If you are looking for a popular option that works in the US for shipping and mailing in the most economical way, USPS is the one. This is mainly because of its affordable rates and various flat-rate boxes available for shipping. Here we are comparing the USPS service offerings against some of the popular competitors in the US for domestic shipping to find out the best shipping and mailing services in the US
Domestic shipping options popular in the US
Here are some of the popular shipping options available in the US for handling domestic shipping.
- DHL
- FedEx
- UPS
- United States Postal Service (USPS)
eCommerce store owners widely choose these to offer delivery across US locations. Each has unique options to ship the packages, be it for standard delivery or for expedited delivery.
Time taken for domestic shipping
The domestic shipping time completely depends on the distance the package has to travel and also the speed of the delivery service you choose to ship it with. Some of the shipping services offer same-day delivery or sometimes it takes 1-3 days to deliver outside the metro cities. Hence the delivery within the same state or outside the metro city can average between 1-3 business days. If you are looking for cross-country shipping, then the delivery timeline will be around 1-3 days or maybe even 6-10 business days.
The cheapest way to ship a package domestically in the U.S
The factors upon which the shipping cost depends are:
- Weight of the package.
- Dimensions of the package
- The distance to be covered for shipping from the origin to the destination.
If you want to find the shipping cost in the quickest possible way, choose a shipping calculator. The calculator will help you decide the best possible shipping rate, which suits your need by listing out all the shipping rates from various shipping carriers.
Let’s see a few rates for shipping from popular shipping services.
Rates for shipping a 3 lb parcel with dimensions 9 in x 5.5 in x 2 in, within New York City metro
| Courier | Service | Delivery Time Frame | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Priority Mail | 1-3 days | $6.95 |
| FedEx | Express Saver | 2-3 days | $13.03 |
| UPS | Ground | 3-4 days | $12.87 |
The USPS service is the most popular domestic service in the US. It offers the lowest rate for shipping domestically, compared to the other ones which are quicker and faster.
Rates for Shipping a 3 lb parcel, with dimensions 9 in x 5.5 in x 2 in, from New York to Chicago
| Courier | Service | Delivery Time Frame | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Priority Mail | 1-3 days | $7.65 |
| FedEx | Express Saver | 2-3 days | $17.49 |
| FedEx | Ground | 4-6 days | $9.07 |
| UPS | Ground | 3-4 days | $12.87 |
While shipping across states, the USPS shipping rates are lower and also have a shorter time-span for delivery.
Rates for shipping a 3 lb parcel with dimensions 9 in x 5.5 in x 2 in, from New York to Los Angeles
| Courier | Service | Delivery Time Frame | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Priority Mail | 1-3 days | $8.25 |
| FedEx | Express Saver | 2-3 days | $27.08 |
| FedEx | Ground | 4-6 days | $10.05 |
| UPS | Ground | 3-4 days | $13.82 |
The above-shown rates are cross-country shipping rates. As you can see, the USPS rates are comparatively lower and also have a delivery timeline lesser than the competitors as well.
If you are looking for express options with better tracking services, you can pay more and choose shipping services like FedEx, UPS, etc.
The cheapest way to ship large packages domestically
With packaging or size restrictions, you can see that it might not be the same for all. In such cases, it is always important to understand the weight or dimensional restrictions that are imposed for shipping. Following are some of the general guidelines by shipping carriers when they accept a package for shipping:
- The weight of the item is not more than 150 pounds.
- The item is no longer than 108 inches, and
- The girth plus length is not more than 165 inches.
The shipments that fall beyond the above measurements come under freight shipping.
You can always go for a rectangular box or a square one for packing, as the oddly shaped ones are going to incur extra charges. When shipping a certain number of items, packing them carefully with no wastage of space will save you money. It is important to know what kind of packaging algorithm works for you for shipping.
The next thing that increases the cost of shipping is the material used for packaging. Find out the cheapest packaging options for shipping to reduce the cost.
How to offer fast shipping domestically
The best possible way to deliver to your customers in the fastest manner using USPS is by using the Priority Mail Express delivery service. It is best for overnight delivery to most US addresses.
Overnight shipping Rates for a 3 lb parcel with a dimension 9 in x 5.5 in x 2 in, from Denver to Seattle
| Courier | Service | Delivery Time Frame | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Priority Mail Express | 1-2 days | $42.22 |
| FedEx | Priority Overnight | 1-1 day | $56.01 |
| UPS | Next Day Air Saver | 1-1 day | $79.15 |
In the above table, you can see that Priority Mail Express delivers the package within 1-2 business days at a lower cost. Sometimes the delivery timeline differed with unforeseen circumstances. You need to know the ways to deal with the delivery exceptions like customs delay or other climatic conditions. UPS and FedEx offer better services at a higher price. The higher prices charged by these shipping carriers are usually meant to offer better tracking, insurance coverage, etc.
USPS Domestic Shipping: The Economical Option
As shown in the above article, we can see that most of the small to medium businesses rely on USPS shipping for their services because of the lower cost. They ship at an affordable rate for a time frame of 1-3 business days, which is acceptable by most businesses. However, for speed and better delivery options, you can always go for other popular shipping carriers like UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.
In order to incorporate USPS services in your WooCommerce store, we have various plugins, which will ease your process. Our plugins help you choose flat-rate boxes for shipping and other services offered by USPS for making your shipping easy. Here are some of our popular plugins:
- ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Plugin with Shipment Tracking & Print Label
- ELEX Stamps.com Shipping Plugin with USPS Postage for WooCommerce
- ELEX EasyPost (FedEx, UPS, Canada Post & USPS) Shipping & Label Printing Plugin for WooCommerce
Get to know more about the plugins from their product pages.
Further Reading:
- An Ultimate Guide on UPS Shipping Services
- USPS Fulfillment Services and WooCommerce Shipping
- How to Manage Overnight Shipping for your Online Store Orders?
- All about UPS Drop Off Locations & Services
- FedEx PO Box Shipping: What You Need to Know
- DHL Locations & Services: How to find DHL locations near you?
