Flat Rate Vs Standard Shipping: 7 Key Differences in 2024
In the eCommerce market, shipping is quite important. If you’re selling tangible assets, shipping is the only way for them to get to their intended destination. Customers, on the other hand, want their orders delivered at their convenience.
Are you unsure about flat rate vs standard shipping? Don’t worry we’ve got your back. Many of you have probably heard of these terms and must be aware of Flat Rate vs Standard Shipping costs and processes related to them.
In this post, we will discuss flat rate vs standard shipping and how to select the most appropriate and cost-effective delivery option.
- Flat Rate and Standard Rate Shipping
- Advantages of Standard Shipping
- How Does Standard Shipping Work?
- Flat Rate Vs Standard Shipping: Key Differences
- Flat Rate vs Standard Shipping- Choose Ideal Shipping Process for eCommerce in 2024
- How WareIQ Offers Shipping to eCommerce Players?
- Flat Rate vs Standard Shipping FAQS
Flat Rate and Standard Rate Shipping
Flat rates and standard shipping rates are the two different price options for shipping your products. You may offer your customers a fixed shipping fee for each zone or weight slab, or you can offer them a standard shipping rate that varies within a zone and is determined by various criteria.
What is Flat Rate Shipping?
Flat rate shipping is also known as linear rate shipping. Every parcel is assigned a set value. As a result, the value is unaffected by the dimensions, size, or weight. That is why delivering heavy items via flat rate shipping is more beneficial than shipping smaller parcels. Flat rate costs vary depending on the time zone or a weight slab, however, all parcels that fall within that weight slab will be charged the same flat fee.
The goal of the flat shipping charge is to unify and standardize your package. If it fits the specific size and weight standards, the same fee applies to shipments in a single region, such as local national delivery. It means you may choose from a variety of box and envelope sizes, each with its weight restriction. You can send it with basic shipping if the item you’re sending fits in the lowest parcel size and the weight allowance isn’t exceeded,
Advantages of Flat Rate Shipping include transparency, simplified management, and rare weighing errors, among various other benefits.
Read more on Flat Rate Shipping, to gather additional information on it.
What is Standard Shipping?
Standard shipping, also known as ground, economy, or regular shipping, this module of shipping can save your money by generating prices that are tailored to your specific needs. Standard shipping is intended for small businesses or individuals who mail packages of various sizes and weights. It also supports shipping to a variety of locations, including international operations.
Standard shipping usually includes a fair delivery time and a comprehensive tracking option, allowing both the sender and the receiver to follow the shipment in real-time. The standard delivery time is three to seven business days, however, if the destination is far away, it may take a bit longer. The majority of standard shipment is done by road. Standard delivery is cost-effective, but it is also slow. Some customers who are accustomed to next-day or same-day deliveries may be put off by this.
WareIQ, an eCommerce fulfillment company, empowers online brands with a superior-tech platform to compete with Amazon like service levels by bringing their average delivery timelines from 5-10 days to 1-2 days.
Advantages of Standard Shipping
The following are the key benefits of standard delivery rates
Liability is minimal to non-existent
One of the most important benefits of going with a normal delivery fee is that you have little to no liability. This is perfect for new fulfillment sellers or firms who are unable to determine their true reach at first. In this scenario, regular shipping prices assist to avoid any confusion or loss. It assists in providing a full breakdown of each order’s cost.
Provides a Classic Approach
When a company doesn’t have many consumers in a given time zone, a standard delivery fee is an easy choice. It might help you avoid the continual switching of shipping partners.
How Does Standard Shipping Work?
Standard shipping is suitable for companies who need to send small to big packages at a low cost. The cost of shipping varies depending on the distance, weight, and size of the package. When a consumer selects this option, provide them with a comprehensive shipping policy that covers shipping rates and procedures, as well as delivery timelines. The shipping businesses choose, sort, and pack orders that are shipped via regular delivery. They are then transported by ground transport, which takes 3 to 7 business days to reach clients.
There is no need to purchase boxes with precise dimensions for standard delivery. You may pack it in any box that matches your merchandise.
Standard international shipping takes substantially longer, depending on where you are. Customs fees and taxes may also be applicable. Many courier companies also provide eCommerce order tracking, which keeps you and the customer informed about the parcel’s exact location until it is delivered.
Now when we have the basic idea about flat rate vs standard shipping. Hence, choosing the correct shipping partner for an eCommerce courier business is a difficult undertaking. There are dozens of them throughout the world, each with its own set of charges and terms. We compiled a list of the best eCommerce shipping companies in India, along with eCommerce Fulfillment Services guide.
Flat Rate Vs Standard Shipping: Key Differences
Every shipment is charged a predetermined amount under flat rate or linear rate shipping arrangements. The charges for this shipping plan are not affected by the size or dimensions of the package.
The flat delivery charge is frequently preferred when transporting large products. Flat shipping charges may differ based on time zones and destination location.
Standard rate shipping is the most popular method used by businesses to deliver their items to customers. The pin-code, box dimension, weight, time zone, and other factors are all taken into account when determining the final shipping charge. The majority of shipping service companies give a normal delivery period of 3 to 7 days.
