Key Points:
- Easyship Collect is a post-campaign survey that gives your backers the premium shipping experience they expect
- 2 in 3 say they choose a retailer based on the availability of their shipping and delivery options
- Easyship Collect allows buyers to purchase shipping insurance up to $5,000
Crowdfunding shipping hasn't kept pace with consumer expectations in the eCommerce era.
Timely delivery, cost visibility, shipping insurance – these factors matter to modern shoppers. A full 60% of online buyers say they fall in love with a brand after good service. You can imagine how displeased buyers react.
Unfortunately, crowdfunding sites don't allow custom shipping. Without flexible shipping options, backers are forced to wait weeks to months for freight delivery. A delivery that may get lost or stolen en route.
In the age of two-day shipping and package insurance, the lack of options feels like a slap in the face.
The crowdfunding experts at Easyship have created a new shipping tool just for crowdfunding. Now everyone can get what they want.
Easyship Collect is a post-campaign survey that gives your backers the premium shipping experience they expect. A single post-campaign email survey allows backers to upgrade their shipping in ways that matter, including:
- Upgrade to premium shipping like expedited delivery, tracking, etc.
- Prepay duty and tax for convenient cross-border delivery
- Add shipping insurance up to $5,000
Best of all – backers pay for all upgrades. With Easyship Collect, you're just extending backers a common courtesy: the choice for the timely, secure delivery they've come to expect.
Table of Contents
Offer Shipping Upgrades
Your buyers are excited to receive your product. Most are willing to wait long weeks for freight shipping. However, some buyers would gladly pay more for expedited delivery with tracking. But since crowdfunding sites only let you offer one shipping option, everyone has to wait.
With Easyship Collect, backers get to personalize their shipping from a choice of three shipping options:
- The fastest: expedited delivery plus tracking
- The cheapest: your default economy rate
- The best value: a mix of fast and cheap
This shipping automation feature is called Rates at Checkout and is used widely by eCommerce stores. All rates are calculated for each order in real-time based on shipping factors like destination and package weight. International shipments also show accurate duty and tax.
If backers opt for upgraded shipping, they pay the difference from your budget rate.
Of surveyed online shoppers, 2 in 3 say they choose a retailer based on the availability of their shipping and delivery options. In other words, it's good for your brand to offer options. Buyers with choices are also less likely to cancel or return orders, which keeps costs low.
Easyship Collect means your backers receive your item when they want to. And that's just good for business.
Streamline Duty and Tax
Historically, duty and tax are a pain in the neck for both managers and backers.
Every country charges differently for duty and tax. So only after you have the delivery address can you know the actual cost of international shipments. Then you need to decide who pays these fees. Finally, whether payment is due before or after delivery. Sheesh.
Our survey tool simplifies this process immensely. No more hidden costs, no more backer and forth with backers. Easyship Collect shows backers:
- Accurate duty and tax amounts for their unique shipment
- Options to either prepay duty and tax (DDP) or pay on delivery (DDU)
Backers who want to prepay tax enter their payment details right in the Easyship Collect payment portal. With import fees prepaid, all customs paperwork is completed automatically and packages get delivered to the backer’s doorstep. Prepaid packages speed through customs for a convenient delivery experience.
Backers who pay on delivery must visit their local customs office to claim the package and settle any fees owed. This is standard practice for imports, but slower and riskier.
Riskier because many backers faced with unexpected fees would rather return your item than pay extra. Similarly, almost half (43%) of online shoppers say they abandon carts because of high shipping costs at checkout. When buyers balk at import fees, you lose your payment and pay out of pocket for return shipping.
With Easyship Collect, backers get full visibility of costs for fully-informed choices. For campaign managers, this translates to more successful deliveries and fewer expenses.
Protect Your Perks
An estimated 5-15% of shipments are lost, damaged, or stolen in transit. International shipments are even more likely to encounter issues during shipment. Many buyers are aware of these risks and are willing to pay a bit more for guaranteed delivery.
Easyship Collect allows buyers to purchase shipping insurance up to $5,000. If an insured package doesn't reach its destination or is damaged en route, the insured value is reimbursed in full. This way, you’re not on the hook for any shipping snafus. Nor does your brand reputation take a hit.
Shipping insurance costs backers just 1-3% of the item value. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind. And if an issue arises, Easyship handles it all for you.
Best Practices for Easyship Collect
1. Campaign now, ship later: Launch your campaign without delay. Inform backers they’ll have the option for upgraded shipping at the end. With premium shipping and insurance on the table, you’re more likely to convert risk-averse backers to faraway places.
2. Go to production: It’s best to set your basic shipping option after you know the weight and size of your product.
3. Select shipping options: Pick your three shipping options from 250+ global courier solutions, all discounted at up to 70% off retail. You get the guaranteed best rates from USPS, FedEx, DHL, plus hundreds of local and regional couriers.
4. Send surveys: Gather shipping preferences and payments from backers in our secure survey portal. Send surveys at least one month before your ship date to give backers time to respond. You can see all reply statuses in your Easyship Collect dashboard, and re-send surveys to backers if needed.
5. Begin fulfillment: Manage all shipment information and activity in your shipping dashboard. Generate shipping labels, print, and share tracking details automatically with backers. Everything you need to fulfill and manage orders is in Easyship.
One Tool to Ship Them All
Easyship Collect is the only shipping tool made for crowdfunding. It allows you to give backers the premium shipping experience they expect these days.
Backers pay for all upgrades themselves. You only pay a 5% processing fee on the costs of shipping upgrades. So it's never out of pocket.
When you gather all shipping details via email survey, your fulfillment processes are a cakewalk by comparison. It's a win-win.
To learn more about Easyship Collect, reserve your free demo.
