Use the right bags and boxes for your store

I am always amazed at how complicated business can be.  There are so many variables that come into play and so much competition that goes on.  It all varies from industry to the actual type of store you have.  In 2020 brick and mortar stores took a huge hit due to all of the regulations put in place by states and cities.  eCommerce companies simply took off and are skyrocketing and yet they all have some things in common.  They all need packaging supplies and some for different reasons.  But where these companies get their boxes, and bags from can be the difference between being an industry leader or struggling to survive.  That is how costly this small area is and I want to go over some places to shop and some places that may not work well for you and your company at all.

 

Many companies rely on the basic needs for an office.  We all need tape, labels, and sometimes boxes.  That means that if you are not doing any shipping at all it can be ok to simply buy these locally or hop on Amazon and have them delivered.  But if you are doing a lot of shipping and really ramping up on the packaging supplies then you need to be careful.  If you simply go to your local big-box store and pick these up you may end up losing your company by losing out on every single sale you make.  This is because the margins are super high in almost all local stores.  The cost is really high and the quantity they have is usually low.  There are also huge option losses in these stores as well.  They have a storefront and can only carry so much of each product and only so many to make it feasible to show them and sell them.  This is why they cost more.  Brick and mortar stores simply have extra costs involved.  So be knowledgeable that you may be spending 40% more in these types of stores than you could be.  Your competitors may also be saving 40% more than you on every single sell and they could be putting that money to advertising or marketing.  This means you could be doing the same thing.

 

The next area to look at is the easy one and that is Amazon.  You can order things in a few minutes from your phone and have them shipped in two days.  It may even cost 10 to 20% less than the big box store.  Yet again if you are only doing this for your office supplies, that may be ok, but if you are shipping with them it probably is not.  You may be losing thousands of dollars a month for convenience when 30 minutes could save you a whole lot more. 

 

I like to shop at shipping supply stores online.  They usually offer big discounts for bulk purchasing and don't have the costs of the brick and mortar or fees of Amazon.  This allows them to sell for the lowest price possible due to the nature of the company.  So if you are shipping for a living and going to be needing those boxes and bags on a constant basis.  This is the route to take to save 10 to 20% over Amazon pricing. 

Tape, Boxes, and eCommerce

I find it incredible how resilient our country is.  Even when dictators are destroying our economy our local businessmen and women are growing it.  It is not because of the regulations put in place, no it is because we are going around the stupidity and creating eCommerce companies to keep our workers employed.   It is a marvel to see and even when legislators and politicians want us to fail we refuse to.  That is why you need to make sure you have the right equipment and tool to succeed in eCommerce to keep our country afloat.  If you are transitioning your company to sell more online then there is a whole lot to know.  Some of it is in the difference between running a brick and mortar store and an eCommerce store and there are costs that sneak up in different ways.

 

One of the small and subtle differences between these types of companies is how they actually get the product to their customer.  In a brick and mortar store, it is easy.  They simply pick up the product and check out at the cash register.  At most people put the items in a bag and many stores don't even do that anymore.  That is because they call it eco-friendly not too bad so many places don't have that cost at all.  So the cost of getting products to people in brick and mortar is super low and in some cases nonexistent. That is not how eCommerce works at all.

 

In eCommerce, you have to not only sell the item but also have the product shipped directly to the customer.  This comes with a lot of costs and products involved.  This means you may have to go out and purchase a box or bag for each item sold. You may need to buy tape and markers and even labels for each item to be shipped.  On top of that and all the packagingsupplies, you then have to ship the item by the carrier.  That costs a lot of money all in of itself.  So these costs have to be thought of and accounted for and the cost of these small items like a bag or box can add up to be incredibly expensive. These costs for packaging supplies have to be accounted for and thought of before you go ahead and start selling online.

 

This may be a problem because now that cost is usually offset by not having a brick and mortar storefront cost.  That cost can end up being troublesome if you are still doing both.  Many companies are at 40% foot traffic allowed and that is it.  They are trying to make up for it with extra online purchases but those costs are there and can hurt. It is the location that you buy your boxes and tape from that can help cut down on that extra cost.  I like to advise people to find large online shipping supply companies who are able to give large bulk discounts and undercut prices from Amazon by simply not selling on Amazon.  It is a worthwhile search to find a good company that will supply you at a much lower cost and it can help keep you competitive in this wild environment. So give it a shot and go out and crush it.