Flat Rate Vs Standard Shipping: Key Differences Table
| Flat Rate Shipping | Standard Shipping |
|---|---|
| Flat Rate Shipping is also known as Linear Rate Shipping | Standard Shipping is also known as Ground Shipping, Economical Shipping, etc |
| Fixed Time Deliveries | Urgent Deliveries Possible |
| Prices Determined by Carriers | Custom Calculation |
| Saves Time | Saves Money |
| Budget Shipping to Destined Locations | Allows Shipping to many destinations, with Worldwide Shipping included |
| Ideal For MNCs with Identical Shipments | Good for Small Businesses with a variety of packages |
| One price for all Shipments | Different Charges for different packages |
Flat Rate vs Standard Shipping: Differentiating Factors
There is a set delivery time with flat rate shipping that cannot be changed. Standard shipping is based on ordinary shipping prices, which are computed based on pin codes and zones.
A flat rate simply indicates that any item may be sent for the same fee, generally within zones. In most circumstances, the eCommerce site calculates and sets this pricing after consulting with its delivery partner.
Shipping Cost
Flat rate shipping is calculated based on different shipping zones. For example, flat charges may vary depending on the region and zone where the item must be delivered.
Standard Shipping prices are computed based on pin codes and zones, and standard delivery is priced accordingly. To ensure that buyers receive only one shipping price, you do not need to adopt any special flat-pricing method.
Customers will pay a single shipping charge for shipments within the city, regardless of their quantity. As a consequence, if you need to send to an address inside a specific zone near your business, this kind of shipping is suitable. Alternatively, if you have frequent consumers who travel from specified areas. There is a set arrival time for flat rate shipping that cannot be changed.
Delivery Time
In Flat rate Shipping, the deliveries take place between two to four days, while Standard Shipping takes three to seven days for the delivery of the package.
Advantages
Flat Rate vs Standard Shipping, both have their own advantages, in flat rate, the destination is pre-determined which saves time while delivering the package, and in Standard Shipping the cost for shipping is custom calculated, hence it saves money spent on the shipping.
Flat Rate Shipping is mostly done by MNCs shipping identical packages in bulk, while Standard Shipping is for small businesses with a variety of packages.
Flat Rate vs Standard Shipping- Choose Ideal Shipping Process for eCommerce in 2024
It is critical for you to understand which delivery method is ideal for you as an eCommerce vendor, as far as Flat Rate vs Standard shipping is considered. You must have an estimate of the cost and select the most cost-effective way. Flat shipping is excellent for routine shipping deliveries within short distances in most circumstances (for example, within the country). Standard shipping is preferable for remote shipping zones since it is more reliable. You can charge the consumer for a portion of the shipping costs in the form of delivery fees.
Before selecting to use flat rate shipping, you should consider the number of shipments you make. When you pick flat rate shipping, you may be required to pay additional shipping expenses. This implies that Flat Rate Shipping is ideal if your clientele is heterogeneous.
How WareIQ Offers Shipping to eCommerce Players?
Partnering with WareIQ can let you offer a diverse variety of carriers, transit times, and shipping alternatives to your clients. Also, WareIQ’s next-day delivery helps to gain trust and credibility amongst our clients.
WareIQ provides comprehensive eCommerce logistics support in addition to providing regular shipping alternatives that are dependable, fast, and accurate.
You get free shipping materials, order tracking capabilities, a large network of fully operating fulfillment centers, and an on-demand logistics solution that connects with your online business when you outsource fulfillment to WareIQ.
WareIQ also enables the brand to distribute to all places within 24-48 hours just like Amazon guaranteed deliveries, while lowering fulfillment expenses by 25%, as WareIQ is well aware of all the pain points in the eCommerce industry.
The last thing you want to worry about is shipping, whether you sell on your website or through a vendor fulfilled prime, or on a marketplace. WareIQ has partnered with all the major national & hyperlocal courier service providers for efficient shipping. We at WareIQ seek to remove logistics operations totally off your plate so you can focus on growing your business in other ways.
- Pan India Fulfillment & Darkstore Network: Plug-and-play fulfillment infrastructure with no minimums, which is compliant with Amazon Seller Flex, Flipkart Assured, Myntra and other marketplaces
- Inventory & Network Planning Excellence: Best-in-class AI models for sales forecasting, product segmentation, and inventory management to reduce inventory by 40% and increase revenue by 10%.
- Vertically Integrated Fulfillment Tech Stack: Our Fulfillment Tech Solution supports integrations with 20+ top marketplaces & D2C platforms, and prominent national, regional and hyperlocal couriers, enhancing reach by covering deliveries for 27,000+ pin codes
- Supply Chain Productivity Applications: Integrate a host of supply chain productivity apps with a single-click to your existing CRMs, ERPs & accounting software to manage your logistics workflows from one command center. Use Apps like RTO Shield to get 100% RTO protection, Branded Tracking to turn your order tracking page into a profitable marketing channel, and many more.
Trusted by 300+ top Indian brands, we are helping them accelerate online sales and expedite their growth through a synergistic combination of advanced technology, robust fulfillment infrastructure & seller enablement services!WareIQ is backed by leading global investors including Y Combinator, Funders Club, Flexport, Pioneer Fund, Soma Capital, and Emles Venture Partner.
Flat Rate vs Standard Shipping FAQS
