How To Ship Packages Like A Pro
It’s that time of the year again. Sending gifts to your mom, dad, brother across the state or in another country. Grandma sending you her world-famous fudge for Christmas. Ahh, it’s all coming back to me. It’s that time of the year folks! Now how do we get these great gifts from our house to our friends’ houses? That’s the big question. Given that we ship thousands of brand name electronics every month we have a few tips and tricks on how you can get your package to its destination. Hopefully we can help save you some time and money during this Christmas season. To get the best discounts for your postage you must package the item yourself and purchase shipping online. Here are a couple of links you will need to ship gifts nationwide. If you have PayPal and want to use USPS or UPS as a shipping carrier, you can use this link. www.paypal.com/shiplabel/create/. If you are shipping a larger box nationwide we suggest using FedEx. It’s the most economical way of sending a larger gift. www.fedex.com/us/shipping/
Tip #1. Anything less than one pound is best shipped with USPS. This service is called USPS First Class. Recent changes now allow shipments weighing up to 15.99 ounces to ship for anywhere from $2.66 to $4.66. Affordable, right? You can ship this with USPS.com or the PayPal link above.
Tip #2. Shipping anything over one pound with USPS makes you choose one of their Priority options. This option is still usually cheaper and faster than UPS or FedEx, plus Priority Mail boxes and envelopes are free. For example, we can ship a 12" x 9" padded envelope with USPS for $7. This package will ship anywhere in the US within 1-3 business days. Cheap and fast.
Tip #3. Shipping something that won’t fit in any USPS priority box? This leaves you with UPS or FedEx. UPS is rarely, if ever, cheaper than FedEx. UPS is primarily focused on business customers that make contracts with them to ship in bulk and get the best prices. Their 2 Day service is sometimes cheaper if you’re shipping to nearby states, but it’s worth comparing quotes from FedEx as well.
Tip #4. DO NOT over box your item. Put the item in an appropriate sized box that will fit it perfectly and allow room for bubble wrap. Most prices are based on weight and size so the smaller and lighter the package, the better off you will be. Shipping companies use dimensional weight so if your box is large and your package weight is light they will raise your rate due to the equation L x W x H / 139. This calculates dimensional weight. If the dimensional weight is greater than the actual weight the company will bill you for the larger amount.
Tip #5. Need free insurance? USPS offers up to $50 free insurance for any priority package you ship out. UPS offers $100 insurance on any package.
Tip #6. To get your package to the right place at the right time, make sure your package is at your providers’ location by 1PM. This allows your package to ship out the same day, decreasing your delivery time by 24 hours.
Our experience in shipping tens of thousands of packages has taught us how to get the best value. These small tips should help you save some time and money without any hassle. Christmas isn’t about standing in line at the post office, overpaying, and stressing over deadlines, so ship like a pro and get back to enjoying the best of the holiday season.