Key Points:
- USPS offerings come in five different categories and each category is designed to fit different individual and business needs
- In order to make shipping as stress-free as possible for vendors, USPS' international shipping services has four offerings that make deliveries to over 180 countries
- Easyship offers up to 91% off discounted USPS rates for domestic and international shipments
The US Postal Service is one of the more affordable shipping solutions available in the US. One benefit of using USPS is that their pricing is simple: you mostly just pay for the shipping costs, making it a viable option for eCommerce sellers who are budget conscious about their logistics.
While it's great that USPS offers lots of different services, it can feel overwhelming to research them all and understand the differences. In this post, we describe what services are available so you can decide which one is right for you!
Table of Contents
USPS Service Offerings
USPS offerings come in five different categories and each category is designed to fit different individual and business needs. These offerings are as follows:
- Priority Mail Express: This is the fastest among USPS's various domestic mail offerings. With the Priority Mail Express service, vendors can be sure of their customers receiving their packages overnight. It's designed for time-sensitive deliveries and works seven days a week.
- Priority Mail: With this shipping option from USPS, recipients get delivery of their packages within 1-3 business days, with delivery being most impacted by shipping and delivery points. It features flat-rate options for items weighing below 70 lbs.
- First Class Mail: This is an affordable mail service that is designed specifically for single-piece and standard-sized envelopes weighing approximately 3.5 oz and large envelopes/small packages that weigh approximately 13 oz or less. A scheduled delivery is usually within 1-3 business days.
- Retail Ground: This is a reliable means of shipping oversized packages, especially those that are not urgent. The service is economical and a good option for vendors who ship larger packages that surpass the weight restrictions of Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express.
- Media Mail: This option is for those who are looking for a cost-effective means of sending media and other educational materials. However, you should take note that there are restrictions on the types of media that can be shipped using Media Mail. Some of the items that can be shipped include video/audio recordings, books, printed test materials, printed music, printed educational charts, medical loose-leaf pages/binders, computer-readable media, and others. Delivery is usually between 2-8 business days, with a maximum weight of 70 lbs.
Why Choose USPS?
- On-time delivery: When it comes to on-time delivery, whether it is USPS First Class vs Priority, you can be sure of your customers not being disappointed. USPS makes sure that the parcels or packages are delivered within a timely period.
- Flat-rate charges: With USPS Priority shipping services, you can use flat rate boxes for your shipments. Using flat rate boxes, shipments are prices per box size and means that you only have to pay one price as long as it weighs 70 lbs or less. So, for small or heavy items that need to be shipped long distances, this can be a great value for money option for you. Learn more about flat rates.
- Cubic rates: For Priority Mail shipments under 0.5 cubic feet, USPS charges based on the size of the parcel rather than the weight. This means that if your parcel is weighty but not large, you can make some big savings (often even better than flat rate boxes). Easyship offers and pre-calculates the cubic rate for you (many shipping platforms don't) ensuring that you get the lowest USPS pricing on your shipments.
- Multiple international delivery choices: To make shipping as stress-free as possible for vendors, USPS's international shipping services has four offerings that make deliveries to over 180 countries. The choice you make depends on your delivery timeline.
- Availability of extra services: USPS offers customers a wide range of extra services which includes free package pickup and free boxes and envelopes for packages/parcels. For the free pick up, there are conditions that in order for it to be free, there should be at least one package using any of the USPS expedited services, such as First Class, Priority Mail, or Priority Mail Express. The service also offers free shipping labels for envelopes and boxes.
- Tracking services: USPS now offers users of both its domestic and international mailing services useful tracking. From acceptance of the package at the postal facility to delivery at the residential address or post office, intermittent tracking offerings allow users to check delivery progress online, through phone calls, or text.
New USPS Shipping Rates
USPS introduced new rates as of January 26, 2020. It's best to be aware of the following postage rate updates:
- Priority Mail Express prices will increase by 3.5%.
- Priority Mail prices will increase by 4.1%.
- First Class Mail Forever stamps will remain at 55 cents.
- The single-piece additional ounce price will remain at 15 cents.
- For domestic mail, small flat rate box prices will increase from $7.90 to $8.30, medium flat rate boxes from $14.35 to $15.05, and large flat rate boxes will increase from $19.95 to $21.10. APO/FPO large flat rate boxes will also go up from $18.45 to $19.60.
- For the envelopes, the regular flat rate envelopes will increase from $7.35 to $7.75, legal flat rate envelopes from $7.65 to $8.05, and padded flat rate envelopes from $8 to $8.40.
How Easyship Partners with USPS
Understanding the need for expedited and convenient shipping options for all online businesses, Easyship partners with USPS to offer eCommerce store owners multiple shipping options for the convenience of their customers.
By signing up for an Easyship account and accessing our Commercial Plus Pricing, you get:
- The cheapest possible USPS rates and access to a range of other couriers with discounted rates.
- The fastest mailing options
- Best value for purchases
- Increased conversion
- Increased revenue
- A significant level of customer satisfaction
- Full shipping cost visibility
Visit our Couriers page to learn more.
Conclusion
Now that you have a better idea of the services available within USPS, we hope you are more comfortable in deciding whether it is a viable option for your business!
If you're still wondering what the difference is between a postal service like USPS and an express service like UPS and FedEx, learn more about these different types of couriers in our Postal vs Express Courier article.
