How to get negotiated shipping rates without high volume

Carriers give their best discounts to companies that ship thousands of parcels a month. For a small business sending a few dozen parcels a week, negotiating directly rarely gets far: the volume simply isn’t there to tip the scales. Still, there are concrete ways to access those rates.

Why do carriers reward volume?

For a carrier, a large customer means regular pickups, optimized routes and predictable revenue. In return, it grants significant discounts off its counter rates. A small business usually pays the retail rate, or a modest discount that barely changes the bill.

Can you negotiate on your own with low volume?

It’s worth asking, but expect limited results. A few tips can still help if you go that route:

• Bring precise data: shipments per month, average weight, main destinations.
• Highlight your expected growth rather than your current volume.
• Concentrate your shipments with one carrier to gain a bit of leverage.
• Read the surcharges carefully (fuel, residential, remote areas): they can cancel out the discount.

The catch: sending everything through one carrier means you can no longer compare. And no carrier offers the best price for every destination and parcel size.

What is pooled volume?

Pooled volume means grouping the shipments of many businesses under a single agreement. A shipping platform negotiates with carriers on behalf of all its customers, then passes the resulting rates on to each of them, regardless of their individual volume.

That’s the LAR Shipping model: with more than 8,000 clients and over 10,000 parcels shipped every week, we negotiate group rates with more than a dozen carriers. A small business shipping five parcels a week gets the same terms as a large shipper.

What are the benefits for a small business?

• Negotiated rates from your very first shipment, with no minimum volume.
• No long-term contract or volume commitment.
• The freedom to pick the best carrier for each shipment instead of being tied to one.
• Savings of up to 70% compared with retail rates.

How do you maximize savings day to day?

The negotiated rate is only part of the equation. A few good habits complete the savings:

• Compare carriers for every shipment: the cheapest to Montreal isn’t necessarily the cheapest to Vancouver.
• Measure and weigh parcels precisely to avoid adjustment fees.
• Use right-sized boxes to reduce dimensional weight.
• Choose economy service when the delivery timeline allows.

Do you have to pay to access these rates?

Not with us. Sign-up is free, there’s no monthly subscription and no hidden fees: you pay only for the shipments you send. Volume should no longer stand between you and a fair price.

Want to cut your shipping costs? Compare more than a dozen carriers with LAR Shipping and save up to 70% on your shipments.