3 months of free mailbox services. The latter two are however not useable with other offers.

New Small Business Accounts also receive additional discounts on UPS Ground and international shipping as an incentive. Some discounts are permanent, while others take the form of a special offer as the current incentives of up to 60% on area surcharges.

UPS Smart Pickup offers various incentives on its ground, next-day, and international deliveries for shipments from the USA.

You won't find a clear list of DHL shipping discounts on their website or anywhere else. That's because they rely on personal negotiation for each account. They do list the maximum you can get with each offer.

The DHL Express Business account can be set up at DHL. However, the discount depends on the business profile provided and the volume of the shipments.
DHL is trying to win over customers with extra services for account holders rather than just discounts. And with some of their offers working without a business account (a credit card account), this company may become a perfect pick for some cases.

If your supply chain involves eBay, you are in luck: all three major shipping carriers in the US partnered with eBay. Each company provides substantial discounts to all eBay sellers and provides free branded shipping supplies along with discounted label printing. You can expect:

UPS has extended the use of their coupon code EASY which allows you to save up to 10% off UPS Ground, 20% UPS Air, and 30% off UPS Worldwide. That promotion will likely be active throughout the crisis.

Avoid shady websites that claim they sell codes and coupons for shipping services. Although there are special discounts provided exclusively to some of the shipping carriers' partners, there's a risk that you'll pay for a non-working or otherwise free coupon. Also, remember that postage stamps are rarely discounted due to their low price.

There are some online directories like Yelp, where you can scout for special offers and deals. Search for shipping centers that can be offering special discounts, especially during upcoming sales events or holidays such as Black Friday or Christmas.

Most of the available shipping rate discounts exist to incentivize new clients to choose one company over the other. That implies that you will get the most out of your offers during the first months of working with a shipping carrier.
You may choose to sign up for an account when you have a steady flow of orders to take full advantage of the offers, or you can do it in the beginning so you can use the combined shipping discounts to lighten the financial burden when you need it the most.

When shipping with a new company for the first time, remember that many discounts are weight- and size-dependent: sending a lighter/tighter package could result in greater savings. For a more detailed look at tips for cutting shipping costs.

When you're trying to calculate the lowest shipping cost for your orders, you have two options.

You can do it manually by checking all the carriers' websites regularly and keeping track of all current and new offers.
Or you might use an automated online solution like Calcurates, which performs these tasks in real-time. It automatically combines all of the existing discounts, scans for new ones, and provides you with only the best options for each order.