This post is by Brian Gibbs, President of Refund Retriever, a company which audits shippers’ FedEx or UPS accounts for late deliveries and billing mistakes, using their own in-house technology. They also help with contract negotiations, and provide a range of shipping reports to help sellers analyze their activity and get better prices.

What do most small businesses do when their shipping contract comes up for renewal? That’s right, they just resign themselves to rising prices and tougher terms, and sign on the dotted line.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Shipping is a competitive industry, and you can make carriers fight for your business. But how do you do that? FedEx and UPS each have very complicated contracts and it’s hard for online sellers to understand all the variables that exist within those terms.

Here’s how, through contract negotiations, shippers can lower their rates, reduce their shipping spend and improve profitability. There’s no reason for ecommerce merchants and online sellers of any kind to continue overpaying for freight and small parcel shipping.