Let's face it, stuffing 5 boxes into the back of your car and trekking to the closest UPS Store or drop off location gets old pretty fast when selling on Amazon. It's also not a very efficient use of your time. Scheduling a pickup is a time-saver. It alleviates the need to load the boxes into the car, drive to the drop-off site, wait in line, get a receipt, and drive home. All of those steps take time even if the UPS store is five minutes from your house. To schedule a pickup all you need is a FREE UPS account.
While the UPS account is FREE the pick-up service isn't but it CAN be! As a UPS customer, you have different options for pickup:
- Predictable Pickup is great for businesses that ship regularly which you should be doing if you are feeding the beast.
- Daily Pickup – a UPS truck stops at your location once each business day, as scheduled, to pick up any shipments. $11.30* – $22.60* depending on weekly billing total
- Day-Specific Pickup – a UPS truck stops at your location once a week on a set day(s). $10.30+* depending on # of days selected
- Smart Pickup – with this option, UPS only picks up when you have packages to ship. All you need to do is alert UPS of a pickup before a certain time (selected during sign up) and your driver will be alerted. $10.30* per week.
- Flexible Pickup is always available if you aren't ready to commit to any of the predictable pickup options above. You can call in a shipment whenever you have one.
- UPS On-Call Pickup – Same day service = $6.70*, Future date service = $5.65*
The best option above for an Amazon seller is Smart Pickup. It gives you the flexibility to decide on a day-to-day basis if you need a pick-up or not. The downside is that it does cost money even on weeks that you don't have any packages to ship out. But if you a working on growing your business then shipping each week should be part of your game plan anyway.
If you already have a UPS account you can select Smart Pickup as your pickup option by logging into your UPS account and going to My UPS > Maintain UPS Account.
Don't think you can afford $10.30 per week? Keep reading and you'll be able to get Smart Pickup FREE for a YEAR!
As a business owner, I know that I am always on the lookout for ways to save money on my business. Paying $10.30 per week to have UPS pick up my packages adds up to a lot over the course of a year. If you are in the early stage of growing your business every penny counts. I've got good news! UPS provides a FREE service – UPS Connect** – to support small businesses.
Get the support you need to make your shipping faster, your logistics better, and your customer experience superb—for free. ~ UPSConnect.com
This service is easy to sign up for – just head over here. If you don't already have a UPS account they will walk you through that process first. UPS Connect provides the following services to small business owners:
- Save up to 20% on shipping – perfect if you are selling on your own site along with Amazon
- Logistics specialist consultation – helps determine what UPS services fit your business
- FREE Smart Pick Up for a YEAR – this, in my opinion, is the best reason to sign up for UPS Connect. It’s a $535 annual savings!
Not only will signing up for UPS Connect save you money it will also save you time. No more wasted time loading up your car and trekking to the UPS store. You'll have more time to source, prep, pack a ship. Those are the tasks that make your business money.
Please note, if you have questions or are unsure of how to set up UPS Connect properly DO NOT contact UPS Customer Service. Most of the reps won't have a clue what you are talking about. Use the “Request a Call” feature on the UPS Connect home page to get you connected to a representative that will be able to help you.
What are you waiting for? Sign up for UPS Connect today!
What are you doing today to move your business forward?
* Prices from UPS Value Added Services PDF and are subject to change.
** I am no way affiliated with the UPS Connect program. I just think it is an excellent service and have used it myself.
If you are new to selling on Amazon FBA, consider checking out Amazon FBA Newbies! over on Facebook. It's a great community of veterans and newbies discussing anything and everything related to FBA.
If you are looking for more specialized one-on-one direction to grow your business and or manage your life balance, I highly recommend heading over here and checking out the individualized coaching available from the amazing Kristin Ostrander.