The Challenge:

As a marketplace, the biggest point of friction for Flyp is shipping. Businesses and consumers alike are price-sensitive to shipping, and offering subsidized shipping is often an acquisition tool. Shipping individually with one box for every different item is expensive and logistically complicated. Simplifying the process would be a competitive advantage and appeal more to the target market.

James Kawas, Co-Founder and CEO, and Dani Arnaout, Co-Founder and CTO, created Flyp to bridge the gap between individuals and businesses who want to sell their used products and independent resellers. This allows businesses to cash out on things they don’t need, while also empowering independent entrepreneurs to grow their resale businesses. The outcome is a sustainable cycle where used items get a second life, individuals get paid for them, and professional resellers make a profit.

James and Dani have spent over a decade in the e-commerce space. Prior to starting Flyp, they spent many years building Mercari’s marketplace business. Throughout their time working in the space, Shippo has been a trusted partner for all their businesses, including one of the largest online marketplaces in the world. They were able to use Shippo for all their businesses because Shippo’s API compatibility allowed them to scale their shipping and functionality as their businesses grew.

James and Dani knew if they wanted a competitive advantage in the market with Flyp, they needed to have the right shipping partner.

The Solution:

“When I think of shipping, one of the biggest frontiers is new technologies to help you ship stuff. Companies like Shippo are bridging the gap between carriers and users” – James Kawas

Shippo was successful in the founders’ other businesses, so it was the obvious choice for Flyp as well. They did it before, they know it works, and they don’t want to worry about it again.

To establish their competitive edge and attract more buyers and sellers, Flyp uses Shippo’s API to provide a fast, reliable and cost-effective shipping platform for their customers. “Shippo is an aggregator of an otherwise very fragmented process,” notes James Kawas, co-founder of Flyp.

“It’s so hard to even talk to carriers, let alone integrate with them. With Shippo, in a couple hours we were ready to have a label generation machine that integrates with all the carriers” adds Dani Arnout, co-founder of Flyp.

In addition to the API, Flyp enjoys using the Shippo Web App so they can see the different prices and weights for a variety of carriers, and have the option to pick whatever service works best. This helps them execute and bill faster, while also simplifying the label and rate generation process.

For Flyp, spending more to get cheaper shipping is simply good marketing. They invest in shipping because they view it as a marketing channel and a communication tool to attract a more loyal customer base. Customers in this space want to save on shipping, and are therefore more likely to choose a marketplace that offers cheaper shipping.

“With Shippo, we can get labels much cheaper than anywhere else. If we didn’t use Shippo’s API, we would easily be paying twice as much on average for shipping,” says Kawas.

The Results:

Shippo has helped Flyp save more than 50% on shipping costs with automatic alternation between carriers to find the cheapest prices.

Kawas believes, “The more competitive your market, the more shipping is a growth engine.” With Shippo, Flyp can focus on growing and improving their platform for customers, while Shippo handles all things shipping.

As Flyp looks to the future, they’re confident Shippo can provide continuity as the business continues to grow. “It runs smoothly — [Shippo] is scaling with us, so we don’t have to think about it or the future,” concludes Arnout.

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A Shipping Solution for Businesses of All Sizes

Shippo is a single, easy-to-integrate program that powers everything leading e-commerce brands need for shipping. From a single integration, businesses gain access to over 85+ global shipping carriers. And since all carrier interactions are standardized, Shippo makes it easy for businesses to compare rates and ETAs, print labels, schedule pickups (with USPS and DHL Express), track shipments, facilitate returns, and more across several carriers, all in one place.

Connecting your online store is also fast and easy with Shippo’s pre-built integrations. Shippo can automatically connect with several popular e-commerce platforms and marketplaces, and getting set up can be done in a manner of minutes without the need for any technical developer resources.

You also have options for using Shippo: online through our web application or connected via API. The great thing about these options is that Shippo has the ability to grow with you as your business needs evolve.

For businesses that want to get started right away, the web app is a great solution. And getting started is as easy as opening an account, entering some basic information, and creating your first shipping label. For businesses looking for an even more customizable solution, Shippo’s API is the next step. With Shippo’s developer-centric API, businesses can take their automation efforts even further. Visit Shippo’s API information page to learn more.