Why is package consolidation such a big deal? Wouldn’t it make sense to send each package from each store directly to your home address? We are going to explain it to you more in detail.
Consolidation is the big secret on how to achieve huge savings on shipping. You can save over 50% to 90% on shipping costs. Why? Each package contains a lot of packaging material and empty space that being packed from the retailer. Also, the shipping cost for smaller packages is higher per kilo/pound comparing to bigger packages.
Planet Express will let you use our warehouse to collect packages from different retailers. In the Free Mail Box plan, you get 10 days of free storage and with the Premium Mail Box 45 days! The consolidation feature is available in the Premium Mail Box plan only. With 45 days of free storage, you will have plenty of time to collect packages from different online stores. Then simply place the consolidation request and we take care of the rest (remember, once we consolidate your package, the free storage period is 7 days only).
This means, instead of paying $100 for shipping of every package separately ($500 in total), you will pay approx. $140 for shipping of the consolidated package. It pays off, doesn’t it? And then our shipping discounts kick-in. Because we ship a huge volume of packages we receive big discounts from the carriers. And we pass these discounts on you. So after you saved money on consolidation you save again on shipping. And that can be another 50-80% compared to shipping the package directly with the carrier.
Price Of The Package Consolidation Service
The consolidation fee is $5 + $2 per consolidated package. For example, if you have 3 packages, the fee is $5+(3×$2)=$11. The fee is charged to cover our warehouse staff labor & material for the consolidation. Besides the savings of the postage, the Consolidation service also helps with:
• Removing unnecessary packaging and bulky boxes.
• We tightly pack the package and reduce the empty space to a minimum so you don’t pay the postage cost for empty space in the package.
• We check for any visible damage to your items and will notify you if we find any obvious damage.
• We provide you with photos of the consolidated package.
• You can also request additional special requests such as Additional Bubble Wrap, Additional Security Tape.
How Does The Package Consolidation Work?
Placing the consolidation request is very simple and intuitive in our system.
1. Log into your account.
2. Choose the packages which you want to consolidate – blue “consolidate” button will appear at the bottom of the page.
3. Once the consolidation is done we’ll send you an email notification.
You can follow these instructions to consolidate: https://planetexpress.com/tutorials/how-to-consolidate-packages/
Look at the pictures below. This is an example of consolidation before and after. Before the consolidation, the total cost was $147 for 5 packages shipped to the United Kingdom. After Consolidation, the total cost dropped to $72. This is a saving of over 50%!
