Robert Gilbreath was an early eBay adopter and worked for several Internet Retailer Top 500 retailers before joining ShipStation, a leading web-based ecommerce shipping solution where he’s now Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Partnerships.
Read Robert's blogs on Shipstation
We asked him for tips on managing shopper expectations around shipping and returns.
Gilbreath said many case studies show how offering free shipping increases sales, but sales without profits don’t make sense.
Here are some steps merchants should take to explore how low or free shipping can increase profits on their website:
No seller likes returns, in fact, they're becoming even more of a touchy subject than free shipping these days, but Gilbreath said ShipStation has seen how return policies can actually help small businesses.
Consider the following tips:
For most products, there’s an expectation of free returns, Gilbreath said, but sellers who offer unique items that aren’t available elsewhere can worry less about such expectations – for example, handcrafted or personalized goods.
ShipStation offers sellers the ability to set up a Branded Returns Portal on their websites at no cost. ShipStation tries to help makes small sellers look like big sellers, Gilbreath said. Sellers can also present branded tracking pages to customers.
Here are some of the results ShipStation has seen from retailers who offer a branded returns portal
Shipping internationally comes with additional challenges. Gilbreath said ShipStation had so much interest in the topic that it published free downloadable PDF guide called “International Shipping Essentials” to answer sellers’ questions.
With Christmas just days away, we asked Gilbreath if he had any tips for holiday shipping. He provided us with a roundup of past blog posts to help sellers prepare for the holiday rush.
5 Ways to Prepare Your Packing and Shipping Area for the Holiday Rush
4 Vital Holiday Marketing Tips for Online Retailers
4 Totally Preventable Cyber Monday Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
3 Essential Parts of Exceptional Black Friday Marketing
About ShipStation
ShipStation is the leading web-based shipping solution that helps e-commerce retailers import, organize, process, and ship their orders quickly and easily from any web browser. ShipStation features the most integrations of any e-commerce web-based solution with over 150 shopping carts, marketplaces, package carriers, and fulfillment services. ShipStation’s many integration partners include eBay, Jet, PayPal, Amazon, Etsy, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Shopify Plus, Squarespace, Volusion, and Magento. ShipStation also integrates with carriers such as SEKO Logistics, DHL, FedEx, USPS, UPS, Canada Post, Australia Post, Royal Mail, and Hermes. ShipStation has sophisticated automation features such as automated order importing, custom best practice rules, product profiles, and fulfillment solutions that enable its users, wherever they sell and however they ship, to be exceptionally efficient at shipping orders. ShipStation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stamps.com (Nasdaq: STMP).
Related: Providing eCommerce Merchants Access to Cross-Border & International Parcel Solutions
Related eBook
Brand Your Shipping - How to Overcome the Brand Dead Zone
Learn how to effectively market your brand in a way that will provide a positive experience and establish a strong connection between you and your customers at every step of the shipping process. Download Now!