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Shipping in a Marketplace

This is a guest post written by bidorbuy

Setting up your shipping in a marketplace is a very important aspect to being successful on bidorbuy.  It is important to understand the costs associated with your shipping to ensure everything is setup correctly on bidorbuy.

The relationship you have with your preferred shipping partner will enable you to understand what it will cost you to deliver to a local, regional or outlying area.  In most cases, sellers will set a flat rate that can cater for most areas within South Africa.  The reasoning behind this is to ensure that your shipping information is uncomplicated and understandable to a buyer.  

It is essential to include a shipping description that explains to your buyer how your shipping works.  It is a good idea to tell your buyer the general delivery time and any terms and conditions you may have associated with your shipping.  An excellent shipping description establishes your first line of communication with your buyer.  A buyer wants to know exactly where their parcel is at all times and that leads us to our next point: the importance of clear communication.

When to make contact with the buyer:

  • Let the buyer know when you have received their order
  • Send confirmation that you have received payment
  • Notify the buyer that you are in the process of packaging their item/s
  • Include a thank you note to ensure repeat business
  • Send the buyer their tracking number

Why is it so important to set up your shipping on bidorbuy:

  • Your buyers are more likely to complete an order if they know what you charge for shipping;
  • You will have less pre-sale queries to reply to;
  • You will have less post-sale issues to deal with.

Who should you ship your products with?

We recommend you make use of uAfrica shipping as they offer very competitive rates to sellers.  Some other popular couriers and partners on bidorbuy are MDS Collivery, ParGo and Fastway couriers.

The importance of packaging

  • Always secure your product with good packaging materials
  • Rather use more bubble wrap than less
  • Make use of a fragile sticker to ensure the parcel is protected
  • Use tape on each corner of the parcel to mitigate parcel damage
  • Opening a package for a new product needs to be an exciting unboxing experience for the buyer

Finally, some smart tips for sellers

  • Negotiate discounts with your shipping partners to offer competitive rates to your buyers
  • Offer free shipping if a buyer spends over a minimum amount
  • Prepare your shipping labels in advance to hasten your packaging process
  • Offer buyers combined shipping discounts when they buy multiple products from you
  • Only include costs associated with your shipping in your shipping table

Buyers are always looking for a great deal and there is no better place to find them than on bidorbuy, but these days speedy and reliable shipping is just as important to shoppers.  It is essential that sellers continually update and edit their shipping as often as possible.

To ensure a great buyer experience always under promise and over deliver!