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Timur Eligulashvili Featured in DropSkip's 'Is Free Shipping Truly Free?'
SmallParcel.com founder Timur Eligulashvili on funding free shipping without giving up margin, in DropSkip's 'Is free shipping truly Free?' article.
By Timur Eligulashvili, founder of SmallParcel.com
20+ years in parcel: Echo, LSO, uShip, ShippingEasy.
Updated October 2026 · 2 min read
Our founder, Timur Eligulashvili, was featured in DropSkip’s blog post, “Is free shipping truly ‘Free’?” The article looks at who really pays for free shipping, and his advice covers how brands can fund it without giving up margin.
“Everyone agrees free shipping isn’t free. The better question is how you fund it. Per Narvar data reported by the WSJ, average free shipping thresholds jumped to $103 in 2025 from $82 in 2023, because brands are scrambling to cover rising costs. Don’t copy a competitor’s threshold. Track shipping cost as a percent of sales by order size and set the threshold where your margin holds. Then lower your cost to serve: negotiate your carrier agreement, add regional carriers so you have options, and position inventory closer to your customers. That’s how you keep offering free shipping without giving up margin.”
Key takeaways
Free shipping still has a cost. It shows up in prices, thresholds, or margin.
Returns add to it. Price expected returns into your threshold.
Free doesn’t have to mean fast. Free standard plus paid express gives customers the choice.
Inventory comes first. Where stock sits shapes delivery cost before checkout.
Regional carriers are one of the levers in that answer. To see which regional and alternative carriers cover the states you ship to, use our Regional and Alternative Parcel Carrier Finder.
Read the full article on DropSkip
This post is based on Timur Eligulashvili’s contribution to “Is free shipping truly ‘Free’?”, published by DropSkip on October 28, 2026.