This blog discusses and gives you practical advice on the best ways to create a well-outlined, informative, and well-segmented shipping policy for your dropshipping business.
We shall also discuss best practices, tips, and strategies you should keep in mind and incorporate into your dropshipping shipping policy to ensure it remains relevant and helpful to your customers.
Let’s dive in:
目录
What is a Dropshipping Shipping Policy?
A dropshipping shipping policy is an essential document that gives customers a breakdown of how you handle any arising shipping issues. A dropshipping shipping policy is a panoptic document.
However, in most cases, it includes information on shipping costs, processing and delivery times, other shipping costs incurred (duty), shipping locations and guidelines, and returns, to mention a few.
NOTE: Fundamentally, if it relates to how you handle the shipping process as a dropshipping business, it can go into your shipping policy.
Advantages of a Dropshipping Shipping Policy
Having a shipping policy is advantageous in several ways:
#: It helps build trust
Courtesy: Flickr
A transparent shipping policy covering everything related to your shipping process, shipping costs, and durations makes customers trust you and your products more.
#: It motivates customers to complete their orders
When customers have essential shipping information for each purchase, they’re likelier to make an informed purchase decision, leading to more completed orders and fewer cart abandonment issues.
On the other hand, when your shipping process has hidden charges, it may frustrate a buyer, leading to cart abandonment.
#: It fosters a positive brand image
When buyers have a wholesome experience at your store, many will become brand ambassadors who recommend your store to others or leave good reviews that attract more customers and buyers.
#: Reduces shipping-related customer support requests
With a well-outlined dropshipping shipping policy, customers find little or no need for more assistance on shipping matters because they can easily find everything they need within your shipping policy.
Reduced customer requests save you time and ensure you don’t get an overwhelming amount of bad, shipping-related reviews —these can kill your business before it starts.
Things to Include in a Dropshipping Shipping Policy
A good dropshipping shipping policy should cover all the important information about your shipping process, including but not limited to:
PRO TIP: The reality is that dropshipping stores are different; so are their shipping guidelines. Thus, while below are some of the core things you should include in your shipping policy, only you can decide which shipping information is important enough to your customers —and store— to warrant being in your shipping policy:
#: Order processing time
The time it takes to process and package an order for shipment determines how fast it gets to the customer. Stating this on the policy acts as additional information while accounting for how long to wait for a shipment.
It’s also important to explain issues that can cause delays —perhaps you only process orders on weekdays?
#: Shipping costs, rates, options, and durations
Order urgencies differ from buyer to buyer, and if your store offers different shipping options, state that on the policy and include any additional cost related to each shipping option.
If you offer free shipping —and you should—advertise it widely on your store and ensure you declare any other cost associated with it, like customs fees for international shipments.
#: Delivery times for various shipping regions
A dropshipping shipping policy should include information about your shipping regions/countries and the shipping duration for each region.
For a more personalized experience, mention the duration it takes to ship to the more popular regions in your store. Providing this information in an easy-to-navigate manner —I suggest using a table— ensures your customers know what to expect.
#: Domestic and international shipping information
For most international shipments, additional fees like customs will apply. It is crucial to mention who covers that cost if you decide to ship out of your country.
As for domestic shipping, clearly state the areas covered by your existing shipping methods to ensure local customers know what to expect.
#: Return and exchange information
While making purchases, buyers like to know their options should they need to return a product for a particular reason. This information should include who covers the cost of return shipments and the offer’s validity period.
You can always redirect clients to the main page for more detailed information.
#: Shipping restrictions
Always inform your customer of your reservations on shipping to various parts or regions. This helps customers decide whether to proceed with a purchase. You can always give your shoppers alternative 3rd party shipping methods for regions you don’t cover.
How to Create a Shipping Policy for Your Dropshipping Business in 5 Easy Steps
Here’s how to create a dropshipping shipping policy in 5 narrowed-down, clear steps:
Step 1: Figure out the available shipping methods
Start by deciding which shipping carriers work best for your business. You can settle on one or decide to diversify your options —offering retail customers several shipping options helps build trust by giving them a say in how they get their orders.
With current trends in the eCommerce industry, you can integrate shipping software into your store, thereby making it possible to offer your customers real-time figures on how much they will pay to ship items.
Step 2: Set shipping prices and timelines
Most online buyers are likely to complete an order from stores that offer free shipping.
Hiding shipping costs from the buyer until the end can negatively affect the shopping experience. You can always lower the shipping cost or find a way around it —perhaps bundling it into the product price.
Fast shipping can help every business, but unforeseen delays or in-house issues can sometimes occur. Letting your clients know about this reassures them, even when orders take a bit longer to arrive.
Step 3: Outline exceptions, refunds, and returns
It’s important to make buyers aware of issues that might affect order processing and shipment. For example, you could give a disclaimer stating your reservations on shipping products to a post office.
In the exceptions segment, you can mention how you intend to deal with refunds and returns and any cost the buyer would incur, together with the duration of the validity of the policies.
