Shipping your items … and a lot more!

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Even if you haven't sold any item yet, you should start thinking about how to ship your item as soon as you've made up your mind about becoming an online seller. Identifying the courier services available to you and simple things about shipping is just another factor of online selling.

You can call yourself lucky if you're within the Metro since there are many options that you can choose from. Not so much for those living in the province. So, to help you pick the best courier service, here are the options prevalent today.

But before that! Let me tell you things that you should know about shipping.

• You call the shipping form as waybill. Here you will see the details of the shipper, name and address of consignee and tracking number.
• Most courier companies have pouches & boxes available for their customer to use and put their items on. Know the sizes of these pouches and boxes and determine if your product will fit. Else, you'll have to provide your own packaging.
• Parcels gets thrown a lot during transport, hence, it is the seller's responsibility to pack the items securely to avoid damages.

Photo by: gettingstarted.outright.com
• Different Courier Company offers different shipping rates based on the weight, value and area where your item will be shipped.
• Small courier companies offer FREE pick up. Even if you only have a single small parcel to ship, they will pick it up at your door-step for free. This is very convenient since you don't even have to step out to ship your item.
• Package weight and volumetric weight are two different things. Package weight is determined by weighing your parcel. Volumetric weight is determined by measuring the size of your item and using the equation below:

(L x W x H)/3500
Dimensions should be in cm.
3500 is used for local deliveries. 
3000 for deliveries abroad.

• Both the package weight and volumetric weight will be measured if your parcel is packed using your own packaging. The rate will be based on the value that's higher.
• Courier companies take any fraction of a kilo as 1 kilo. Better be decisive in packing your items. Remember your minima-maxima lessons in Calculus.
• You can always under-value your parcel for local shipment, but you can never under-weight them. Even if it's for pick-up, riders bring their own digital weighing scale and tape measure to determine the final weight of your item.
• Insurance is optional for local shipment. But is a must for international shipments. Fee is determined by the value of the package that you declare.