How to Maximize Your Shipping Dollar !

• Posted on 25 January 2023
• By Amy
• 0

We realize that shipping heavy items like boxes of clay and bags of raw materials comes with its challenges, and that the transportation portion of your invoice can be significant. We have put together some tips on minimizing those costs. For those of you that are local to us, check out our local shipping rates.

Our website is designed to automatically calculate shipping charges by UPS and/or Canada Post for any orders weighing up to 150 lbs. For orders over 150 lbs, shipping will be calculated manually and you will be provided with a quote before you confirm your order.

Because shipping heavy items like boxes of clay and bags of raw materials comes with unique challenges the transportation portion of your invoice can be significant. Following are some tips for minimizing those costs. For those of you that are local to us, please check out our PDF titled “Tuckers LOCAL Shipping Rates”.

• Couriers are an effective way to ship orders that are under 150 lbs. Freight companies are an effective way to ship orders that are over 500 lbs. This means that the grey area in between is a little awkward and can be expensive per pound. If you are looking to order 5 or 6 boxes of clay, you'll end up spending as much on freight as you would for 10 boxes. Consider buddying up with a friend and combining your orders to get up to the 500 lbs range.

• Freight companies charge extra for services such as “lift gate”, “residential delivery”, “call for appointment”. If you are in or close to a major centre, consider having us ship your order to the local freight terminal and picking it up. This step can save you as much as $100.

• If you, or someone you know, has a location with a truck level loading dock in a commercial or industrial space…then shipping to that location would also save you the “residential” and “lift gate” fees mentioned above.

• When we ship to you, we follow up with an email the next day that includes the carrier's name and PRO (tracking) number so that you can follow your shipment online. Rather than ask for a “call for appointment”, you can use the information we've sent you, contact the local terminal to make the appointment yourself, and save anywhere from $15-40 depending on the carrier.

• The freight company is responsible for “curb side” delivery. This means that if the driver arrives and you ask them to bring the goods inside, we will be charged with “inside delivery”, and ultimately will be contacting you to collect this additional fee. This fee can be anywhere from $30 to $300, so it's one you want to avoid. If you must have inside delivery, be sure to ask for a quote for this service ahead of time so that there are no surprises.

We hope these tips help you to maximize your shipping dollar! We also encourage all our customers to read our document titled “Receiving Your Order And Damage Claims”.