costs Archives - Page 2 of 2

What Every E-Tailer Should Know About Negotiating Shipping Rates

Here’s a secret: UPS, FedEx, and US Postal Service shipping rates are not set in stone. These carriers want your business, and for larger retailers, they’re often willing to negotiate rates. In fact, negotiating shipping rates is so common that there are entire companies dedicated to doing it for you. However, if you prefer to…

Top 5 Things to Negotiate With Shipping Carriers

Did you know that you can negotiate with shipping companies over service fees and charges? Now you do, and that probably already has you excited. After all, shipping is a huge expense for part retailers, and also a great place to squeeze out some additional margin. While this is not a complete list of price…

Are You Leaving Shipping Refund Money On the Table?

As a parts retailer, you spend a lot of money on shipping. In fact, shipping might be one of your biggest expenses. Therefore, when there’s a possibility of getting a refund from your shipping provider, you should try to get it. Here’s what you need to know.

Selling to the EU? Potential Problems for Parts Retailers

You may be surprised to learn that the EU regulates return polices for online retailers who sell to EU residents…even if the retailer is in North America! Here’s what North American auto parts retailers need to know about selling parts to the EU.

Auto Parts Websites – Build Your Own or Pay For A Hosted System?

Let’s state the obvious: If you’re going to sell auto parts and accessories online, you need an ecommerce website. The question is, should you: Build your own ecommerce site off a platform like Magento or WooCommerce, OR Pay for a hosted ecommerce solution (like Web Shop Manager, BigCommerce, or Shopify)? While there’s no cut and…

Finding (or Listing) An Auto Parts Website for Sale

While they have no physical form, parts ecommerce websites are assets. They have intrinsic value due to the effort that goes into creating them, the loyal customer base they have, the data they’ve collected over the years, and the revenue they generate. When it’s time to buy or sell a website, it’s important to know…

A Good List of Hidden Ecommerce Website Costs

An article posted on PracticalEcommerce.com last week did a good job of enumerating some of the hidden costs of owning and operating an ecommerce website. While I’d encourage you to read the full article (and ignore the bit about bandwidth, as there are lots of solutions to that problem), the short list of hidden costs includes:

National Auto Parts Advertising Costs by Medium – A Quick Overview

Thinking about a national ad campaign for your auto parts brand or website? Here’s some pricing info for a handful of common advertising mediums that parts manufacturers and major retailers like to use. The rates can range dramatically from one opportunity to the next, so obviously the numbers will include a wide range of values.…