As a company with clients spread from Yellowknife to Panama, Chicago to Texas, New York to Los Angeles, and every point in between, we are very concerned with shipping rates for our canvas stretcher bar products. We do not make any money on shipping so we are constantly looking for ways to get better rates for our clients. We did not realize how well we were doing until last week when we were trying to get a canvas roll shipped overnight from our supplier to a client in L.A.

We were shocked to find out that the rate we received was 50% less than our supplier!

Knowing that both companies ship across North America on a daily basis, we were asked why we do so much better with our shipping prices. The answer is that we make shipping companies WORK for our business. In the last three years, we have switched shippers numerous times. In each case the story would unfold in a similar way; a shipping company would approach us with new rates, we would compare them with what we were already getting and, if the new rates were better, we would switch. Like clockwork, the old company would soon notice our lack of business and come back to us with even lower rates. Better rates are only offered when we change companies; shippers do not offer a rate reduction until we impact their business.

All this seems like a no-brainer but, over time, this strategy has ensured that Upper Canada Stretchers offers our canvas stretcher bar clients the best possible shipping rates for all of our art products. As we grow, we will continue to pass on these savings to our valued and geographically diverse clients!

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