Step 4: Create, then improve your first draft
After deciding what to include and present on your dropshipping shipping policy, create a draft and review it.
PRO TIP: If you’re not much of a writer, outline what to include in your dropshipping shipping policy, then outsource the document-writing process to a professional freelancer. It also helps to compare your draft with the shipping policies of other stores to see how best to improve yours.
Step 5: Update the policy on your store
Once you’re sure your draft covers everything a buyer would want to know about your shipping practices and policies, update the policy on your store.
Ensure you strategically place it in an obvious location; the footer section is a great option.
Dropshipping Shipping Policy Template
Here is a dropshipping shipping policy template for your inspiration. Use it to create yours, but ensure you customize it based on your unique shipping practices and options
1: Order Processing Time
Start by clarifying how long your store takes to process orders. At this point, ensure that your buyers know this time does not account for the shipping duration mentioned at check out.
“We process all orders within 24 hours of a successful payment. This excludes all weekends and any major holidays. We process all orders placed after 6 PM on the next day as a priority. Notifications are sent out immediately via email after the package is ready for shipment.
2: Domestic Shipping Cost
Inform your buyers how long shipping will take locally and the options available. Here, include the different costs associated with each shipping option —If you offer free shipping with orders above a certain amount, state that on the policy.
“We offer free shipping for orders above $100. With standard free shipping, customers can expect these orders to reach them in 5-7 working days. In case of any delays experienced on our end, will be communicated via email.” Here are some of the shipping options available:
| Shipping options | Carrier options | Estimated delivery time | Cost |
| Option 1 | Carrier A, B, C | T to T business days | $ X |
| Option 2 | Carrier D,E,F | T to T business days | $ X |
| Option 3 | Carrier G,H, I | T to T business days | $ X |
3: International shipping costs and estimates
Here, mention the countries you ship to and don’t. Add the prices for each and the duration expected to take for the orders to arrive. Remember that international shipments incur additional costs like taxes; state whether your company covers this cost.
“We offer international shipping, but it’s limited to the countries given below (Here, add a list of all the countries you are willing to ship to.)
These are the options we offer to our clients:
| Shipping options | Carrier options | Estimated delivery time | Cost |
| Option 1 | Carrier A, B, C | T to T business days | $ X |
| Option 2 | Carrier D,E,F | T to T business days | $ X |
| Option 3 | Carrier G,H, I | T to T business days | $ X |
International orders are subject to customs charges as they enter your country. We are not responsible for these charges. Kindly account for these charges as you place your order.”
4: Tracking Your Order
State whether you offer your customers a tracking number and how they should use it when they want to confirm order status. Mention when a client should feel the need to reach out with shipping-related queries.
“Once a shipment is ready and sent out, you will receive an email with your order specifications and a tracking number. This number helps you track your product throughout the shipping process.
If after 14 business days you do not have your products, kindly email us for more assistance.”
5: Return and Refunds
Here, briefly mention the key points of your return and refund policy. Link back to the main post on this here for more clarification.
“Customers can send back orders for untampered-with products within 7 days of delivery. We will offer full refunds for this, excluding the shipment cost.
For faulty goods, please send us a picture via email (insert email). We promise to address the issue and find a solution. For such items, we cater for the shipping cost and offer a full refund if a customer doesn’t want a replacement.
The link provided here redirects you to our main page for additional information on this policy (add a link)
In case of any additional queries, please get in touch with us at (provide an email address they can reach you through)
Dropshipping Shipping Policy Tips, Strategies, and Best Practices
Here are some tips and strategies that will help ensure you get your shipping policy right:
#: Have sections or multiple pages
For a neater presentation, create various sections that allow readers to scan the shipping policy and quickly find what they need. Using headings is another great way to segment your dropshipping shipping policy.
#: Use tables and other formatting options to underpin important information, like shipping prices and timelines
Looking through a chart is easier than reading through paragraph chunks to get the needed information. With tables, comparisons are easier, making decision-making easier.
#: Acknowledge local, international, and domestic customers
While operating an online business, acknowledge all your potential clients. While creating the policy, address the issues that may face them and offer solutions.
For example, you can offer local shoppers in-house pick-ups to cut shipping costs and time. For international shoppers, you can include the additional charges they would face, such as import taxes. For domestic buyers, having multiple shipment options can work for you. You could even offer them same-day deliveries while stating the costs involved.
#: Emphasis on customer communication
Even with a detailed dropshipping shipping policy, clients will need clarification on matters at one point or the other. Ensuring that your drop shipping policy has a section outlining the various mediums through which customers can reach you can give them more confidence as they shop with you.
Integrate a customer support option after every step in case the client gets stuck.
Also, ensure you give customers any other relevant information they would need. An example is a section on trendy topics like COVID-19 and how it’s impacted your business’s shipping processes.
Conclusion
As this guide has shown you, creating a dropshipping shipping policy does not have to be a chore if you have a planned roadmap, which this book has given you, including a template you can copy.
Remember to draw inspiration from the dropshipping shipping policies of successful online businesses to ensure your shipping policy is all-encompassing.